333.7 Natürliche Ressourcen, Energie und Umwelt
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Concrete is significant for construction. A problem in application is the appearance of cracks that will damage its strength. An autogenous crack-healing mechanism based on bacteria receives increasing attention in recent years. The bacteria are able to form calcium carbonate (CaCO3) precipitations in suitable conditions to protect and reinforce the concrete. However, a large number of spores are crushed in aged specimens, resulting in a loss of viability. A new kind of hydrogel crosslinked by alginate, chitosan and calcium ions was introduced in this study. It was observed that the addition of chitosan improved the swelling properties of calcium alginate. Opposite pH response to calcium alginate was observed when the chitosan content in the solution reached 1.0%. With an addition of 1.0% chitosan in hydrogel beads, 10.28% increase of compressive strength and 13.79% increase of flexural strength to the control were observed. The results reveal self-healing properties of concretes. A healing crack of 4 cm length and 1 mm width was observed when using cement PO325, with the addition of bacterial spores (2.54–3.07 × 105/cm3 concrete) encapsulated by hydrogel containing no chitosan.
Papermaking waste liquid (black liquor) is a serious source of water pollution worldwide. The subsequent treatment of it is very difficult cause it contains a large amount of lignin, inorganic salts, organic matter, and pigments, which lead to serious water pollution. Lignin is the main by-product of the paper industry and is the only natural aromatic recyclable resource. Its effective utilization rate is currently less than 3%. Therefore, how to effectively recycle lignin in papermaking waste liquid and further synthesize industrialized products is of great significance to the sustainable development and environmental protection. Besides, based on the shortage of petroleum resources in recent years, the application of biomass resources instead of petroleum resources in the industry is also an important issue. In this article, we explored the best optimal conditions for the oxypropylation and esterification of lignin, and prepared bio-bitumen based on modified lignin, and then applied it to the waterproof coating sheets. FTIR and mechanical properties (softening point, low-temperature flexibility, peel strength, etc.) were tested on the obtained waterproof coating sheets. The results show that the addition of modified lignin reduced the softening point and peel strength of the coating sheets. Interestingly, both oxypropylated lignin (OL) and esterified lignin (OEL) were very beneficial to resist the decrease in peel strength during the aging process, showing a significant improvement in the performance of the coating sheets after aging compared to the control.
This paper aims at presenting a solution that enables end customers of the energy system to participate in new local micro-energy-markets by providing them with a distributed, decentralized, transparent and secure Peer to Peer (P2P) payment system, which functions automatically applying new concepts of Machine to Machine (M2M) communication technologies. This work was performed within the German project VK_2G, funded by the DBU. The key results were: Providing means to perform microtransactions in a P2P fashion between end consumers and prosumers in local communities at low cost in a transparent and secure manner; Developing a platform with pre-defined smart contracts able to be tailored to different end customers ‘needs in an easy way and; Integrating both the market platform as well as the local control of generation and loads. This solution has been developed, integrated and tested in a laboratory prototype. This paper discusses this solution and presents the results of the first test.
This paper presents a novel emulation concept for the test of smart contracts and Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLT) in distribute control or energy economy tasks and use cases. The concept uses state of the art behavioral modeling tools such as Matlab Simulink but presents a possible way to solve the shortfall of Simulink in communicating to DLT-Nodes directly. This is solved through a middleware solution. After this, an example used in verifying the test bed is presented and the target demonstration object is described. Finally, the possible expansion of the system is discussed and presented.
This article studies the renewed interest surrounding sustainable public finance and the topic of tax evasion as well as the new theory of information inattention. Extending a model of tax evasion with the notion of inattention reveals novel findings about policy instruments that can be used to mitigate tax evasion. We show that the attention parameters regarding tax rates, financial penalty schemes and income levels are as important as the level of the detection probability and the financial penalty incurred. Thus, our theory recommends the enhancement of sustainability in public policy, particularly in tax policy. Consequently, the paper contributes both to the academic and public policy debate.
