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At least 145 records · Page 8

Challenges in Tracking Waste Reduction Performance Improvement in Manufacturing Plants

The recently released Circularity Gap Report 2023 by Circle Economy Foundation found that the circularity score for the global economy is declining. This indicates that material extraction from virgin sources is climbing over earlier years. As per data released by US Geological Survey, material use in the US economy has increased exponentially with the expanding US economy over last century. EPA tracked municipal solid waste from 1960 to 2018 and found that 50% of the waste is destined for landfills. EPA estimates that US industry is responsible for 2.7 billion ton of solid non-hazardous waste annually in our mostly linear economy model. The circular economy framework aims at decoupling economic value generation from virgin materials extraction from nature. The linear model of material extraction and disposal at end of life is highly unsustainable. Manufacturing companies have realized this and in their commitments to sustainability are adopting ambitious waste reduction targets. Through Better Plants program US Department of Energy has established Waste Reduction Network where it is offering technical assistance to partners to achieve these ambitious waste reduction goals. Basic requirements of establishing a target include identifying a baseline, quantifying waste performance, and measuring progress over time. One problem faced by industry is the unstandardized metrics to quantify waste performance that may not be well suited to demonstrate progress. In this paper, we research methods traditionally used to measure waste performance and highlight advantages, gaps and limitations of each method. Suitability of the methods applicable to different manufacturing circumstances are also examined. Finally, we present a case study of a large manufacturer that faced inconsistencies in their tracked measurement metric. A solution was proposed to alter the methodology to enable more accurate waste performance tracking against a baseline.

Chaudhari, Subodh↗

Skylab/EREP application to ecological, geological, and oceanographic investigations of Delaware Bay

Skylab/EREP S190A and S190B film products were optically enhanced and visually interpreted to extract data suitable for; (1) mapping coastal land use; (2) inventorying wetlands vegetation; (3) monitoring tidal conditions; (4) observing suspended sediment patterns; (5) charting surface currents; (6) locating coastal fronts and water mass boundaries; (7) monitoring industrial and municipal waste dumps in the ocean; (8) determining the size and flow direction of river, bay and man-made discharge plumes; and (9) observing ship traffic. Film products were visually analyzed to identify and map ten land-use and vegetation categories at a scale of 1:125,000. Digital tapes from the multispectral scanner were used to prepare thematic maps of land use. Classification accuracies obtained by comparison of derived thematic maps of land-use with USGS-CARETS land-use maps in southern Delaware ranged from 44 percent to 100 percent.

Klemas, V.↗

New Technology for the Fire Attire

Although little can be done to reduce the risks of firefighting, something can be done to curb the injuries and fatalities. This is the goal of Project FIRES, a program jointly sponsored by NASA and the Federal Emergency Management Agency's U.S. Fire Administration with technical management provided by Marshall Space Flight Center. Project FIRES (Firefighter's Integrated Response Equipment System) involves applications of advanced materials and design concepts, derived from Apollo to update existing gear which does not adequately protect against many of the hazards encountered in fire suppression activities. A major focus of the effort involves application to the FIRES ensemble of lightweight, fire-resistant, heat-protective materials originally developed for use in astronauts' space suits or in spacecraft components which require thermal protection. Data from the fourteen municipal fire departments participating in the field evaluation will form a basis for development of new nationwide protective ensemble students.

Source record↗

BETO 2021 Peer Review - Waste Carbon Gas Upgrading via Acetogens 2.3.2.106

Waste carbon gas represents a large and diverse set of feedstocks that could be captured and turned into useful products. This includes waste gas emitted from industrial activity, syngas from burned plant biomass or processed municipal waste, and electrochemical reduction of CO2. Currently, carbon gas is being microbially converted to ethanol as a main product. However, ethanol is a lower value product with a limited market size. While these microbes can make other higher value products, there are no commercial processes for generating these other products, leaving a gap in understanding potential implementation for commercialization. Expanding the products microbially produced from waste carbon gas requires several steps before commercial implementation. We are studying the acetogen Clostridium ljungdahlii as a biocatalyst to convert waste carbon gas to the chemical 3-hydroxybutyrate (3HB), a plastic monomer and fuel precursor. For that, we are studying and engineering microbial characteristics for novel 3HB product formation from waste gas streams. This includes metabolic characterization, genetic engineering, gas fermentation scaling, as well as technoeconomic and life cycle analysis.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

