Sedimentation devices have been widely implemented to remove suspended solids and attached pollutants from stormwater before entering surface waters. The treatment performance of these best management practices (BMPs) on fine particles is rarely investigated in a standardized way. To overcome this information gap a reliable and standardized testing procedure is formulated.Four devices have been tested on their suspended sediments removal efficiency at different discharges and particle sizes, using the newly developed standardized full scale test method. The observed removal rates of the facilities with a storage volume in the order of 1.5 m3 and settling surface around 1 m2 drop to low removal efficiencies at flow rates of 10 l/s or more. For small sized sediments (up to 63 μm) the removal efficiency is below 50%. The results of the experiments can be used to improve both the design and the dimensions of stormwater treatment devices.
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In recent years, there has been a steady increase in the number of bioretention systems installed worldwide. However, there has only been limited research on the long-term effectiveness of these sustainable urban drainage system devices. This paper presents the results of a series of controlled field experiments investigating the pollutant removal efficiency of three bio-filtration system that have been in service for over five years in the Sunshine Coast in Australia. The results of this study suggest that the long-term pollution removal performance of these systems may not be as effective as previously thought and further research is needed.
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Energy efficiency has gained a lot of prominence in recent debates on urban sustainability and housing policy due to its potential consequences for climate change. At the local, national and also international level, there are numerous initiatives to promote energy savings and the use of renewable energy to reduce the environmental burden. There is a lot of literature on energy saving and other forms of energy efficiency in housing. However, how to bring this forward in the management of individual housing organisations is not often internationally explored. An international research project has been carried out to find the answers on management questions of housing organisations regarding energy efficiency. Eleven countries have been included in this study: Germany, the United Kingdom (more specifically: England), France, Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Austria and Canada. The state of the art of energy efficiency in the housing management of non-profit housing organisations and the embedding of energy efficiency to improve the quality and performance of housing in management practices have been investigated, with a focus on how policy ambitions about energy efficiency are brought forward in investment decisions at the estate level. This paper presents the conclusions of the research
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Constructed wetlands are one type of Sustainable Urban Drainage System (SUDS) that have been used for decades in The Netherlands. They provide stormwater conveyance and improve stormwater quality. European regulations for water quality dictate lower and lower concentrations for an array of dissolved pollutants. The increase in the required removal efficiency for these systems imposed in the Netherlands requires a better understanding of thecharacteristics of stormwater and the functioning of constructed wetlands as SUDs. This paper presents a brief overview of 5 different constructed wetlands from the Netherlands that have been implemented at least more than 10 years ago. Their efficiency and functioning is reviewed and a new method of assessment is described.
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SummaryConstructed wetlands have been used for decades on industrial areas to treat stormwater. European regulations and local ambitions for water quality dictate lower emissions before the water is discharged to the drainage system, surface water or infiltrated to ground water. The increase in the required removal efficiency requires a better understanding of the characteristics of pollutants and cost-effective performance of constructed wetlands. In this chapter detailed characteristics of stormwater from (industrial) areas is given together with monitored removal efficiencies and the cost of constructed wetlands. Some case studies with constructed wetlands are selected and reviewed in this chapter which can be regarded as Best Management Practices (BMPs). In most cases the constructed wetlands are not monitored in detail but perceived to be effective. Long-term performance, however, remains an issue. New monitoring techniques such as underwater drones and full scale testing can be applied to get new insights on optimizing the hydraulic capacity and removal efficiency of wetlands. Last but not least: international knowledge exchange on constructed wetlands and new monitoring techniques can be promoted by interactive online tools.
