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The Path to Sustainability: Material Efficiency, Energy, Water, and Infrastructure

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 November 2020) | Viewed by 20590

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Muge Mukaddes Darwish

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Guest Editor

Civil, Environmental, Construction Engineering Department, Edward E. Whitacre Jr. College Of Engineering, Texas Tech University, 2500 Broadway, Lubbock, TX 79409-1042, USA
Interests: construction safety and health; risk management; engineering education development techniques; increasing achievements of underrepresented groups in science; sustainable and resilience urban development; green building materials and techniques; sustainable development and construction

Prof. Dr. Stephen Ekwaro-Osire

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Guest Editor

Department of Mechanical Engineering, Texas Tech University, 2500 Broadway, Lubbock, TX 79409-1042, USA
Interests: engineering design; vibrations; engineering education; wind energy; sustainable engineering

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues

According to the United Nations (UN), by 2050, approximately 70% of the world’s population will be urban (UN, 2010). Rapid unsustainable urbanization and escalated consumption of the Earth’s resources are creating resource depletion, excess waste, and related environmental problems. “Goal 13” of the UN Sustainable Development Goals states that it is necessary to take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts. This is the challenge of the 21st century for designers, engineers, and researchers. There is a need to find solutions to issues using more sustainable development models and efficient methods. Although challenges are present, there are many opportunities for engineers and architects to explore alternative solutions to the problem of climate change and develop technological options and strategies to improve energy and material efficiency and reduce the carbon footprint of countries.

This Special Issue of Sustainability is seeking papers that can demonstrate how these environmental, economic, and social goals of sustainable development can be achieved in a built environment, as well as focusing on integrated planning of sustainable urban infrastructures and water resources, material efficiency, reduced energy demand, reduced emissions, environmental effects, and how that can be applied in practice now and future.

Prof. Dr. Muge Mukaddes Darwish
Prof. Dr. Stephen Ekwaro-Osire
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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

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

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

Keywords

sustainable urbanization
materials efficiency
sustainable infrastructures
and water resources
energy efficiency
recycling
reduced waste

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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16 pages, 314 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Mining Law: In Search of Sustainable Mining

by Nathalie Barbosa Reis Monteiro, Ana Keuly Luz Bezerra, José Machado Moita Neto and Elaine Aparecida da Silva

Sustainability 2021, 13(2), 867; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13020867 - 16 Jan 2021

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3072

Abstract

Mining is an activity that generates inputs to different production chains, making it essential for any country’s development. However, it causes environmental, economic, and social impacts that must be considered. The Mining Law provides guidelines, through laws and regulations, so the activity can be carried out in an environmentally, economically, and socially sustainable way. In this paper, an analysis was conducted of the application of some peculiar characteristics of Brazilian Mining Law (locational rigidity, priority granting, among others) according to the parameters established in the Federal Constitution, in the Mining Code and its updates, and in the National Department of Mineral Production, Environment Ministry, and Mines and Energy Ministry normative acts. Moreover, the Superior Court of Justice Jurisprudence was analyzed to understand how the Mining Law is applied, in practice. It was verified that the Brazilian legislation is not perfect, but it has mechanisms to protect and benefit the miner, the society, and the environment. However, there are many shortcomings like the lack of speed in judging processes and the flaws in the applicability of some principles that compromise sustainability in the activity’s development, especially regarding the environmental and social liabilities left after mine closure. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Path to Sustainability: Material Efficiency, Energy, Water, and Infrastructure)

24 pages, 4621 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Hybrid Intelligence Approach to Enhance the Prediction Accuracy of Local Scour Depth at Complex Bridge Piers

by Dieu Tien Bui, Ataollah Shirzadi, Ata Amini, Himan Shahabi, Nadhir Al-Ansari, Shahriar Hamidi, Sushant K. Singh, Binh Thai Pham, Baharin Bin Ahmad and Pezhman Taherei Ghazvinei

Sustainability 2020, 12(3), 1063; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su12031063 - 03 Feb 2020

Cited by 23 | Viewed by 3469

Abstract

Local scour depth at complex piers (LSCP) cause expensive costs when constructing bridges. In this study, a hybrid artificial intelligence approach of random subspace (RS) meta classifier, based on the reduced error pruning tree (REPTree) base classifier, namely RS-REPTree, was proposed to predict the LSCP. A total of 122 laboratory datasets were used and portioned into training (70%: 85 cases) and validation (30%: 37 cases) datasets for modeling and validation processes, respectively. The statistical metrics such as mean absolute error (MAE), root mean squared error (RMSE), correlation coefficient (R), and Taylor diagram were used to check the goodness-of-fit and performance of the proposed model. The capability of this model was assessed and compared with four state-of-the-art soft-computing benchmark algorithms, including artificial neural network (ANN), support vector machine (SVM), M5P, and REPTree, along with two empirical models, including the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) and Hydraulic Engineering Circular No. 18 (HEC-18). The findings showed that machine learning algorithms had the highest goodness-of-fit and prediction accuracy (0.885 < R < 0.945) in comparison to the other models. The results of sensitivity analysis by the proposed model indicated that pile cap location (Y) was a more sensitive factor for LSCP among other factors. The result also depicted that the RS-REPTree ensemble model (R = 0.945) could well enhance the prediction power of the REPTree base classifier (R = 0.885). Therefore, the proposed model can be useful as a promising technique to predict the LSCP. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Path to Sustainability: Material Efficiency, Energy, Water, and Infrastructure)

