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Towards Circular Economy: Evaluation of Waste Treatment

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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (17 January 2021) | Viewed by 16393

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Deborah Panepinto

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Guest Editor

Department of Environment, Land and Infrastructure Engineering (DIATI), Polytechnic of Turin, I-10129 Turin, Italy
Interests: air quality; air pollution and urban environmental conservation; climate change mitigation; odors; biomethane; health impact assessment; carbon footprint; waste management; wastewater treatment plants
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Marco Ravina

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Guest Editor

Department of Environment, Land and Infrastructure Engineering (DIATI), Polytechnic of Turin, I-10129 Turin, Italy
Interests: air quality; pollutant dispersion modelling; air pollution and urban environmental conservation; GHG emissions; odors; biomethane; health impact assessment; carbon footprint
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In the recent past, much has been made of the need for societies to reduce resource consumption. Recent estimates of human appropriation of the net primary productivity of nature range from 20% to 34%, and there is continued extraction of virgin minerals and ores due to linear material use patterns, with energy inputs predominantly supplied by nonrenewable fossil resources.
Resource conservation may be achieved through waste prevention, reuse or recovery. EU legislation on waste, including recent proposals for higher recycling targets for municipal and packaging waste and for reducing landfill, is guided by the waste hierarchy and aims to shift waste management upwards towards prevention, reuse and recycling.
In addition, in order to improve environmental quality (from the point of view of the local air quality and also from the point of view of the GHG emissions), waste prevention, reuse, and valorization must be realized.
This Special Issue aims to discuss strategy frameworks from waste treatment toward a circular economy.
The following themes would be of particular interest (note that this list is not exhaustive):

Waste (municipal and industrial) prevention;
Waste (municipal and industrial) reuse and recovery;
Waste (municipal and industrial) valorization;
Emission dispersion from waste (municipal and industrial) treatment;
Waste (municipal and industrial) treatment in order to reduce GHG emission.

We invite you to contribute to this issue by submitting comprehensive reviews, case studies or research articles. Papers selected for this Special Issue are subject to a rigorous peer review procedure, with the aim of rapid and wide dissemination of research results, developments, and applications.

Dr. Deborah Panepinto
Dr. Marco Ravina
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

waste treatment
circular economy
pollutant dispersion
climate change

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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11 pages, 426 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Technical and Environmental Comparison among Different Municipal Solid Waste Management Scenarios

by Deborah Panepinto and Mariachiara Zanetti

Sustainability 2021, 13(6), 3167; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13063167 - 13 Mar 2021

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 1994

Abstract

In order to determine the optimal final destination of municipal solid waste, it is necessary to consider both monetary costs and environmental externalities, as well as the local availability of waste-processing industrial infrastructure. The paper examines the results obtained from a technical, economic, and environmental comparison between different scenarios for waste management: in particular, the solutions of gasification and pyrolysis were studied and, afterwards, were compared with direct combustion in incineration plant (from the point of view of the thermal treatment) and final disposal in landfill. In order to perform this analysis, 19 plants operating on full scale were analyzed. The comparison took into account environmental, energy, and economic aspects. From the environmental and energetical point of view, the tool of mass and energy balance was used to address some key environmental aspects. In particular, some indexes were defined in order to perform a comparison among the different analyzed solutions. As concerns the economic point of view, conventional economic criteria were considered. The analysis showed advantages for the examined thermal treatment solutions. The comparison methodology that has been defined can establish a more general useful approach in order to help the definition of the best solution for waste management planning. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Towards Circular Economy: Evaluation of Waste Treatment)

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14 pages, 1441 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Design Opportunities to Reduce Waste in Operating Rooms

by Charlotte Harding, Joren Van Loon, Ingrid Moons, Gunter De Win and Els Du Bois

Sustainability 2021, 13(4), 2207; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13042207 - 18 Feb 2021