Community Planning for Solar: Conducting a Solar Resource and Infrastructure Assessment

This guide describes how to conduct a Solar Resource and Infrastructure Assessment. The guide is designed to assist community officials, volunteers, and regional planning agency staff in conducting a preliminary assessment for a municipality, community, or other jurisdiction, based primarily on a desktop analysis of existing documents and data. The guide provides a process that can be used to inventory and describe existing infrastructure, community needs, and resources from the perspective of solar development planning.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

HarDWR - Raw Water Rights Records

A dataset within the Harmonized Database of Western U.S. Water Rights (HarDWR). For a detailed description of the database, please see the meta-record v2.0. Changelog v2.0 - Switched source data from collecting records from each state independently to using the WestDAAT dataset v1.0 - Initial public release Description In order to hold a water right in the western United States, an entity, (e.g., an individual, corporation, municipality, sovereign government, or non-profit) must register a physical document with the state's water regulatory agency. State water agencies each maintain their own database containing all registered water right documents within the state, along with relevant metadata such as the point of diversion and place of use of the water. All western U.S. states have digitized their individual water rights databases, as well as geospatial data defining the areas in which water rights are managed. Each state maintains and provides their own water rights data in accordance with individual state regulations and standards. In addition, while all states make their water rights publicly available, each provides their records in unique formats, meaning that file types, field availability, and terms vary from state to state. This leads to additional challenges to managing resources which cross state lines, or conducting consistent multi-state water analyses. For the first version of HarDWR, we collected the water rights databases from 11 Western States of the United States. In order to preform regional analyses with the collected data, the raw records had to be harmonized into one single format. The Water Data Exchange (WaDE) is a program dedicated to the sharing of water-related data for the Western U.S. in a singular consistent format. Created by the Western States Water Council (WSWC) to facilitate the collection and dissemination of water data among WSWC's member states and the public, WaDE provides an important service for those interested in water resource planning and management in their focus region. Of the services which WaDE provides, the one of the most interesting is the WestDAAT dataset, which is a collection of water rights data provided by the 18 WSWC member states that have been standardized into a single format, much like we had done on a more limited scale with HarDWR v1. For this version of HarDWR we decided to use WestDAAT, specifically a snapshot created in Feburary 2024, as our water rights source data. A full explanation of the benefits gained from this switch can be found in the description of the updated Harmonized Water Rights Records v2.0, but in short it has allowed us to focus more of our efforts on answering research questions and gaining a more realistic understanding of how water rights are allocated. For more information on how the data for WestDAAT was collected, please see the WaDE data summary. Terms of Use While WaDE works directly with the state agencies to collect and standardize the water rights records, the ultimate authority for the water rights data remains the individual states. Each state, and their respective water right authorities, have made their water right records available for non-commercial reference uses. In addition, the states make no guarantees as to the completeness, accuracy, or timeliness of their respective databases, let alone the modifications which we, the authors of this paper, have made to the collected records. None of the states should be held liable for using this data outside of its intended use. As several of the states update their water rights databases daily, the information provided here is not the latest possible, and should not be used for legal purposes. WestDAAT itself has irregular updates. Additional questions about the data the source states provided should be directed to the respective state agencies (see methods.csv and organization.csv files described below). In addition, although data was presented here was not collected directly from the states, several states requested specifically worked disclaimers when sharing their data. These disclaimers are included here as an acknowledgement from where the water rights data is primarily sourced. Colorado: "The data made available here has been modified for use from its original source, which is the State of Colorado. THE STATE OF COLORADO MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTY AS TO THE COMPLETENESS, ACCURACY, TIMELINESS, OR CONTENT OF ANY DATA MADE AVAILABLE THROUGH THIS SITE. THE STATE OF COLORADO EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. The data is subject to change as modifications and updates are complete. It is understood that the information contained in the Web feed is being used at one's own risk." Montana: "The Montana State Library provides this product/service for informational purposes only. The Library did not produce it for, nor is it suitable for legal, engineering, or surveying purposes. Consumers of this information should review or consult the primary data and information sources to ascertain the viability of the information for their purposes. The Library provides these data in good faith but does not represent or warrant its accuracy, adequacy, or completeness. In no event shall the Library be liable for any incorrect results or analysis; any direct, indirect, special, or consequential damages to any party; or any lost profits arising out of or in connection with the use or the inability to use the data or the services provided. The Library makes these data and services available as a convenience to the public, and for no other purpose. The Library reserves the right to change or revise published data and/or services at any time." Oregon: "This product is for informational purposes and may not have been prepared for, or be suitable for legal, engineering, or surveying purposes. Users of this information should review or consult the primary data and information sources to ascertain the usability of the information." File Descriptions The unmodified February, 2024 WestDAAT snapshot is composed of nine files. Below is a brief description of each file, as well as how they were utilized for HarDWR. WaDEDataDictionaryTerms.xlsx: As the file's name implies, this is a data dictionary for all of the below named files. This file describes the column names for each of the following files, with the exception of citation.txt which does not have any columns. The descriptions for each file are divided by tab,with the same name as their associated file, within this document. allocationamount.csv: The "main" file of the group, it contains the water right records for each state. Of particular note, each water right is broken down into one or more water allocations. Allocations may be withdrawn from one or more locations, or even multiple allocations associated with a particular location. This is a more subtle and realistic representation of how water is used than what was available in the first version of HarDWR. For the records from some states, this can mean that multiple allocations listed under a single right will appear as rows within this file. citation.txt: A combination of contact information for WaDE personnel, disclaimer about how the data should be used, and guidelines for citing WestDAAT. methods.csv: A file describing the source and method by which WaDE collected water rights data from each state. organization.csv: A file listing the water rights authoritative agencies for each state. sites.csv: This file provides the geographic, and other descriptors, of the physical location of allocations, called 'sites'. To reiterate, it is possible for one allocation to be associated with multiple sites, as well as one site to be associated with multiple allocations. The two descriptors which we were most interested in where the site's coordinates, as well as whether the site was classified as a Point of Diversion (POD) or a Place of Use (POU). As a general rule, PODs are geographic points, while POUs are areas typically represented as property boundaries or irregularly shaped polygons. sites_pouGeometry.csv: For those allocations with a POU site, this file contains the defining points for the associated polygons. variables.csv: A file describing the units in which an allocation's water amount is reported within WestDAAT. This information is essentially a repeat of the 'AllocationFlow_CFS' and 'AllocationVolume_AF' columns within allocationamount.csv, at least for our purposes. watersources: This file describes the source of water from which each site extracts from. For our purposes, this table was used to determine whether the water came from Surface Water, Groundwater, or Unspecified Water.