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15 pages, 2780 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Comparative Investigation of the Effect of Recycled Fine Aggregate from New and Old Construction Wastes in C-25 Concrete in Ethiopia

by Lucy Feleke Nigussie, Muge Mukaddes Darwish and Tewodros Ghebrab

Sustainability 2019, 11(24), 7116; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su11247116 - 12 Dec 2019

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3261

Abstract

Wherever there are construction activities, there is waste generation. In Ethiopia, the popular material for wall construction is a hollow concrete block that can be broken on the production site or the construction site during loading and unloading and is also found abundantly in demolished buildings. This research aimed at searching for alternative construction materials through recycling and examined the properties of recycled fine aggregate from demolished (old) and construction (new) hollow concrete block (HCB) wastes. The study examined the effect of the recycled HCB on fresh and hardened C-25 concrete properties and the possible replacement percentage of river sand by those recycled fine aggregates. The research also examined the comparative properties of the two recycled fine aggregates. The replacement percentage was in steps of 25%, starting from 25% up to 100%, and 0% represented the reference mix. In general, the recycled fine aggregate exhibited relatively lower physical properties than natural river sand but satisfied the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standard requirements. The demolished recycled fine aggregate (DRFA) had slightly lower physical properties than the construction recycled fine aggregate (CRFA). The properties of fresh and hardened concrete were decreased as percentage replacement of DRFA and CRFA increased. The optimum percentage replacement of river sand by recycled fine aggregate was between 50% to 75% but was much closer to 75% for that of recycled from construction (new) and closer to 50% for that of recycled from demolished (old) HCB. Recycling wastes can reduce environmental impact due to sand mining and waste disposal as well as partially conserve the natural resource depletion. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Path to Sustainability: Material Efficiency, Energy, Water, and Infrastructure)

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15 pages, 5067 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Suitability of Scoria as Fine Aggregate and Its Effect on the Properties of Concrete

by Getachew Kebede Warati, Muge Mukaddes Darwish, Fekadu Fufa Feyessa and Tewodros Ghebrab

Sustainability 2019, 11(17), 4647; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su11174647 - 26 Aug 2019

Cited by 20 | Viewed by 4146

Abstract

The increase in the demand for concrete production for the development of infrastructures in developing countries like Ethiopia leads to the depletion of virgin aggregates and high cement demand, which imposes negative environmental impacts. In sustainable development, there is a need for construction materials to focus on the economy, efficient energy utilization, and environmental protections. One of the strategies in green concrete production is the use of locally available construction materials. Scoria is widely available around the central towns of Ethiopia, especially around the rift valley regions where huge construction activities are taking place. The aim of this paper is therefore to analyze the suitability of scoria as a fine aggregate for concrete production and its effect on the properties of concrete. A differing ratio of scoria was considered as a partial replacement of fine aggregate with river sand after analyzing its engineering properties, and its effect on the mechanical properties of concrete were examined. The test results on the engineering properties of scoria revealed that the material is suitable to be used as a fine aggregate in concrete production. The replacement of scoria with river sand also enhanced the mechanical strength of the concrete. Generally, the findings of the experimental study showed that scoria could replace river sand by up to 50% for conventional concrete production. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Path to Sustainability: Material Efficiency, Energy, Water, and Infrastructure)

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Review

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11 pages, 999 KiB

Open AccessReview

Sustainable Application of ZIF-8 for Heavy-Metal Removal in Aqueous Solutions

by Ke Li, Nicholas Miwornunyuie, Lei Chen, Huang Jingyu, Paulette Serwaa Amaniampong, Desmond Ato Koomson, David Ewusi-Mensah, Wencong Xue, Guang Li and Hai Lu

Sustainability 2021, 13(2), 984; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13020984 - 19 Jan 2021

Cited by 40 | Viewed by 5959

Abstract

Water is life, and clean-water demand is increasing daily as a result of rapid population growth and industrial evolution. Nevertheless, due to the inadequate supply and availability of new water sources, there is a need for effective, sustainable removal of contaminants for wastewater reuse. Several treatment approaches that include chemical, physical, and biological methods have been thoroughly tested, with biological treatment being regarded as the most cost-effective and environmentally friendly method. However, the presence of heavy metals and complicated chemicals that are nonbiodegradable limits the use of this cost-effective approach. In this paper, we review the sustainable application of a cheap, water-stable metal-organic framework, the zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF-8), with an easier synthesis approach for heavy-metal removal in aqueous solutions. In this review, we discuss the removal efficiency in terms of adsorption capacity, describe the underlying mechanism behind the adsorption capacity of ZIF-8, present a sustainable synthesis approach, and make vital suggestions to aid in the future application of ZIF-8 for the removal of heavy metals. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Path to Sustainability: Material Efficiency, Energy, Water, and Infrastructure)

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