In recent years, the recycling of waste tyre rubber in construction and road materials has emerged as a potential innovative solution to the growing waste rubber tyre dilemma. However, to determine the feasibility of any recycling method, it is crucial to assess the potential environmental implications of the proposed method. The environmental conditions waste tyre rubber products are exposed to are often not accurately simulated in leachate studies, leading to incomplete findings.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCigarette butts (CBs) are the most common littered waste in the world and may contain polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from the incomplete combustion of tobacco during burning. Therefore, to investigate the potential PAH residual remaining in fired clay bricks (FCBs) incorporating CBs and examine the environmental impact of utilizing toxic waste in the production of FCBs, a comprehensive PAH extraction analysis was conducted. The Soxhlet extraction method was utilized to conduct a qualitative and quantitative analysis of sixteen toxic Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in FCB samples incorporating CBs using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOur cities, parks, beaches, and oceans have been contaminated for many years with millions of tonnes of unsightly and toxic cigarette butts (CBs). This study presents and discusses some of the results of an ongoing study on recycling in fired-clay bricks. Energy savings: the energy value of CBs with remnant tobacco was found to be 16.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBillions of cigarette butts (CBs) are discarded as litter in the environment every year worldwide. As CBs have poor biodegradability, it can take several years for them to break down while leaching toxic chemicals and heavy metals. Mohajerani et al.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTreated waste-water sludge (biosolids) are frequently recycled in agricultural lands; however, this practice has polluted soils with microplastics (MPs), nanoplastics (NPs), synthetics, heavy metals, pharmaceuticals and engineered nanoparticles. This study analyses many of the significant research outcomes in this area and proposes the urgent reduction of biosolids recycling in farmlands, aiming to eliminate their use altogether as soon as practicable, and instead, to utilise this material as a source of brick firing energy in the manufacturing of fired clay bricks and as a replacement for virgin brick soil. Based on a comprehensive data analysis, this study has calculated that in the European Union, the United States, China, Canada and Australia, approximately 26,042, 21,249, 13,660, 1,518 and 1,241 tonnes of microplastics, respectively, are added to farmlands annually as a result of biosolids application.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMaterials (Basel)
March 2020
Waste management has become an issue of increasing concern worldwide. These products are filling landfills and reducing the amount of livable space. Leachate produced from landfills contaminates the surrounding environment.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMaterials (Basel)
February 2020
Cigarette butts (CBs) are the most commonly littered waste material in the world. It is estimated that over 5.7 trillion cigarettes are consumed worldwide each year.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMaterials (Basel)
February 2020
Littering waste is among the top environmental issues in the world, and the management of the waste has turned into a challenge in almost every city. It has been reported that 75% of smokers dispose of their cigarette butts (CBs) on the ground, even in public places. Researchers have discovered that CBs make up more than one-third of the total littered waste on the planet.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCigarette butts, one of the most abundant forms of waste in the world, contain more than 4000 toxic chemicals and pose serious risks to the health of wildlife, humans, and marine and freshwater organisms. Although trivial in size, trillions of cigarettes are produced every year worldwide, resulting in the accumulation of tonnes of toxic waste litter. In 2016, a world production of over 5.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNanoparticles are defined as ultrafine particles sized between 1 and 100 nanometres in diameter. In recent decades, there has been wide scientific research on the various uses of nanoparticles in construction, electronics, manufacturing, cosmetics, and medicine. The advantages of using nanoparticles in construction are immense, promising extraordinary physical and chemical properties for modified construction materials.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFibres have been used in construction materials for a very long time. Through previous research and investigations, the use of natural and synthetic fibres have shown promising results, as their presence has demonstrated significant benefits in terms of the overall physical and mechanical properties of the composite material. When comparing fibre reinforcement to traditional reinforcement, the ratio of fibre required is significantly less, making fibre reinforcement both energy and economically efficient.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis paper investigates the five different gas emissions during the firing process of clay bricks and bricks incorporating biosolids. In this study, three different biosolids produced at the Western Treatment Plant and Eastern Treatment Plant, Melbourne, were used as an alternative raw material to the conventional brick soil to produce bricks. Three sets of bricks were manufactured incorporating 25% of biosolids by weight.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe substantial increase in biosolids production throughout the world requires sustainable routes for reuse. This study describes the leaching behaviour of potentially hazardous metals from the green and fired bricks incorporating four different biosolids samples from the Eastern treatment plant (ETP) and Western treatment plant (WTP) in Melbourne. The biosolids samples were characterized by XRD, XRF, TGA, particle size distribution, and organic content.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe Urban Heat Island (UHI) is a phenomenon that affects many millions of people worldwide. The higher temperatures experienced in urban areas compared to the surrounding countryside has enormous consequences for the health and wellbeing of people living in cities. The increased use of manmade materials and increased anthropogenic heat production are the main causes of the UHI.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe disposal and littering of cigarette butts (CBs) is a serious environmental problem. Trillions of cigarettes are produced every year worldwide, resulting in millions of tonnes of toxic waste being dumped into the environment in the form of cigarette butts. As CBs have poor biodegradability, it can take many years for them to break down.
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