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Geopolymer‐based inorganic coatings provide an effective alternative to conventional chemical‐based solutions. However, the coatings are not universally applicable, especially in critical applications such as underwater. This research aims to investigate and enhance geopolymer‐based coating through specific utilization of functional additives such as reduced graphene oxide (rGO), lycopodium powder (LCP), and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) for underwater applications. These additives were incorporated in limited dosages (<3 wt.% of binder), and their potential is further assessed in improving the coating material in terms of the resulting water resistance, mechanical properties, and durability against NaCl, MgSO4, HNO3, and H2SO4 attacks. The introduction of rGO facilitated a 35% increase in the 28‐day compressive strength and 33.83% in the scratch hardness, whereas (rGO + LCP) improved the water contact angle by 125%. Additionally, the developed coatings were further analyzed using an optical microscope and x‐ray diffractometer to understand their bonding potential with steel or cementitious substrates and phase formation. Life cycle cost analysis was also conducted to evaluate the economic viability of the geopolymer coatings, revealing a potential cost reduction of approximately 16%–42% with the sourcing of locally available materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Waterway structures' planning, construction, and maintenance demand an intricate balance between technical excellence, durability, cost‐effectiveness, and other sustainability criteria, like ecological aspects. This study focuses on sea locks, which are crucial for coping with water level differences and ensuring smooth shipping. Sea lock structures, requiring high durability, pose challenges regarding environmental impacts, resource conservation, and social considerations. To address these challenges, this study compares three design approaches for sea locks over a target service life of 100 years: Conventional (including repair measures by replacing parts of the structural element), as well as preventive measures by using stainless steel and Cathodic Protection (ICCP) with both preventive (ICCP A) and reactive (ICCP B) approaches. The analysis reveals that major repairs significantly escalate environmental impacts and life cycle costs of reinforced concrete sea locks. Cement and steel manufacturing emerge as major contributors to environmental burdens, emphasizing the need for reduction measures. The preventive ICCP A method shows promise in reducing environmental footprints while keeping construction costs relatively low, although ongoing maintenance is required. The choice of stainless steel type significantly influences environmental impacts, highlighting the importance of lifecycle considerations. Multicriteria decision‐making aids in selecting the most balanced option based on stakeholder preferences, with sensitivity analysis proving beneficial. Incorporating weighing factors into tender processes could optimize decision‐making, while social indicators should be integrated into future assessments. Overall, this study sheds light on the complexities of balancing durability and sustainability in waterway structures, providing valuable insights for future planning and decision‐making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Legislation and market competition make it necessary to assess systems regarding their environmental, social, and economic impacts. The life cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA) approach can be used for this purpose. However, the literature shows limitations of this approach. This article focuses on the often encountered inconsistency and reduced transparency within the economic dimension due to the lack of harmonized impact assessment methods. Therefore, we propose a novel economic life cycle impact assessment (eLCIA) method called DEALA (Differentiated Economic Assessment in a Life Cycle‐Oriented Analysis), which allows economic assessments at three levels of aggregation. Overall, DEALA is based on economic principles and provides a structured approach to conduct environmental life cycle costing studies, resulting in greater transparency, comparability, and flexibility, as illustrated by an initial comparison with an existing case study. DEALA also facilitates a differentiated and detailed analysis of the results so that hotspots and improvement potentials can be identified, making DEALA a suitable economic LCIA method that should be considered in future studies. These benefits are confirmed through a LCSA of a battery supply chain. The assessment provides detailed and specific insights that can be used to design more sustainable battery supply chains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The design of renewable energy systems traditionally emphasizes life cycle costs, often focusing primarily on emissions rather than a comprehensive life cycle impact assessment. This research proposes a four‐tier methodology to balance cost‐effectiveness and sustainability in the electrification of remote areas. Tier 1 focuses on understanding the community context by analyzing electrical load profiles, meteorological data, and component specifications for microgrid design. Tier 2 evaluates the feasibility of various systems, optimizing them through cost analysis and Multi‐Criteria Decision‐Making (MCDM) to rank alternatives. Tier 3 assesses environmental impacts using life cycle assessment, ranking alternatives based on environmental criteria. Tier 4 integrates cost and environmental rankings to determine the most suitable energy configurations, followed by sensitivity analysis to ensure robust decision‐making. The methodology is validated through a case study of an unelectrified remote community, demonstrating that the PV‐Wind Turbine‐Biomass Generator‐Converter configuration is the most robust alternative, proving to be the optimal choice in 50% of the analyzed scenarios, achieving a Cost of Energy of 0.213 USD/kWh while minimizing environmental impact across all 18 criteria considered over a 25‐year life cycle. This novel framework offers a scalable approach to designing renewable energy systems, enhancing sustainable electrification efforts in developing regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The textile industry is under pressure to adopt sustainable production methods because its contribution to global warming is expected to rise by 50% by 2030. One solution is to increase the use of recycled raw material. The use of recycled raw material must be considered holistically, including its environmental and economic impacts. This study examined eight scenarios for sustainable denim fabric made from recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PET) fiber, conventional PET fiber, and cotton fiber. The evaluation based on the distance from average solution (EDAS) multicriteria decision‐making method was used to rank scenarios according to their environmental and economic impacts, which are assessed using life cycle assessment and life cycle costing. Allocation, a crucial part of evaluating the environmental impact of recycled products, was done using cut‐off and waste value. Life cycle assessments reveal that recycled PET fiber has lower freshwater ecotoxicity and fewer eutrophication and acidification impacts. Cotton outperformed PET fibers in human toxicity. Only the cut‐off method reduces potential global warming with recycled PET. These findings indicated that recycled raw‐material life cycle assessment requires allocation. Life cycle cost analysis revealed that conventional PET is less economically damaging than cotton and recycled PET. The scenarios were ranked by environmental and economic impacts using EDAS. This ranking demonstrated that sustainable denim fabric production must consider both economic and environmental impacts. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2024;20:2347–2365. © 2024 The Author(s). Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Society of Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry (SETAC). Key Points: This study investigated denim fabrics produced using recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PET) fiber instead of virgin cotton and conventional PET fiber in eight scenarios.The life cycle cost (LCC), life cycle assessment (LCA), and evaluation based on distance from average solution methodologies were used to analyze, and a sensitivity analysis was performed to assess LCA uncertainty.Using recycled PET with the cut‐off method instead of cotton resulted in positive environmental outcomes across most categories, indicating a significant reduction in impacts such as global warming, stratospheric ozone depletion, and ionizing radiation.Using recycled PET with the waste valuation method often leads to more negative outcomes than the cut‐off method, suggesting that the allocation method plays a crucial role in determining the environmental benefits of recycled materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Engineering the wettability of functional materials holds significant interest, focusing on the need for superhydrophobic catalysts, crucial for their ability to prevent the poisoning of active sites by water, produced in situ or as a by‐product. Herein, for the first time, a superhydrophobic spherical activated carbon (SSAC@PhSO3H) is engineered as a catalyst via a novel synthetic approach and tailored in Jatropha curcas oil (JCO) biodiesel synthesis. With a large surface area (1461 m2 g−1), high acid density (6.26 mmol g−1), and water contact angle (163.4°), the catalyst demonstrates superior performance and remarkable water repellency, firmly establishing its superhydrophobic characteristics. Response Surface Methodology based on the Central Composite Design (RSM‐CCD) approach predicted a maximal biodiesel yield of 98.8% (80 °C, 5 wt%, 15:1 methanol to oil molar ratio (MOMR), and 40 min). Life cycle cost analysis (LCCA) estimates biodiesel production cost of 0.37 USD ($) per kg emphasizing high commercial viability. Compared with H2SO4‐sulfonated biochar, SSAC@PhSO3H retains its inherent activity (86.8 ± 0.4% yield in 10th run) and spherical morphology even after nine successive reaction cycles indicating high stability. Nevertheless, JCO biodiesel's fuel properties met European Norm, EN 14 212 and American Society for Testing and Materials, ASTM D6757 standards, highlighting its potential for industrial biodiesel production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Renewable energy integration and operational optimization are crucial in energy sustainability and decarbonization, especially for industrial steam power systems (SPS). This study establishes an SPS superstructure that integrates wind, solar, and biomass energy. A mixed‐integer nonlinear programming (MINLP) model is developed to determine an optimal retrofit strategy that minimizes the life cycle cost, which includes carbon emission cost and energy cost. To solve this high‐dimensional complex optimization problem, a multistage strategy fusion differential evolution algorithm with dynamic partitioning of the SVM feasible domain (SVM‐MS‐DE) is developed. The results from the optimal strategy demonstrate a 9.02% reduction in the system's total cost and a 9.64% decrease in carbon emission through the incorporation of wind and solar energy. Additionally, the sensitivity analysis on biomass ratio, carbon emission price, energy demand, and carbon emission limits reveal that the region can contribute significantly to renewable energy initiatives. Several recommended policies are provided to encourage enterprises to move towards sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The food industry is a significant contributor to carbon emissions, impacting carbon footprint (CF), specifically during the heat drying process. Conventional heat drying processes need high energy and diminish the nutritional value and sensory quality of food. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in food processing to enhance quality and reduce CF, with a focus on heat drying, a high energy‐consuming method, and offer a promising avenue for the industry to be consistent with sustainable development goals. Our finding shows that AI can maintain food quality, including nutritional and sensory properties of dried products. It determines the optimal drying temperature for improving energy efficiency, yield, and life cycle cost. In addition, dataset training is one of the key challenges in AI applications for food drying. AI needs a vast and high‐quality dataset that directly impacts the performance and capabilities of AI models to optimize and automate food drying. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electronics have contributed to the advancement of healthcare, wellness, security, and mobility, resulting in a higher standard of living. However, these ever‐accelerating advancements and widespread application come at the cost of a shortened product life cycle and increase in produced E‐waste which poses a significant environmental challenge. Recycling E‐waste is challenging due to the complexity of electronics and packaging, hindering component retrieval for reuse. While sustainable materials for electronics have been researched, sustainable integrated circuit (IC) packaging for conventional electronics remains unexplored. This study introduces a method involving dissolvable additively manufactured packaging materials to recover commercial‐off‐the‐shelf (COTS) chips from used electronics, which will alleviate supply‐chain stress, reduce the need for manufacturing similar chips, and minimize environmental impact. In this study, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), are explored as potential dissolvable semiconductor packaging materials. Optimal dissolving conditions allow chip recovery in less than 11 min for PVA and 2 min for ABS. This approach offers a sustainable packaging method for commercial electronic chips that matches conventional packaging performance with the added functionality of recoverable and recyclable components, contributing to the gap in sustainability and recycling for conventional electronics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transportation sector is undergoing a transformative shift, driven by advancements like autonomous and electric vehicle technologies. In this research, we investigate employment, carbon emissions, and total cost of ownership of autonomy and electrification in the US trucking industry. We utilize life cycle assessment and multi‐regional input‐output modeling to develop a comprehensive life cycle sustainability assessment approach. According to the results, while enhanced fuel economy due to autonomous systems can lead up to a 18% and 41% reduction in emissions and costs, electrification of diesel trucks shows remarkable potential, achieving up to a 40% decline in emissions and a 12% saving in life cycle costs. Autonomy and electrification combined could lead to a 50% decrease in emissions and 46% savings in life cycle costs. On the other hand, autonomy, while enhancing fuel efficiency and reducing costs, causes job losses due to improved efficiency and the elimination of driver positions. Introducing autonomy to diesel trucks results in a 27% decrease in jobs within the US trucking sector, attributed to improved fuel efficiency and subsequent job losses. Transition to autonomy and electrification requires a deliberate balance between environmental, social, and economic aspects. Managerial strategies should consider the use of the proposed composite indicators when setting emission reduction, cost cutting, and managing employment implications. Flexible re‐skilling and training programs should be developed to adapt to the changing skill requirements due to electrification and automation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The improvement of the safety, specific energy, cycle life and the cost reduction of Li‐ion batteries are hot research topics. Now, in the pursuit of high energy density, the employed high‐energy‐density cathode/anode materials and the increased operation voltage challenge the prevalent electrolyte formula, like the existing ester and ether electrolytes cannot withstand the high‐voltage operation and high‐capacity anode such as lithium (Li), silicon (Si) and silicon‐graphite (Si−C) composite anode. It is recognized that stable electrolyte‐electrode interfaces can avoid the electrolytes side reactions and protect the electrode materials. Up to now, various additives have been developed to modify the electrode‐electrolyte interfaces, such as famous 4‐fluoroethylene carbonate, vinylene carbonate and lithium nitrate, and the LIBs and lithium metal batteries (LMBs) performances have been improved greatly. However, the lifespan of the higher‐energy‐density batteries with Li/Si/Si−C anode and high‐nickel layer oxides cathode materials cannot meet the request due to the lack of ideal electrolyte formula. In this review, we present a comprehensive and in‐depth overview on the electrolyte additives, especially focused on multifunctional additives, the reaction mechanisms of various additives and fundamental design. Finally, novel insights, promising directions and potential solutions for the multifunctional electrolyte additives are proposed to motivate high‐energy‐density Li battery chemistries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work investigated the thermo‐economics of gas‐to‐wire as a gas flaring mitigation option in a selected gas production facility, in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria, which flares 294 thousand standard cubic feet of natural gas, daily. The thermodynamics and economics aspects of the gas‐to‐wire plant were modeled, and implemented in the Engineering Equation Solver software. The thermodynamics was carried out to ascertain the technical feasibility of the proposed plant, while the economics analysis was done to ensure its cost competitiveness. The findings suggested that 19.2 MW of electricity could be generated from the flare gases. This could be achieved at a life cycle cost of 19.24 billion naira, and a unit cost of energy of 13.47 naira per kWh. Parametric simulation of interest rate, excess combustion air, exit temperature of flue gases, and expansion ratio of gas turbine were also done. Furthermore, the proposed power plant could meet the electricity needs of not less than 60,000 households in Delta State where the gas production facility is located at 550 kWh electricity per capita. The study has shown that gas‐to‐wire is one of the viable approaches to tackle gas flaring activities in Nigeria, to meet both the energy demand of its people and to preserve the environment. Thus, it is recommended that the Federal Government of Nigeria should give gas‐to‐wire a priority in its gas flaring utilization agenda. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides a comprehensive review of the use of life cycle cost assessment (LCCA) and life cycle assessment (LCA) methods for evaluating the sustainability and costs of using recycled materials in asphalt pavement rehabilitation projects. The review begins with an introduction to pavement rehabilitation strategies and the importance of choosing techniques based on thorough engineering and economic analyses. It then explores the different types of recycled materials that can be utilized, including reclaimed asphalt pavement, recycled concrete aggregate, and recycled asphalt shingles, discussing the key characteristics and properties of these materials based on previous laboratory studies. The review also examines the various rehabilitation methods that employ recycled content, such as cold in-place recycling, hot in-place recycling, and full-depth reclamation, providing a detailed breakdown of the construction, maintenance, and rehabilitation costs considered in LCCA and analyzing the environmental benefits of recycled material usage through a review of LCA techniques and criteria like carbon footprint reduction, impacts on air and water quality, and considerations of technological factors. Software tools for conducting LCA are compared and challenges to advancing the adoption of recycled materials are reviewed along with directions for future research efforts. The unique contribution of this work is its holistic assessment of LCCA and LCA methodologies to inform the sustainable and cost-effective deployment of recycled materials in asphalt pavement rehabilitation, a topic of growing importance for transportation infrastructure management. In summary, this current work provides a valuable review of how LCCA and LCA methodologies can assess the sustainability and costs of employing recycled content in asphalt pavement rehabilitation projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Decarbonizing the urban environment has two significant challenges: Increasing electricity demand due to the electrification of space heating and increased renewables share in the electricity supply. The European Commission defines a new grid support mechanism for peak-shaving products in renewed Electricity Market Design. This aims to enable a new market tool to stabilize electric supply and demand. This study examines a grid-integrated thermal storage device's technical feasibility and economic performance to meet net zero building (nZEB) definitions. Alternative scenarios considering current national nZEB targets, present energy market options, and regulations are compared using the life cycle cost and the global warming potentials over the building lifetime. The results show that better building performance is possible even with a low investment increase of 6.7% compared to minimum building standards based on regulations. This enables older building cases to perform similarly with new building targets for Turkish National nZEB. Building electrification using heat pumps and thermal storage systems gives similar economic performances in the long term when a dynamic electricity tariff is available. Adapting the life cycle approach to decision-making in construction contracts can lead to a 50% decrease in building emissions while staying within the same construction budget. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The environmental and economic benefits of adopting a circular economy (CE) approach could be significant for firms. The CE and packaging constitute a fundamental binomial for our economy, yet there are still few studies of the advantages for food value chains, especially in the wine sector. Therefore, in this paper, we address this research gap by measuring the environmental and economic performance of a circular business model (CBM) adopting the wine industry as a reference. We apply a combination of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Life Cycle Costing (LCC) methods to a small Italian winemaking firm, which implements a circular strategy through the take‐back and refurbishment of wine packaging components. Results show that by implementing this sustainable and CBM, a firm can reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from 8 to 90% and save from 6 to 63% of its economic costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The efficiency gap between perovskite (PVSK) solar sub‐modules (size ≥200 cm2) and lab scale cells (size ˂1 cm2) is up to 36%. Moreover, the few attempts present in the literature used lab‐scale techniques in a glove‐box environment, reducing its compatibility for further product industrialization. Here, we report a PVSK sub‐module (total area 320 cm2, aperture area 201 cm2, 93% geometrical fill factor [GFF]) fabricated in ambient air by hybrid meniscus coating techniques assisted by air and green antisolvent quenching method. To suppress nonradiative recombination losses, improve carrier extraction and control the PVSK growth on such a large surface, we adopted phenethylammonium iodide (PEAI) passivation and PVSK solvent addiction strategies. The high homogeneous and reproducible layers guarantee an efficiency of 16.13% (7% losses with respect to the small area cell and zero losses with respect to the mini‐modules) and a stability of more than 3000 h according to International Summit on Organic PV Stability, dark storage/shelf life in ambient (ISOS‐D‐1). The sustainability of used methods and materials is demonstrated by the life cycle assessment. The scale‐up operation allows for strong impact mitigation in all the environmental categories and more efficient consumption of the resources. Finally, the economic assessment shows a strong cost reduction scaling from mini‐ to sub‐module (about 40%). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of innovative cementitious materials such as Ultra High Performance Concrete (UHPC) requires tailored approaches to assess both the environmental and economic impact of structural applications employing them. For this purpose, in this paper, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Life Cycle Cost (LCC) methodologies are integrated into a Durability Assessment‐Based Design (DAD) workflow which combines structural design algorithms for UHPC with the assessment of the durability performance, with the aim of predicting the evolution of the structural performance all along the service life (SL) in the intended scenarios. As a case study a water tank made of UHPC has been herein selected and compared to a reference made of ordinary reinforced concrete (ORC). While the ORC solution was designed with cantilever cast in situ walls, two different design concepts were assessed for the UHPC basin: one with cast in situ walls and one with precast slabs supported by ORC columns. Moreover, two different mix designs (mainly differing on the alternative presence of silica fume or slag) have been investigated for the UHPC basin and a SL equal to 50 years has been taken into account for each structure. The optimized design, together with the reduced frequency of the maintenance activities for the UHPC structure, allowed by the UHPC superior material and structural durability, resulted into consistent reductions of environmental impacts, up to 76% as for Human Toxicity and Fresh Water Aquatic Ecotoxicity in comparison to the ORC solution. In addition to this, an assessment of the overall construction and maintenance costs that occur during the lifetime of the structures showed a cost reduction higher than 40% for both UHPC solutions, mainly due to a reduction of up to 6% during the construction phase and 91% for the maintenance activities. This also highlights the importance of the correct metrics in evaluating the sustainability of UHPC structural applications, which has to move forward from the units volume or mass of material and its individual constituents to functional units, representative of the benefits of using advanced cement based materials in structurally and environmentally challenging service scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, we reported the transesterification of soybean oil (SO) to biodiesel using a basic CaO nanocatalyst produced by sequential calcination, hydration, and dehydration of waste snail shells. Response-surface methodology (RSM) and a central composite design (CCD) were used to predict several optimization parameters. 