Introduction
Pulverised Fuel Ash (PFA) is a fine powdered waste product from electricity generation in coal-fired power stations, which has a range of uses associated with both technical and environmental benefits (Carroll, 2013). A main one been that it can be applied as an alternative to primary aggregates, for example in road construction and in building materials. Trace elements in PFA have the potential to be leached into the environment in varying amounts upon contact of the solid with water (Izquierdo & Querol, 2012). This potential for pollution of the aqueous environment is a cause for concern at higher concentrations than background levels, which could potentially impact human or environmental health.
PFA is controlled under the Waste Framework Directive (WFD), which aims to transform the EU into a recycling society based on the waste hierarchy (EUCommission, 2014b), with a target of 70% recovery of construction and demolition wastes for 2020 (DEFRA, 2011). The WFD offers the opportunity to remove wastes from control if they can be both safely and beneficially used. Unfortunately, uncertainty surrounds the process of defining when waste ceases to be waste and is fully recovered due to the fact that the definition is not clear within the EU documentation (EUParliment & EUCouncil, 2008; WRAP & EA, 2010). This has inhibited the development of beneficial materials from waste alongside uncertainty of long-term leaching behaviour in the environment (Vandecasteele & van der Sloot, 2011) and is a significant barrier to its use and handling in the UK. Due to these issues, the additional disciplinary perspective that will be used to analyse the EngD project’s contribution to resilience and sustainability in this essay will be th...
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As racial unrest continues, the barbaric behavior of law enforcement officers, long feared by civil rights leaders is now a reality. Thus, guns have become instruments of death and devastation, in cities across the U.S. Case in point: The March 18 murder of Stephon Clark, a 22-year-old Black man shot by Sacramento police officers in his grandparents’ backyard.
Coal Combustion Residue, or coal sludge, is the byproduct of burning coal in order to make energy. It is a combination of fly ash, bottom ash, coal slag, and flue gas. According to the watchdog group “sourcewatch.org” the ...
Mining not only has an impact on the environment, but also on the inhabitants. Mining in the Canadian Shield mining is one of the main sources of human and economic activities, but in the process, can cause great harm as well . Some of the effects of open pit mining are topographic modifications, soil changes, surface water quality changes, groundwater quality changes, air quality changes, chemical residues, land Subsidence, cultural factors, including: aesthetic, noise, and visual effects, flora and fauna alterations, land use modifications and economic costs. The problems associated with in situ mining are many. The leaching liquid used for in-situ leaching may contain the leaching agent ammonium carbonate or sulfuric acid. The advantages of this technology are the reduced hazards for the employees from accidents, dust, and radiation, the low cost and no need for large uranium mill tailings deposits. The disadvantages of the in situ leaching technology are the risk of spreading of leaching liquid outside of the uranium deposit, involving subsequent groundwater contamination, the unpredictable impact of the leaching liquid on the rock of the deposit and the impossibility of restoring natural groundwater conditions after completion of the leaching operations. Moreover, in-situ leaching releases considerable amounts of radon, and produces certain amounts of waste slurries and waste water during recovery of the uranium
Florida International University recognizes its contribution to the accumulation of waste considering that it produces about seven million pounds of waste each year (Figueroa, 2010). Unlike other universities that still remain adamant in investing on green practices, FIU has, “governed by the State of Florida under Florida Statute 403.714 and The Florida Solid Waste Management Act of 1988” (FIU, 2011), established its own internal ‘green machine’ or solid waste and environmental protection system via the FIU Custodial Services Office. The university’s efforts in ensuring efficient solid waste management even “far exceeds the minimum standards” (FIU, 2011) required by law. What makes the solid waste management efforts of the university one-of-a kind is the establishment of a “single stream recycling program which means that all recyclable items can be placed into one bin and do not have to be sorted” (FIU, 2011). Nevertheless, despite the use of single recycle bins, proper labeling has to accompany each bin to ensure that only materials that are recyclable are placed in the bins. There are also different sized of bins which are placed stra...
Coal is one of the world’s most abundant fossil fuels. Coal was formed during the Carboniferous Period when dead plant material was buried and subjected to high pressure and heat. Coal is classified by moisture content and composition. There are four d...
The scope of the sustainable development is conceptually divided into three parts: environmental, economic and social; each of these pillars must be on an equal stage, promoting a model of growth without exclusion (social), equitable (economic) and safeguard natural (environmental) resources (MIT Press Journals, 2017). Considering the words mention above, an interesting approach we could focus on is the way the industry uses the materials to develop projects.
Coal has a very negative impact on the environment, one of the main impacts on the environment is the actual process of extracting the coal from the ground. The two ways that coal is mined, underground and surface, both have different effects on the environment. The first way that coal is mined is by digging tunnels and creating mineshafts underground and then removing the coal from th...
Contamination of Water and Air. Urbanization enhances the proliferation of industries, automobiles, and agricultural practices. Most toxic air contaminants are produced as we endeavor to fuel our homes, automobiles, factories, energy production facilities, and might also be discovered in indoor cleansing mixtures, and construction supplies. Furthermore pollutants found in gasoline, dry cleaning services, and paint thinners and strippers; som...
The future for these products is also quite often over looked. The components are not made to be detachable, so the different materials cannot be recycled correctly or recycled at all, which leads to landfills and pollution. Every material, from wood to steel to carbon fibre has an environmental story behind it and these can all be reused, however there is quite often not enough thought into this design aspect. These components are not labelled correctly for recycling and the result is a scarred landscape. However recycling these days has now turned into a way of life for us. Bins are now everywhere marked with the unmistakeable ‘three-green-arrow’ (another remarkable graphic design – now playing a huge role in the way we live), which lets members of the public kn...
Sustainable concrete materials and sustainable steel reinforcement have been introduced to civil engineers to get closer to the sustainable development. Sustainable buildings constructed with use of these materials have shown an increased service life and the final cost has been reduced due to them.
Sustainable buildings are becoming somewhat of a necessity in the world today. As the demand for green building develops, so does the demand for green building materials. Just as the old techniques and building materials seem to disappear in the assembly of things, they are now making a come back. Green building focuses on the efficiency of major resources like water and energy. As the cost for sustainable materials and products are on the decline, building green seems to be the most cost effective kind of design and construction. Looking specifically at green materials and their impact on the production of structures, it is evident that they are a prime choice for building material. The use of green materials should be promoted because they are better for the environment, more healthful for the consumer, and better for the economy.
Buildings consume a variety of materials in their construction. Green design reduces the dependence on resource intensive products and materials. Today, there are an increasing number of products available made from efficient, earth-friendly, or recycled materials. In a green building, consideration is also given to the construction process itself. Materials that minimize waste or can be recycled, help contribute to an efficient and environmentally sensitive construction process.
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...es site requires detailed planning by the agencies of the country, such as the Department of Energy in the US. The long-term isolation of the high level waste is usually done in rural areas and it is suggested that planning, construction and operations of repositories would result in significant socio-economic effect(Finsterbausch 1980).The economic and social cost outweigh the social and economic benefits.
There are also several long term benefits of recycling. For example, “collecting and processing secondary materials, manufacturing recy...