This paper explores why and how dominant international social standards used in the fashion industry are prone to implementation failures. A qualitative multiple-case study method was conducted, using purposive sampling to select 13 apparel supply chain actors. Data were collected through on-site semi-structured face-to-face interviews. The findings of the study are interpreted by using core tenets of agency theory. The case study findings clearly highlight why and how multi-tier apparel supply chains fail to implement social standards effectively. As a consequence of substantial goal conflicts and information asymmetries, sourcing agents and suppliers are driven to perform opportunistic behaviors in form of hidden characteristics, hidden intentions, and hidden actions, which significantly harm social standards. Fashion retailers need to empower their corporate social responsibility (CSR) departments by awarding an integrative role to sourcing decisions. Moreover, accurate calculation of orders, risk sharing, cost sharing, price premiums, and especially guaranteed order continuity for social compliance are critical to reduce opportunistic behaviors upstream of the supply chain. The development of social standards is highly suggested, e.g., by including novel metrics such as the assessment of buying practices or the evaluation of capacity planning at factories and the strict inclusion of subcontractors’ social performances. This paper presents evidence from multiple Vietnamese and Indonesian cases involving sourcing agents as well as Tier 1 and Tier 2 suppliers on a highly sensitive topic. With the development of the conceptual framework and the formulation of seven related novel propositions, this paper unveils the ineffectiveness of social standards, offers guidance for practitioners, and contributes to the neglected social dimension in sustainable supply chain management research and accountability literature.
Already more than 75 countries pledged to become climate neutral by 2050 and the share of global emissions falling into an emission pricing scheme has steeply increased over the past two years. Even where there are no direct implications for industry (yet), there is a series of subtle pressure points driving an increasing number of companies across the globe to work towards climate neutrality and pledging ambitious carbon reduction goals.
This article sheds light on what the pressure points are, what the subtle triggers and what the underlying considerations, as well as hoped-for benefits of industrial companies to achieve decarbonisation. The observations and ideas presented in this paper are derived from quantitative and qualitative data. The quantitative data was collected within the framework of Energy Efficiency Index of German Industry (EEI). The qualitative data has been collected from interviews in industrial organisations and media documents as well as from professional practice.
Not only societal, work force, supply chain and investor expectations play a large role, but also many strategic considerations which have the potential to make the business more resilient and profitable. Those companies that do not move towards decarbonisation on the other hand may face a costly late mover disadvantage.
This piece uncovers subtle interconnections helping stakeholders from industry and beyond to grasp opportunities and challenges ahead. Taking account of these calls for rethinking economic viability calculations and investment decision making. Doing so may subsequently lead to on-site carbon reduction measures being prioritised to decarbonise effectively.
Sustainable technologies are being increasingly used in various areas of human life. While they have a multitude of benefits, they are especially useful in health monitoring, especially for certain groups of people, such as the elderly. However, there are still several issues that need to be addressed before its use becomes widespread. This work aims to clarify the aspects that are of great importance for increasing the acceptance of the use of this type of technology in the elderly. In addition, we aim to clarify whether the technologies that are already available are able to ensure acceptable accuracy and whether they could replace some of the manual approaches that are currently being used. A two-week study with people 65 years of age and over was conducted to address the questions posed here, and the results were evaluated. It was demonstrated that simplicity of use and automatic functioning play a crucial role. It was also concluded that technology cannot yet completely replace traditional methods such as questionnaires in some areas. Although the technologies that were tested were classified as being “easy to use”, the elderly population in the current study indicated that they were not sure that they would use these technologies regularly in the long term because the added value is not always clear, among other issues. Therefore, awareness-raising must take place in parallel with the development of technologies and services.
Business opportunities for energy providers to utilize flexible industrial demand are platform-based, connecting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to a virtual power plant (VPP) in complex ecosystems. Unlike in other VPPs, the focus is on participation, data, and control sovereignty for the SMEs. An exemplary application for an existing cement mill demonstrates positive margins. Viable VPP business models for small and medium-sized utilities include the “orchestrator,” i.e., adding value by linking services of specialized providers, the “integrator,” i.e., incorporating internal and external processes and resources, as well as the “white label user,” i.e., using a turn-key VPP from an exclusive cooperation partner.
Many scientific reports have warned about the catastrophic consequences of unchecked climate change, with the latest international report calling for emissions of climate pollutants to reach net zero by around 2050 (IPCC, 2018). Limiting warming to 1.5°C could save more than 100 million people from water shortages, as many as 2 billion people from dangerous heatwaves, and the majority of species from climate change extinction risks (IPCC, 2018; Warren et al., 2018). The actions taken to achieve these climate outcomes would generate benefits of more than $20 trillion while easing global economic inequality (Burke et al., 2018). Scientists make it clear that it is physically possible to meet these goals using today’s technologies (Holz et al., 2018). Yet emissions of climate pollutants continue to grow, reaching a new record high in 2018 (Jackson et al., 2018). Clearly, scientific evidence has failed to spark needed climate action. The question now is: what can?