1H-NMR confirmed that 98.5% of the SO was transformed into methyl ester biodiesel. Under the optimal reaction parameters of catalyst loading of 6 wt. %, methanol to oil molar ratio of 8 : 1, reaction duration of 3 h, and temperature of 70°C, an excellent biodiesel yield of 96.1% was obtained. The transesterification of SO to biodiesel displayed a significantly low activation energy (30.45 kJ mol-1), whereas, the turnover frequency of the transesterification reaction was found to be 0.0063 mol g-1 h-1. The catalyst showed excellent stability and was consecutively used for six cycles without a significant decline in catalytic activity. Based on life cycle cost analysis (LCCA), the estimated cost for producing 1 kg of biodiesel in this study comes out to be just $0.935, signifying its strong potential for widespread commercial use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Enhancing drinking water resilience has become increasingly important. However, a comprehensive analysis of drinking water emergency countermeasures is lacking. This study evaluated eight countermeasures including monitoring, local alternatives, reclaimed water, interconnection, bulk water, pre‐packaged water, emergency treatment, and isolation valves from resilience and sustainability (i.e., life cycle cost) perspectives. While countermeasures such as interconnections perform relatively well from both perspectives, there is a clear trade‐off between resilience and cost. Local alternatives and emergency treatment respond quickly and provide sustained supply during emergencies but may incur higher costs. Bulk water and pre‐packaged water are typically inexpensive but have limited supply capacity and take time to distribute. As future threats are likely to become more frequent and prolonged, it is prudent for service providers to invest in countermeasures that perform well in both resilience and cost and use an integrated approach that combines high capital projects with bulk/pre‐packaged water contracts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Printed electronics (PE) have provided new material and application opportunities for devices and systems as well as new manufacturing routes that all need to be considered for commercialization. This paper introduces a case study with universally relevant manufacturing processes and applications in the PE area, focusing on the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Life Cycle Costing (LCC) of the Personal Activity Monitor (PAM) device. In the study, the PAM device's most important costs and environmental impacts during the prototype pilot production and device use phases are identified and assessed. Additionally, the potential environmental impacts of post‐consumption scenarios are considered. The LCA results indicate that the roll‐to‐roll (R2R) assembly of electronics and the R2R injection over‐molding are generally the most prominent production process steps affecting the results. From the LCC perspective, the capitial expenditure (CAPEX) contributor is the R2R assembly pilot line, due to its high investment cost and long operating time compare to other production assets. The traditional electronic components are the major operating expenditures (OPEX), especially the microcontroller units (MCUs) and accelerometers, in contrast to the low impact from the printed electronics. There are several advantages to applying LCA and LCC since they provide explanations of the relationships between cost, environmental, design, and manufacturing characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study proposes an efficient risk‐targeted framework for integrated optimal seismic design and quantifying target safety of Special Moment‐Resisting Frames (SMRFs) with Buckling‐Restrained Braces (BRBs) in the typical dual steel buildings. This framework provides an automated design procedure formulated as a constrained single‐objective optimization problem to achieve the minimum Life Cycle Cost (LCC) within the Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm and can be the basis of current seismic codes for target safety calibration. LCC includes initial construction cost and lifetime seismic losses such as repair cost, repair time, and casualties. FEMA P‐58 methodology is employed for the LCC analysis of the building under possible earthquakes during its lifetime, which is able to take into account potential uncertainties in the hazard‐response‐damage‐loss relationship. An appropriate cost model is developed to estimate the initial and repair cost of the studied BRBs. Minimum requirements of ASCE and AISC codes are considered as design constraints. Nonlinear response history analysis through the Endurance Time (ET) method is utilized to estimate the structural responses versus seismic intensity. Three 4‐, 8‐, and 12‐story steel buildings with dual seismic force‐resisting system consisting of SMRF and BRB (called steel SMRF‐BRB) are selected as the case study. Each building is optimally designed with two approaches: (1) LCC‐based design within the proposed framework and (2) code‐based design to minimize initial construction cost. Comparison of optimized buildings with the two design approaches in terms of structural responses and seismic consequences demonstrates that fulfilling the minimum code requirements at a given seismic hazard level is not sufficient to minimize lifetime seismic losses of steel SMRF‐BRBs. This is because the optimal designs obtained from the code‐based approach are associated with damage concentration, irreparability, and high collapse probability, especially in seismic events more severe than the design level. The proposed LCC‐based approach provides useful information for improving the lifetime seismic performance of steel SMRF‐BRBs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To achieve climate neutrality ambitions, greenhouse gas emissions from the transport sector need to be reduced by at least 90% by 2050. To support industry and policy makers on mitigating actions on climate goals it is important to holistically compare and reduce life cycle environmental impacts of road passenger vehicles. A web‐based sustainability assessment tool named battery electric vehicle sustainability impact assessment model, BEVSIM, is developed to assess the environmental, circularity, and economic performance of the materials, sub‐systems, parts, and individual components of battery electric vehicles and internal combustion engine vehicles. This tool allows to measure and compare impacts resulting from recycling technologies, end‐of‐life scenarios, and future scenarios resulting from changes in grid mixes. This paper explains the purpose of the tool, its functionality and design as well as the underlying assumptions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To facilitate decision‐making on optimal maintenance strategies for ageing traffic networks, a novel quantitative framework is presented. The framework comprises evaluation of the four KPI: reliability, safety for users and third parties, availability, and sustainability. The evolution of KPIs over time is subject to damaging processes and maintenance interventions. To characterize the impact of damaging processes and maintenance interventions, relevant performance indicators (PI) are selected that are used to estimate the key performance indicators (KPI). The native units of each KPI are normalized to a scale from 1‐5. Normalized KPI values are plotted on spider diagram for each time instance, rendering a 3D body with the volume which represents the network's quality over time, for considered maintenance strategies. The framework is aimed for medium to long‐term maintenance planning and can be further upgraded to account for risk & resilience analyses. The framework is implemented in a web‐based prototype to demonstrate its utilization in practice and future management systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bridges' integrity, safety and serviceability are fundamental targets that need to be ensured during the structural lifetime, owing to the crucial role that such infrastructure components play in modern communities. Recently, a particular attention is being paid to the management of bridges since many of them have reached the end of their expected service life. To this purpose, the Italian