Lisk, Matthew↗

Circular Perspective for Utilization of Industrial Wastewaters via Phytoremediation

Wastewater generated in municipal rendering facilities requires multi-step treatment, but it may also serve as a source of nutrients and water and thus may be valorized before or instead of the necessary wastewater treatment operations. In this work, wastewaters from a composting plant were utilized to support the growth of Miscanthus x giganteus, known as both a remediation plant and an energy biomass source. A pot experiment was established to compare the effects of different wastewater doses (0, 50, 100, and 200 mL per pot per week) on the miscanthus biomass yield, phytoextraction of heavy metals, biomass heat of combustion, and plant condition. The increase in the wastewater dose resulted in increases in both biomass yield (from about 44 to 139%) and biomass heat of combustion (from 7 to 17%) when compared to the control sample, with no adverse effects on plant physiological parameters. The highest concentrations of metals were found in miscanthus grown with the highest dose of wastewaters. It was found that higher wastewater dose correlates to both higher phytoextraction and phytorecovery of metals from plant substrate and wastewaters. The highest metal uptake was identified for Fe (431 mg·pot −1 ), followed by Al, Zn, Mn, Cu, Ni, Cr. The lowest metal uptake was noted for Pb, Co and Cd (0.88, 0.11, and 0.95 mg·pot −1 , respectively). The results indicate that miscanthus can be recommended for industrial wastewater treatment. In addition, due to high absorption efficiency of the substrate components, miscanthus can be used as a remediation tool, e.g., for the ecological stabilization of remediation of metal-polluted soils, especially in municipal facilities like rendering plants. This presents a circular perspective for the valorization of post-fermentation wastewaters with subsequent growth of energy crops, with other potential benefits for the environment, such as soil treatment, absorption of CO 2 , and air purification.