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 5411

Abstract

While taking care of the population’s health, hospitals generate mountains of waste, which in turn causes a hazard to the environment of the population. The operating room is responsible for a disproportionately big amount of hospital waste. This research aims to investigate waste creation in the operating room in order to identify design opportunities to support waste reduction according to the circular economy. Eight observations and five expert interviews were conducted in a large sized hospital. The hospital’s waste infrastructure, management, and sterilization department were mapped out. Findings are that washable towels and operation instruments are reused; paper, cardboard, and specific fabric are being recycled; and (non-)hazardous medical waste is being incinerated. Observation results and literature findings are largely comparable, stating that covering sheets of the operation bed, sterile clothing, sterile packaging, and department-specific products are as well the most used and discarded. The research also identified two waste hotspots: the logistical packaging (tertiary, secondary, and primary) of products and incorrect sorting between hazardous and non-hazardous medical waste. Design opportunities include optimization of recycling and increased use of reusables. Reuse is the preferred method, more specifically by exploring the possibilities of reuse of textiles, consumables, and packaging. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Towards Circular Economy: Evaluation of Waste Treatment)

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13 pages, 2557 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Comparison of Methods for Pretreatment and Quantification of Bulk Asbestos Samples for Polarized Light Microscopy Analysis to Evaluate Asbestos-Containing Waste

by Seunghon Ham, Sungho Hwang and Chungsik Yoon

Sustainability 2019, 11(22), 6440; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su11226440 - 15 Nov 2019

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2521

Abstract

This study aimed to compare sample pretreatment procedures for the identification and quantification of asbestos. The performance of visual estimation and point counting procedures for evaluating asbestos-containing waste was investigated, and the effect of analytical experience was studied. The efficacy of pretreatments for the identification and quantification of asbestos in various sample matrices was compared. To evaluate the effect of experience on analytical accuracy, three analysts with different analytical experiences were selected. There were significant differences in the quantitative analysis results obtained using different pretreatments. False negatives were reported when asbestos, especially amphiboles, were analyzed by a less-experienced analyst. Quantification via point counting and visual estimation resulted in differences in the asbestos content. The results of point counting were more accurate than those of visual estimation for all analysts, regardless of the asbestos type and concentration. Experience in asbestos analysis affected accuracy and precision. The findings show that pretreatment is an important factor in qualitative analysis. Appropriate pretreatments should be assigned based on the properties of the sample. For quantitative analysis, the accuracy of the results depends on the experience of the analyst. Until analysts are fully trained, all their analysis results should be checked by an experienced analyst. Point counting is an adequate quantitative method for analyzing samples with low concentrations. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Towards Circular Economy: Evaluation of Waste Treatment)

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Review

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47 pages, 2385 KiB

Open AccessReview

Ironmaking and Steelmaking Slags as Sustainable Adsorbents for Industrial Effluents and Wastewater Treatment: A Critical Review of Properties, Performance, Challenges and Opportunities

by James Manchisi, Elias Matinde, Neil A. Rowson, Mark J. H. Simmons, Geoffrey S. Simate, Sehliselo Ndlovu and Brian Mwewa

Sustainability 2020, 12(5), 2118; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su12052118 - 09 Mar 2020

Cited by 39 | Viewed by 5616

Abstract

This paper critically discusses the structure, properties and applications of ironmaking and steelmaking slags and their silicate-based variants as low-cost adsorbents for removing cations and anions from industrial effluents and wastewater. Undoubtedly, the performance of slag-based adsorbents depends on their physical, chemical and phase chemical properties. The presence of crystalline phases, for example, has a significant effect on the adsorption capacity. However, despite their low cost and ubiquity, their chemical and geometric heterogeneity significantly affects the performance and applications of slag-based adsorbents. These challenges notwithstanding, the efficacy of slag-based adsorbents can be significantly enhanced through purposeful activation to increase the specific surface area and density of adsorption sites on the surfaces of adsorbent particles. The synthesis of functionalised adsorbents such as geopolymers, zeolites and layered double hydroxides from silicate and aluminosilicate precursors can also significantly increase the performance of slag-based adsorbents. In addition, the ability to stabilise the dissolved and/or entrained toxic metal species in stable phases in slags, either through controlled post-process fluxing or crystallisation, can significantly enhance the environmental performance of slag-based adsorbents. Most critical in the design of future slag-based adsorbents is the integration of the engineered properties of molten and solidified slags to the recovery and stabilisation of dissolved and/or entrained metals. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Towards Circular Economy: Evaluation of Waste Treatment)

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