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This paper describes some explorations on the concept of disassemblability as an important circularity indicator for products because of its severe impact on reuse value. Although usefulness of the concept for determining disassembly strategies and for improving circular product design clearly shows in earlier studies, the link with Industry 4.0 (I4.0)-related process innovation is still underexposed. For further technical development of the field of remanufacturing, research is needed on tools & training for operators, diagnostics, disassembly/repair instructions and forms of operator support. This includes the use of IoT and cobots in remanufacturing lines for automatic disassembly, sorting and recognition methods; providing guidance for operators and reduction of change-over times. A prototype for a disassembly work cell for a mobile phone has been developed together with researchers and students. This includes the removal of screws by means of a cobot using both vision & the available info in the product’s Bill-Of-Materials, the removal of covers, opening of snap fits and replacement of modules. This prototyping demonstrates that it is relatively easy to automate disassembly operations for an undamaged product, that has been designed with repairability in mind and for which product data and models are available. Process innovations like robotisation influence the disassemblability in a positive way, but current indicators like a Disassembly Index (DI) can’t reflect this properly. This study therefore concludes with suggestions for an evaluation of disassemblability by looking at the interaction between product, process and resources in a coherent way.
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We are now faced with numerous examples of the use of the word ‘open’ in the context of education. There are open schools, open universities, open participatory learning infrastructures (OPLI), open courseware (OCW), massive open online courses (MOOCs), open educational resources (OER), open educational practices (OEP) and so on (see, e.g., Atkins, Brown, & Hammond, 2007; Schuwer, van Genuchten, & Hatton, 2015). What these terms at face value seem to share is their reference to the removal of barriers to the access of education. Open universities have relaxed entrance requirements, open courseware and MOOCs allow for free access to courses, as do open educational resources and open educational practices at the levels of materials and practices, respectively, although the kinds of barriers removed and the extent to which they are removed differ widely (Mulder & Jansen, 2015). However, there is more to openness than this prima facie characterization in terms of the removal of barriers reveals. A brief overview of some existing definitions of openness in education can help to make this evident.
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This chapter explains in brief what is needed to achieve more sustainable manufacturing processes. It develops both aspects of sustainable, economic, and technical feasibility with most focus on the latter. Remanufacturing processes are described together with relevant factors that enhance their effectivity and efficiency. An overview is given of what kind of shopfloor innovations are required in the near future and some suggestions on how digital and other Industry 4.0 technologies could help to move toward circular manufacturing.
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Pupils with problem behaviours are challenging teachers as well as they are a challenge to teachers to find a way to teach them what curricula prescribe. Especially middle school teachers and those working in schools for special education are con-fronted with pupils with behavioural problems. There, teachers experience hard classes and find it difficult to fit classroom management with the pupils needs. In this paper we focus on two questions: is pullout an effective treatment to handle problem behaviour? do special classes have advantages for pupils who were pulled out or not? First we present a theoretical framework about pullout and we explicit our expectations. Then we describe the methods of our research in schools for special educa-tion during two months for students (N=759) when pulled out. We examined the reason of pulling out and the interactions during the process outside the classroom and the return. Because teachers noticed date and time of the removal, it was possible to use survival analysis to show the effects of the treatment. We found that pullout occurs under quite different circumstances, so the treatment integrity is a problem because deficiency of the intervention leads to repeated pullout. The data also showed that special classes for pupils who are pulled out seem to trigger and/or in-tensify the process itself. So, we conclude that these classes have a contra-productive effect.
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Pressure on natural resources, unsustainable production and consumption, inequality and a growing global population lie at the base of the big challenges that people face. This chapter investigates how businesses can take responsibility in dealing with these challenges by means of frugal business model innovation. The notion of ‘frugal innovation’ was first introduced in the context of emerging markets, giving non-affluent customers opportunities to consume affordable products and services suited to their needs. Business modelling with a frugal mindset opens up a path that provides significant value while minimizing the use of resources such as energy, capital and time. Business models require intentional design if they are to deliver aspired sustainability impacts. Diminish or simplify resources can be described as the means to remove or reduce features, resources, required activities and/or waste streams. Decompose can be described as the removal of resources from the commercial value proposition and replacing them with resources the user/consumer already can access or uses. This is an Accepted Manuscript of a book chapter published by Routledge/CRC Press in Circular Economy : Challenges and Opportunities for Ethical and Sustainable Business on 2021, available online: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780367816650
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