Miscanthus x giganteus↗

Cost and Energy Metrics for Municipal Water Reuse

Municipal water reuse can contribute to a circular water economy in different contexts and with various treatment trains. This study synthesized information regarding the current technological and regulatory statuses of municipal reuse. It provides process-level information on cost and energy metrics for three potable reuse and one nonpotable reuse case studies using the new Water Techno-economic Assessment Pipe-Parity Platform (WaterTAP3). WaterTAP3 enabled comparisons of cost and energy metrics for different treatment trains and for different alternative water sources consistently with a common platform. A carbon-based treatment train has both a lower calculated levelized cost of water (LCOW) ($0.40/m3) and electricity intensity (0.30 kWh/m3) than a reverse osmosis (RO)-based treatment train ($0.54/m3 and 0.84 kWh/m3). In comparing LCOW and energy intensity for water production from municipal reuse, brackish water, and seawater based on the largest facilities of each type in the United States, municipal reuse had a lower LCOW and electricity than seawater but higher values than for production from brackish water. For a small (2.0 million gallon per day) inland RO-based municipal reuse facility, WaterTAP3 evaluated different deep well injection and zero liquid discharge (ZLD) scenarios for management of RO concentrate. Adding ZLD to a facility that currently allows surface discharge of concentrate would approximately double the LCOW. For all four case studies, LCOW is most sensitive to changes in weighted average cost of capital, on-stream capacity, and plant life. Baseline assessments, pipe parity metrics, and scenario analyses can inform greater observability and understanding of reuse adoption and the potential for cost-effective and energy-efficient reuse.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

A treatment-effect model to quantify human dimensions of disaster impacts: the case of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico

Here, we propose a supervised learning approach using publicly available panel data to statistically quantify the specific manifestations of human impacts of an extreme event, such as changes number of suicides, substance abuse, excess mortality, and unemployment. This allows us to conceptually focus our framework on human impacts and how by attributing them to disaster events along widely accepted psychological, economic, and social dimensions. Our modified treatment-effect model allows counterfactual baseline conditions to be posited for each manifestation from which an aggregated quantitative multi-faceted measure of human impacts can be determined. The developed statistical methodology could be beneficial to policymakers who must allocate scarce resources to those communities in greater need. We illustrate the applicability of our approach using annual and monthly panel data from 2012 to 2018 encompassing the 2017 Hurricane Maria event across various municipalities in Puerto Rico. Our statistical modeling methodology stands apart since (i) it explicitly and more realistically captures the effect of different human-oriented manifestations of an actual event and (ii) it is flexible enough to accommodate individual preferences of various stakeholders in how they assign importance to multiple manifestations of human impacts.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Technoeconomic Opportunity Analysis for Local Power Generation in Falls City, Nebraska

Falls City is a small community in Nebraska interested in understanding how energy from local energy systems could support the community's economic development planning. To address the current community needs and address the future energy demand technical assistance conducted through the Communities Local Energy Action Program (Communities LEAP) assessed the technical and economic opportunities of adding energy technologies to Falls City's municipally owned and operated electric utility system. The modeling performed considered the technical and economic feasibility of technologies using the System Advisor Model (SAM). The modeling explored three technology configurations using multiple years of historical weather and wholesale cost data (2015-2022 & a typical meteorological year), and two different wholesale escalation rates (0.3% and 2.5%). Wholesale energy prices were based on the Southwest Power Pool's (SPP) real-time energy market and the annual escalation rates of these rates based on historical SPP wholesale and national retail electricity price trends. Results from the modeling showed that at current CAPEX costs and SPP wholesale electricity costs no technology combination averaged across the scenarios run provide a positive net present value (NPV). External financial support, changes in market conditions, and additional revenue streams would help create more economically favorable projects. As conditions change re-evaluation may be necessary.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