Ministry of Sustainable Mobility issued in 2020 the "Guidelines for risk classification and management, safety assessment and monitoring of bridges" that regulate visual inspections, risk assessment based on multilevel protocols and consequent monitoring and maintenance activities. In this context, structural health monitoring (SHM) systems play a fundamental role to guarantee safety and adequate performance levels. However, the synergy between visual inspections and SHM is yet to be fully understood and exploited. The main goal of this research work is to contribute to filling this gap by proposing a general probabilistic framework, based on Life‐Cycle Cost Analysis (LCCA), able to fuse information from SHM data and visual inspections, with the aim to plan over time short‐term and long‐term interventions and to optimize fund allocation by considering all the stored information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With increasing risks from natural hazards in alpine regions in Austria OEBB‐Infra and Hoffmann‐Consult have developed a consistent methodology for condition assessment, prediction, and life cycle optimization of protective structures. Based on a thorough assessment of the asset stock standardized life cycles for key structures like rockfall and avalanche protection structures have been derived. The developed life cycle models allow a generalized assessment of asset condition, residual service life, and remaining asset value. In contrast to typical transport assets, protective structures are both subject to natural aging processes and random events with a certain occurrence rate. Beyond standardized life cycles on network level an adjustment to project level is necessary to account for actual condition development and asset specific events. The paper provides an overview on the developed generic life cycle with application to rockfall protection structures with prices 2022 in Austria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To satisfy the sustainability criteria, a bridge design must be economically viable during its entire service life with a minimal impact on the environment. While stainless steel is known for its excellent life cycle performance, its high cost prevents it from being used in bridges to a larger extent. This study evaluates a new design solution that takes advantage of using corrugated web in bridge girders to overcome this issue. Three design concepts are evaluated for a three‐span case‐study bridge. These include a bridge with carbon steel flat web, stainless steel flat web, and stainless‐steel corrugated web girders. Each design is optimized using a genetic algorithm. The three optimal solutions are then evaluated in terms of investment costs, life cycle costs (LCC) and life cycle impact. The results show that the investment costs in a flat web girder bridge increase by 27% when stainless steel is used instead of C‐Mn (carbon) steel. However, this increase is only 10% when corrugated web girders are used. On the other hand, the LCC savings increase from 6% to 18% for corrugated web girders. Finally, the use of corrugated web in stainless steel leads to a reduction in the climate impacts of up to 32% compared to carbon steel for the studied bridge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Numerous bridges and viaducts built in Western Europe in the middle of the 20th century are now in service for more than 50 years. Aging and changes in societal demands result in a gradual decline of their technical and functional performance. This consequently forces responsible authorities to replace the obsolete infrastructure in the coming decades. Large‐scale renovation programs together with further development of the highway network require a lot of resources and make a significant environmental impact. The assumed design life of bridges affects structural solutions and the choice of materials. Therefore, there is an opportunity for more efficient use of resources and reduction of the environmental impact if the design life of new bridges is optimized with respect to life cycle costs and CO2 equivalent emissions. As multiple design life options exist for any bridge, it is essential to have a consistent approach capable of indicating the favorable option. Therefore, a procedure has been developed for comparison of various design life options based on lifecycle costs and lifecycle CO2 equivalent emissions. The procedure accounts for different traffic growth and traffic load development scenarios and it considers probabilities of these scenarios to happen in the future. This allows to assess the effect of uncertainty in functional parameters resulting in probabilistic lifecycle costs and emissions, which indicate a proper design life option. The procedure is applied to a large span steel bridge over a river. Two design life alternatives, namely 100 years and 200 years, are considered. This paper summarizes the results of this study and it offers a discussion on limitations and perspectives of the suggested procedure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Tall buildings located in Hong Kong can suffer great damage caused by typhoon hazards throughout their lifetimes. In addition, the effect of wind hazards may be exacerbated due to increases in the typhoon intensity and frequency caused by the climate change effect. Therefore, developing a framework to evaluate and quantify the damage caused by wind hazards on tall buildings from the economic perspective is critical for engineers and building owners in designing a cost‐effective tall building. In this study, an economic damage indicator, life‐cycle cost, is measured by using a probabilistic method called life‐cycle cost analysis (LCCA). Moreover, the building sector is one of the biggest contributors to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and the environmental impact that may be generated in intervention activities after wind‐induced damage occurs is analyzed. An environmental impact indicator, embodied carbon emission, is quantified by employing another probabilistic method called life‐cycle assessment (LCA). Therefore, an integrated methodology combining the LCCA and LCA is proposed to evaluate potential damage costs and environmental impact caused by typhoon hazards on tall buildings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new probabilistic framework is proposed for providing a distribution‐free prediction interval (PI) of seismic responses required for various earthquake engineering applications. The framework overcomes the limitation of point prediction models and avoids the complexity of traditional probabilistic methods. The framework utilizes a few assumptions of probability distributions and requires no prior assumed statistical distribution for the PI. Ensemble probabilistic deep learning models (DLMs) are used to provide quality‐driven PIs of seismic responses for low‐ to mid‐rise buildings with limited irregularity. Considering these systems and ground motions with the aid of Monte Carlo simulation and nonlinear time‐history analysis (NLTHA), huge datasets are generated for training. To have an insight into the probabilistic DLM, explainable artificial intelligence techniques are used. The superiority of the proposed framework in quantifying uncertainties is validated by comparison with the conventional Bayesian method. In addition, its applicability is investigated by providing bounds of seismic fragility curves, life cycle cost, and resilience index obtained by NLTHA for a benchmark case study model. The results showed that the proposed framework is robust and outperforms the conventional Bayesian method in uncertainty quantification for the considered dataset. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prolonged rapid growth, that is, the 'catching‐up' process through which countries close the gap to the development frontier, is known to be accompanied by high rates of household saving. This phenomenon is central in explaining the direction of international capital flows and trade imbalances in the past several decades, yet it is very much in contradiction to prevailing macroeconomic theory. This paper finds that a standard life‐cycle model, even when integrated with uncertainty about future growth and with credit constraints, is completely unable to replicate the relations between growth and saving, represented by three stylized facts gleaned from the empirical literature. However, adding utility from relative consumption to the model allows for the full replication of these relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: The life‐cycle cost‐oriented design philosophy is a promising tool for building resilient cities as it helps in gaining insights into the impact of hazard‐induced damage and repair of civil and infrastructure systems. In this study, a socioeconomic parameter‐independent practical formulation was introduced for life‐cycle cost analysis by combining the economic loss rate associated with different damage limit states and cloud analysis‐based probabilistic seismic demand model. A framework for life‐cycle cost analysis‐based seismic design optimization was proposed using an emerging nature‐inspired algorithm, namely, the multiobjective cuckoo search. By considering an eight‐story prototype composite frame, the framework was used to determine the trade‐off design alternatives between competing optimization objectives. Conventional and improved fiber models were developed to comparatively evaluate the influence of the slab spatial composite effect on Pareto optimal designs. The key drivers of change in three cost indicators were identified using generalized linear models. The result indicates that the overstrength factor is the critical design parameter affecting the initial construction, seismic damage, and life‐cycle costs, with statistical significance at the 0.001 level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Among heavy industrial sectors worldwide, the steel industry ranks first in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Technologies that produce direct reduced iron (DRI) enable the industry to reduce emissions or even approach net‐zero CO2 emissions for steel production. Herein, comprehensive cradle‐to‐gate (CTG) life cycle analysis (LCA) and techno‐economic analysis (TEA) are used to evaluate the CO2 emissions of three DRI technologies. Compared to the baseline of blast furnace and basic oxygen furnace (BF–BOF) technology for steel making, using natural gas (NG) to produce DRI has the potential to reduce CTG CO2 emissions by 33%. When 83% or 100% renewable H2 is used for DRI production, DRI technologies can potentially reduce CO2 emissions by 57% and 67%, respectively, compared to baseline BF–BOF technology. However, the renewable H2 application for DRI increases the levelized cost of steel (LCOS). When renewable natural gas (RNG) and clean electricity are used for steel production, the CTG CO2 emissions of all the DRI technologies can potentially be reduced by more than 90% compared to the baseline BF–BOF technology, although the LCOS depends largely on the cost of RNG and clean electricity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In situ remediation of nonaqueous phase liquid (NAPL)‐impacted sites is difficult and costly. Even with enhancements (e.g., chemical and thermal) and partial NAPL recovery, mass transfer constraints associated with partitioning from residual NAPL typically control the depletion rate of sources and attainment of cleanup goals. Practical methodologies are needed to support strategic evaluation, planning, and implementation of cost‐effective remedial approaches that are considered protective. A modeling system averaging over the NAPL‐impacted saturated soil volume was developed and demonstrated at the former Williams Air Force Base. The system combines upscaled, physically based mass transfer coefficients for multi‐component NAPL dissolution with theoretical enhancements specific to multiple remediation processes. Dissolution increases in the presence of aqueous phase reactions, according to first‐ or second‐order kinetics, by increasing concentration gradients. Slow biological processes are considered first order in modeling natural attenuation and enhanced biological degradation. Fast reactions associated with chemical oxidation are considered second order. These enhancement models are equally applicable to numerical simulations of NAPL remediation. Pump and treat enhances dissolution in proportion to increases in the characteristic velocity associated with dissolution. The demonstration yielded realistic predictions, with greater certainty, for outcomes from of multiple technologies intended to reduce remedial timeframes and life cycle costs. The enhanced dissolution modeling provides a site‐specific, quantitative assessment of changes in NAPL source discharge concentration and mass discharge over time for various remedial options that is equivalent to assessments from complex numerical transport models, given typical input data limitations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a techno‐economic analysis for a 3.75 kW biomass gasification power generation system (BMPGS) was conducted by exploiting available biomass resources such as rice husk, coconut shell, and rubber shell as feedstock. Payback time (PBT), net present value (NPV), and life cycle cost are the economic criteria that are delivered by an economic model for a BMPGS. Experimental results obtained on the technical parameters of a BMPGS, show that the rubber shell operated BMPGS has the highest overall efficiency (15.5%), maximum diesel savings (48%), and least biomass consumption (3.3 kg/h). Even though the capital cost of the producer gas driven dual fuel CI engine is higher than the standalone diesel genset power production system, it has the lowest running cost and cost savings per year, making it an excellent choice for power generation in remote locations. The rubber shell operated BMPGS system show a minimum PBT of 2.9 years which is desirable as the cost for installation of the proposed system can be regained within a short period of time. A positive NPV of Rs. 3,90,000 is attained for rubber shell, which clearly indicates in acceptance of rubber shell as biomass feedstock for BMPGS. The sensitivity analysis proves that the uncertainty in input parameters such as the cost of a biomass gasifier, dual fuel VCR engine, labor cost, and the cost of biomass feedstock influence the output parameters of the capital cost, operating cost, and PBT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electrolytes will play a central role in the development of next‐generation batteries with increased energy density and cycle life and reduced cost. While molecular designs can enable electrolytes with favorable properties like increased (electro)chemical stability, such properties can be manipulated additionally through the intermolecular interactions among species within the electrolyte. In this mini‐review, a number of intermolecular interactions in the electrolyte that can give rise to significant enhancement in battery functions are highlighted. The critical role of reactant and product solubility is shown in battery reactions, where increasing solubility can enable a dissolution–precipitation reaction pathway, decrease overpotential, and increase capacity. Through the intermolecular interactions among solvent, additives, and ions, the reactivity of electrolyte species can be altered significantly by either enhancing solvent (electro)chemical stability or facilitating water deprotonation in Li–O2 reactions. It is shown that incorporating redox active species in the electrolyte can reduce the reaction overpotential and enhance cycle life. Moreover, intermolecular interactions that can increase the ionic conductivity and transference number of electrolytes are identified. Finally, future opportunities are highlighted to exploit these intermolecular interactions to gain unprecedented molecular control over the electrolyte and enable next‐generation batteries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The application potential of aluminium conductor composite core (ACCC) conductors in the 1000‐kV power transmission line project deserves to be investigated. Its economic evaluation is a contentious issue. This paper proposes a method for selecting the type of conductors based on the life cycle cost (LCC) of a transmission line, which includes the initial investments, operation costs, maintenance costs, failure costs, and discard costs. The mathematical model of electromagnetic loss differs due to the various operational circumstances surrounding a transmission line; therefore, a novel three‐dimensional electromagnetic–fluid–thermal coupling model based on the finite element method (FEM) was proposed. The simulation error of ACCC and aluminium conductor steel reinforced (ACSR) conductors is 2.56% and 0.5%, respectively, compared to the experimental value. Subsequently, the LCC model is applied in the economic analysis of a 1000‐kV transmission line, and the costs of ACCC conductors and ACSR conductors under different annual power load utilization hours are calculated. The results indicate that the overhead power transmission line with ACCC conductors saves at least 2 × 106 ¥/km compared with ACSR when annual utilization hours reach 3500 h; meanwhile, energy saving benefits are achieved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Small drinking water systems in the United States often suffer from repeated Safe Drinking Water Act water quality violations that necessitate upgrades to the existing centralized systems to achieve compliance. Community water systems (CWSs) need to evaluate the tradeoffs between public health, environmental and economic impacts when choosing these system improvements. This study