Bridging the gap between mathematical optimization and structural engineering: Design, experiments and numerical simulation of optimized concrete girders

Concrete, as the most widely used construction material, is associated with a high environmental impact. Within the present study, structural optimization is the method of choice to counter this issue. The entire process, from optimization, to design, experiments and numerical simulation is outlined. Embedded in the framework of a design...

Impact of mean sea-level rise on the long-term evolution of a mega-nourishment

Mean sea-level rise (MSLR) will induce shoreline recession, increasing the stress on coastal systems of high socio-economic and environmental values. Localized mega-nourishments are meant to alleviate erosion problems by diffusing alongshore over decades and thus feeding adjacent beaches. The 21-st century morphological evolution of the...

Carbon Footprinting of Universities Worldwide Part II: First Quantification of Complete Embodied Impacts of Two Campuses in Germany and Singapo

Universities, as innovation drivers in science and technology worldwide, should attempt to become carbon-neutral institutions and should lead this transformation. Many universities have picked up the challenge and quantified their carbon footprints; however, up-to-date quantification is limited to use-phase emissions. So far, data on embodied...

Environmental assessments of scales: The effect of ex-ante and ex-post data on life cycle assessment of wood torrefaction

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a powerful tool for achieving sustainability. Traditional LCAs analyze well defined and developed industrial systems, but recent developments of LCA focus on analyzing emerging technologies which are not yet optimized with respect to energy and materials. Therefore, LCA results of ex-ante applications can be...

Evaluating the biomethane potential from the anaerobic co-digestion of palm oil mill effluent, food waste, and sewage sludge in Malaysia

The ever-increasing organic waste generation in Malaysia is a significant contributor to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. However, organic wastes can be utilized to produce biogas by anaerobic digestion, which is a promising option for both energy and material recovery from organic wastes with high moisture content. Therefore, this study was...

The effect of additive manufacturing on global energy demand: An assessment using a bottom-up approach

The effect of disruptive technologies unrelated to the energy sector, such as additive manufacturing (AM), tends to be overlooked in energy scenarios. The present research assessed the potential effect of AM on the global energy demand in four energy scenarios for 2050 with extended versus limited globalisation and limited versus extensive...

Greenhouse gas emissions from membrane bioreactors: analysis of a two-year survey on different MBR configurations

This study aimed at evaluating the nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from membrane bioreactors (MBRs) for wastewater treatment. The study investigated the N2O emissions considering multiple influential factors over a two-year period: (i) different MBR based process configurations; (ii) wastewater composition (municipal or industrial); (iii)...

Environmental impact of thin-film GaInP/GaAs and multicrystalline silicon solar modules produced with solar electricity

Faro: Never Again: TARA spots turbulence quicker to make airports safer

TARA, a unique radar system recently developed at the International Research Centre for Telecommunications Transmission and Radar (irctr) of tu delft, can be used to observe the formation of precipitation and various other physical processes that occur in clouds. This provides important information that is used to map the effects of global...