Photographic quantification of water quality in mixing zones

A method was developed to quantitatively delineate waste concentrations throughout waste effluent mixing zones on the basis of densitometric measurements extracted from aerial photography. A mixing zone is the extent of a receiving water body ultilized to dilute a waste discharge to a concentration characteristic of a totally mixed condition. Simultaneously-acquired color infrared photography and suspended solids water samples were used to quantitatively delineate the mixing zone resulting from the discharge of a paper mill effluent. Digital scanning microdensitometer data was used to estimate and delineate suspended solids concentrations on the basis of a semi-empirical model. Photographic photometry, when predicated on a limited amount of ground sampling, can measure and delineate mixing zone waste distributions in more detail then conventional surface measuring techniques. The method has direct application to: (1) the establishment of definite and rational water quality guidelines; (2) the development of sampling and surveillance programs for use by governmental and private agencies; and (3) the development of design and location criteria for industrial and municipal waste effluent outfalls.

Lillesand, T. M.↗

Localizing Earth Science: The NASA DEVELOP Model of Community Science & Engagement

NASA’s DEVELOP Program conducts rapid feasibility studies that apply Earth observations to address community priorities and needs and enable informed decision making. Part of NASA’s Applied Sciences’ Capacity Building Program, DEVELOP builds skills in both participants (students, recent graduates, and early/transitioning career professionals) who conduct projects on small teams, and partner organizations (state and local governments, federal agencies, non-profit and for-profit organizations, and international organizations) that work closely with DEVELOP to design the project. While only a subset of DEVELOP partner organizations are local municipalities or community-led non-profits, the DEVELOP model is an effective engagement tool and often used by NASA as an introduction for communities to engage in Earth science research and familiarization with satellite remote sensing. This presentation will highlight the DEVELOP model of co-production and community collaboration, lessons learned in partnering with local communities, and evaluation activities that look at the program’s reach and efforts.

Robert Cecil Byles↗

A study of Minnesota forests and lakes using data from Earth Resources Technology Satellites

Highlights of research and practical benefits are discussed for the following projects which utilized ERTS 1 data to provide municipal, state, federal, and industrial users with environmental resource information for the state of Minnesota: (1) forest disease detection and control; (2) evaluation of water quality by remote sensing techniques; (3) forest vegetation classification and management; (4) detection of saline soils in the Red River Valley; (5) snowmelt flood prediction; (6) remote sensing applications to hydrology; (7) Rice Creek watershed project; (8) water quality in Lake Superior and the Duluth Superior Harbor; and (9) determination of Lake Superior currents from turbidity patterns.

Source record↗

Evaluating the reforested area for the municipality of Buri by automatic analysis of LANDSAT imagery

The author has identified the following significant results. The class of reforestation (Pinus, Eucalyptus, Araucaria) was defined using iterative image analysis (1-100) and LANDSAT MSS data. Estimates of class area by 1-100 were compared with data supplied by the forestry institute in Sao Paulo. LANDSAT channels 4 and 5 served to differentiate the Pinus, Eucalyptus, and Araucaria from the other trees. Channels 6 and 7 gave best results for differentiating between the classes. A good representative spectral response was obtained for Auraucaria on these two channels. The small relative differences obtained were +4.24% for Araucaria, -7.51% for Pinus, and -32.07% for Eucalyptus.