developed the input and output components of a triple‐bottom‐line methodology to compare two alternatives: (1) installing a centralized treatment upgrade or (2) a point‐of‐use/point‐of‐entry device over a 30‐year period, using a health exposure assessment specific contaminants, life cycle analysis of environmental impacts improvement, and life cycle costing to account for the useful life of components and the number of households served by a CWS. We present recommendations and considerations for future usage of the triple‐bottom‐line approach methodology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For processes using auxiliaries, the selection of the process fluid should not be separated from the process design. To solve the simultaneous process and fluid optimization problem for industrial applications, a flowsheet simulator is required. The implementation of the two‐stage CoMT‐CAMD approach in CHEMASIM, the in‐house flowsheet simulator of BASF SE, allows for large process topologies with a large variety of unit operation models to be modeled, while sustainability criteria like cost and life cycle assessment (LCA) objectives, are directly accessible and can be solved with single or multicriteria optimization methods. The modifications required for the implementation and the user interface designed for this purpose are presented here. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In today's world, where the need for construction projects is increasing from time to time, especially in developing countries such as Ethiopia, sustainability issues and principles were not exercised by construction professionals during the material selection process. At the initial stage, the designer considers materials he/she is familiar with. However, their assumption may not work because the structure that is going to be developed may be different from the previous one. Thus, the designer shall consider sustainability issues during the design period. This article will guide construction stakeholders in the selection of sustainable building materials, specifically masonry materials in the Ethiopian construction industry. The research was carried out in the Addis Ababa Lideta subcity, to identify sustainable building materials for masonry work. The selection process is not depending on a single factor rather it depends on multifactors. The identification was carried out through exploring factors affecting the selection of sustainable building materials for masonry work. The weights of identified factors were determined by pairwise comparison among the factors under consideration. The research is of the empirical type which uses mathematical formula, matrix concept, and analytical hierarchy process (AHP) as a model. In this method, pairwise comparisons were made among the criteria and subcriteria so that the weights of the criteria or subcriteria/or alternative on the bases of the indicated criteria were computed. Then, prioritization was made on the bases of the weight of the criteria. Finally, an alternative with a high score shall be selected. The article identifies the major factor affecting the selection of sustainable building materials for masonry work as social benefit, performance capability, sustainability of the material to reduce environmental impact, waste minimization, resource efficiency, and life cycle cost of the material. Under each criterion, there are number of subcriteria contributed to them. On the basis of the above criteria, 4 alternatives (stone, brick, CEB, and cement block) were proposed from which compressed Earth block (CEB) was selected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Miniaturizing plastic recycling through distributed systems has been viewed as a way to manage waste closer to the source while minimizing logistics requirements. The environmental performance of distributed manufacturing and waste management systems has been evaluated, but few studies have measured the financial performance. This study combines life cycle costing and hybrid simulation modeling to compare the net present value of small-scale distributed versus large-scale centralized systems of sorting and recycling plastic bottles and takeaway containers disposed in Singapore over 7 years. The results showed that distributed systems face a net financial loss at existing prices of SGD80-120/tonne recycled pellets. This is because of the high operation costs, particularly the labor costs due to the reliance on manual sorting. Despite being closer to the waste sources, distributed scenarios have higher fuel costs due to the poorer fuel efficiency of commercial vans compared to the larger trucks in the centralized scenarios. To improve the financial performance of distributed small-scale plastic recycling systems, it is generally recommended that small-scale sorting facilities reduce the reliance on manual labor; the smaller trucks should have higher fuel economies than conventional large waste hauling trucks; the number of small-scale facilities set up should match the amount of waste to be converted; and the price of the recycled pellets should be high enough to recover the high operating costs of recycling. The findings of this study provide motivation for future research in evaluating the financial performance of distributed recycling of other waste streams. This article met the requirements for a gold-gold data badge JIE data openness badge described at. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Building integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) is progressively achieving an advanced level of technical maturity and considerable market penetration. In the last kilometre for considerable market implementation, major challenges are today mostly related to improving cost‐effectiveness and product reliability. BIPV multifunctional products are still framed in complex and sometimes unclear qualification processes, in the grey area between electrotechnical and construction sectors, impacting commercialization and users' confidence. The EN 50583 part 1 and part 2 standards today represent the main regulatory framework in Europe for BIPV. However, acts in force for product certification, in the construction and electrical sectors, in most national and local contexts are not yet harmonized for BIPV and imply wide margins of interpretation. The product's qualification in the EU is therefore based on electrical standards for photovoltaics modules or, on the other hand, on standards for construction products. To overcome some of these barriers and challenges, the authors propose a newly developed procedure for testing the impact resistance of BIPV products, introducing a performance‐based approach with the goal of combining building and electrical‐related limit states and responding to the need for a harmonized assessment to ensure the product's safety in use. The methodology and preliminary findings resulting from the application of real test cases, taking also into account the effect of temperature, are presented and analysed. As a result, it is envisaged that the implementation will help operators and prospective normative upgrades, ensuring more outstanding product quality for BIPV's market and driving towards a drop in life cycle costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the impacts of climate change become more severe throughout the global oceans, fisheries managers will be increasingly challenged to rebuild stocks exhibiting declining productivity. In such cases, detailed knowledge of species life history will be necessary to both restrict harvest and manage other environmental conditions, where possible, that impact survivorship. A current example of these challenges, the Southern New England/Mid‐Atlantic Bight winter flounder stock remains in a persistently depleted state due to a combination of past harvest and the effects of climate change mediated through increased predation. To explore the recovery capacity of a subpopulation of this stock, a life‐cycle model was fit to 29 year classes of stage‐specific winter flounder data from surveys conducted in Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island and used to project future subpopulation abundance. Supporting a prevailing hypothesis, the results indicated that environmental factors influencing juvenile mortality were largely responsible for inhibiting recovery. Furthermore, recovery of the subpopulation to past levels of abundance was determined to be unlikely even under optimistic future conditions resulting from aggressive management interventions. Taken together, the findings of this work pose important questions regarding the realism of assessing climate‐challenged populations against biological reference points set under past environmental regimes and the degree to which harvest restrictions to promote recovery of such stocks should be allowed to limit warm‐water fisheries thriving in a warming ocean. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This interpretive study derives a conceptual framework explaining how Indian women experience a loss of self through the transformational event of marriage. The self‐discrepancy of losing one's self motivates these women to renegotiate their sense of self through consumption. Data were collected through 76 in‐depth interviews analyzed by a constant comparative method and grounded theory. Our research question is to what degree and in what ways do women in India experience a loss of self upon marriage and, if they do, through what consumer practices (if any) do they attempt to compensate for this feeling of loss? Analysis revealed three common stages in Indian women's married life (1) marriage as a life transitional event inducing liminality (2) loss of Self: dissonance (3) compensatory consumption as a response to dissonance. Our research contributes to life cycle theory by focusing on liminal transitions. We find that self is a possession that women can lose after marriage in India. Based on these findings we argue that understandings of identity and life cycle must be amended to consider self‐discrepancy and coping processes. We develop a model of consumption that results from a perceived loss of self. This is all part of a process of self‐identity reconstruction. We also expand psychological ownership theory to include ownership of self. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The circular economy concept resonates as a new approach to optimize limited resource usage and reduce waste generation. However, the most solar PV power plant analyses do not consider the sustainable disposal of used systems at the end of life (EoL) or at the time for potential refurbishment. The 50 MWp Burnoye‐1 solar power plant in the Jambyl region in Kazakhstan was modeled using the RETScreen Expert platform to determine how the circular economy concept may increase its environmental benefits and impact the levelized cost of produced electricity. Results proved that recycling Burnoye‐1's photovoltaic panels at EoL would increase the project's Net Present profit by almost 0.373 million USD, marginally raising its Benefit–cost and internal rate of return (IRR) on equity by much less than 1% each, with respect to the non‐recycling baseline. However, a significant impact on the 25‐year lifetime GHG emissions is achieved when PV recycling is considered. Recycling the PV panels in Burnoye‐1 at the EoL would add an extra 76.5 ktCO2e emissions reduction, representing an increase of 8.7% in its avoided lifetime GHG emissions. Furthermore, PV recycling may generate local jobs benefitting the neighboring communities. Thus, this study demonstrates that the circular economy approach is viable in Kazakhstan and will help the country meet its goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2060. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document provides a summary of four articles featured in the journal Pediatric Anesthesia. The first article discusses the balance between necessary difficulties in medical training and the risk of personal and professional fulfillment being compromised. The second article reviews the evidence behind the choice between reusable and single-use laryngoscope blades and handles, addressing convenience, cost, regulatory decisions, and environmental concerns. The third article presents a systematic review and meta-analysis of apneic oxygenation during pediatric tracheal intubation, exploring its effectiveness in securing an airway. The fourth article examines well-being parameters and the intention to leave current institutions among academic physicians, highlighting the need for institutional-level change to combat burnout and preserve the workforce. [Extracted from the article]

Summary: A cheap biochar‐based metal catalyst, Cu/C was prepared by employing a facile pyrolysis method and using the waste biomass resource of rice straw as C source, and was used in the transesterification reaction of soybean oil to prepare biodiesel. With the addition of copper nitrate and with a pyrolysis temperature of 400°C for the biomass precursor, the as‐synthesized Cu/C‐400 catalyst with a loading amount of 6 wt% in the reaction dispersion results in a biodiesel yield of 88.5% ± 1.8%. The Cu/C‐400 catalyst still maintains a high activity with a biodiesel yield of 79.4% ± 1.2% after four cycles. The economic analysis about Cu/C‐400 catalyzed production of 1 t biodiesel is carried out by using the life cycle cost (LCC) method, indicating that the cost of 1 t soybean biodiesel is about 7727.8 RMB. In particular, the catalyst cost is only 5.6% of the total cost, indicating the low cost of the synthesized catalyst. Finally, the sensitivity analysis reveals that an appropriate increase in catalyst loading amount can improve the biodiesel yield, but lead to an increase in the total cost of biodiesel, and therefore reasonable control of catalyst loading amount is necessary. This work will inspire the further development and application of biochar‐based metal catalyst in biodiesel production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article shows that while there is rich literature on the cost‐effectiveness of wastewater treatment systems, little analysis exists on their economic viability that goes beyond direct benefits and costs to include externalities, which is very crucial for developing countries like India. This article first presents the results of life cycle cost assessment of various wastewater treatment technologies used in India. The article then shows that the direct benefits from treated wastewater are unlikely to be high in most situations due to lack of orientation towards the demand. It argues that for sustainable investments in wastewater treatment, the indirect benefits including public health benefits due to protection of drinking water sources, environmental benefits due to maintenance of aquatic life and improvement of soil health, which are determined by the socio‐economic and ecological conditions that vary across regions, should also be considered and quantified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A robust assessment of the American eel (Anguilla rostrata) stock, required to guide conservation efforts, is challenged by the species' vast range, high variability in demographic parameters and data inadequacies. Novel ideas and underutilised resources that may assist both analytic assessments and spatially oriented modelling include (1) species and environmental databases; (2) mining of data from scattered sources; (3) infilling of data gaps by spatial analysis; (4) age estimation from measurements of DNA methylation; evaluation of eel abundance by (5) larval, (6) glass‐bottom boat, (7) net enclosure and (8) eDNA surveys; (9) accounting for dam‐induced habitat increases in eel watercourse modelling; (10) spatially oriented modelling with and without temporal components; (11) geographically nested modelling of glass eel recruitment; (12) spawner per recruit modelling and (13) life cycle modelling to examine larval allocation effects. Eel biologists are too few to gather the required assessment data across all of the species' range. Public posting of electrofishing and eDNA metabarcoding data sets and the use of machine learning techniques to comprehensively inventory small dams will help meet some data needs. These approaches address only a small proportion of the assessment challenges that face American eels. Worldwide collaboration amongst Anguilla scientists is a key enabler of progress towards stock assessment goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low‐impact development (LID) technology for stormwater control has a number of forms, some of which relate to managed aquifer recharge to provide adequate safe water to communities. Stormwater collected through LID for managed aquifer recharge shifts water quantity and quality effects from surface waters to groundwater. Factors affecting quantity and quality of recharge influence and are influenced by state/local land development policy, state/local groundwater policy, regulation and codes and climate change effects, as well as pretreatment requirements. Groundwater quality effects of untreated stormwater infiltration by LID in a range of hydrogeologic settings are not well understood. Site selection for LID will include hydrogeologic considerations, onsite footprint and construction factors. Cost of the technology has a wide range of typically low‐cost options. Lessons learned include: matching technology to hydrogeologic setting; state/local policy should serve to avoid hydraulic and pollutant effects, particularly high water impacts; representative groundwater monitoring adds safeguard to water supply; and LID systems designs should consider life cycle costing including vulnerable geology, not just low installation cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]