Dejesusparada, N.↗

Identification of Cirrus over Wausau during the 1986 FIRE IFO from ground-based radiometer data

The potential of using irradiation data to indicate episodes of cirrus cloudiness during the daylight hours is explored. Thresholds separating cirrus from other clouds and clear skies are determined using four days of irradiation data, hourly weather observations, sky photographs, sky video, and occasional lidar observations. Data were gathered during the First International Satellite Cloud Climatology Program (ISCCP) Regional Experiment (FIRE) Intensive Field Observations (IFO) cirrus project. Thresholds are tested using data from the remaining 17 days of the IFO. Cirrus episodes are defined as intervals when the sky cover is primarily cirrus. Measurements of incoming shortwave and near infrared full hemispheric and diffuse irradiation, and atmospheric infrared irradiation were made at Wausau, Wisconsin Municipal Airport. Data were collected between October 13 and November 2, 1986 and are one minute averages of ten second samples. Data from October 23 and from October 27 to 29 were used for threshold determination. Using weather observations, lidar output, photographs and video, sky conditions were grouped into three categories: noncirrus cloudy, cirrus, and clear. Irradiation data from all periods falling under each of the sky categories were then examined and thresholds denoting a change from one sky category to another were determined. Variables with only a small amount of overlap between sky categories were selected as key indicators.

Robinson, David A.↗

A review of coal heating value correlations with application to coal char, tar, and other fuels

Accurately measuring a fuel’s heating value is one of the first steps in the classification of a new fuel. Heating values are widely used in coal combustion research and are becoming more useful in other fuel types as well. Many different empirical correlations to predict heating values based on primary organic (CHONS) elemental composition are found in the literature, many of which were originally created to predict heating values of parent coal, and some of which have been extended for biomass. However, no correlations exist for heating values of coal chars and tars. Thirteen literature heating value correlations (10 model forms with 13 unique sets of coefficients) were evaluated for their predictive accuracy of a wide variety of fuel types, including 353 coals. This comparative analysis showed that the predictive capabilities of many of these literature models are very similar for coal-based fuels, with good correlation of coal char heating values. Correlation of coal tar heating values was hampered by the lack of heating value data. The choice of which model to use becomes more important for biomass fuels as well as for more unique fuel types like propellants and explosives, municipal solid waste, etc. Finally, the best model forms for each fuel type are suggested based on several statistical measures of fit.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗

Reference data, predictors, and probability grids for forest degradation classes in three sites in the Brazilian Amazon

Forest degradation by fires and selective logging is widespread in the Amazon region. We implemented a gradient boosted classification modeling framework to classify intact, logged, and burned forests at three Amazonian sites: Feliz Natal Municipality and Xingu Indigenous Territory in Mato Grosso State, and Saracá-Taquera National Forest in Pará State. We used forest degradation history from Landsat time-series as reference data and textural metrics derived from PlanetScope images as predictors. Textural metrics were computed using the Gray-Level Co-Occurrence Matrix (GLCM) textural technique. Included in the attached zip file are ten files: - a shapefile containing the reference data (fire and selective logging polygons and year of event) for each site; - a multiband tif file containing the 8 GLCM metrics used as predictors (Mean, Variance, Homogeneity, Contrast, Dissimilarity, Entropy, Angular Second Moment, Correlation) at the original PlanetScope resolution (3.125m) for each site; - a multiband tif file containing the 72 aggregated GLCM metrics used as predictors (Mean, Variance, Homogeneity, Contrast, Dissimilarity, Entropy, Angular Second Moment, and Correlation aggregated using the mean, first quartile, third quartile, maximum, median, minimum, root mean square, standard deviation, and skewness statistics) at 562m resolution for each site; - a multiband tif file containing the 3 probability grids for either intact, logged, or burned forests at the aggregation resolution (562m) for each site.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Transcriptional control of Clostridium autoethanogenum using CRISPRi

Gas fermentation by Clostridium autoethanogenum is a commercial process for the sustainable biomanufacturing of fuels and valuable chemicals using abundant, low-cost C1 feedstocks (CO and CO 2 ) from sources such as inedible biomass, unsorted and nonrecyclable municipal solid waste, and industrial emissions. Efforts toward pathway engineering and elucidation of gene function in this microbe have been limited by a lack of genetic tools to control gene expression and arduous genome engineering methods. To increase the pace of progress, here we developed an inducible CRISPR interference (CRISPRi) system for C. autoethanogenum and applied that system toward transcriptional repression of genes with ostensibly crucial functions in metabolism.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