Articles publicats (Enginyeria Industrial i de l’Edificació)
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- ItemOpen AccessEnvironmental impact of an innovative solar-biomass hybrid system for residential applications(Elsevier, 2025) Borri, Emiliano; Charalampidis, Antonios; Palomba, Valeria; Zsembinszki, Gabriel; Frazzica, Andrea; Karellas, Sotirios; Cabeza, Luisa F.SolBio-Rev is an EU Horizon 2020-funded project which aims to develop an innovative hybrid system based on the use of solar and biomass energy to provide heating, cooling, domestic hot water (DHW), and electricity in both residential and non-residential buildings. The system includes novel components such as solar collectors with thermoelectric generators, a high efficiency biomass boiler and a reversible organic Rankine cycle/heatpump. This paper shows the study done to evaluate the environmental impact of this innovative system designed for a residential building located in a continental climate. Data for manufacturing were collected through a detailed questionnaire to collect information related to the materials used. Results of the life-cycle impact assessment (LCIA) showed that the SolBio-Rev system, although is made of complex innovative components, has the highest share of emission during the operational phase being the dry cooler, solar collectors, and the reversible heat pump/ORC the components with the highest impact. The results of this analysis give input for points of future improvement for the SolBio-Rev system, which mainly concerns the increase in efficiency of the ORC/heat pump including cold storage at night and the optimization of control strategies to minimize the energy consumption or maximize the share of renewable that could be beneficial.
- ItemOpen AccessStakeholder perspectives on the costs and benefits of circular construction(Nature Research, 2024) Karaca, Ferhat; Tleuken, Aidana; Awan, Hamad Hassan; Askar, Rand; Cidik, Mustafa Selçuk; Iskakova, Anel; Turkyilmaz, Ali; Laudal, Thomas; Durdyev, Serdar; Varol, Huseyin Atakan; Salles, Adriana; Bajare, Diāna; Tambovceva, Tatjana; Kripa, Dorina; Azhgaliyeva D; Nano X; Cabeza, Luisa F.; Bragança, Luís; Zsembinszki, Gabriel; Cervantes,Genesis Camila; Kapsalyamova, Zhanna; Azhgaliyeva, Dina; Nano, XhesilaThe construction industry significantly impacts the environment through natural resource depletion and energy consumption, leading to environmental degradation. Circular Economy (CE) material efficiency strategies - such as material reuse, design for disassembly, prefabrication, and recycling - offer promising solutions for reducing resource consumption and waste. This paper explores stakeholders' perspectives on the costs and benefits of implementing CE material efficiency strategies in the construction industry, using the 3-R (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) framework. By analyzing data from 382 participants, it assesses perceptions of costs and benefits, uncovering regional differences. The findings highlight that studied European stakeholders prioritize reuse and design for disassembly, while studied non-European countries focus on offsite production and material reuse optimization. Despite these differences, both groups view waste reduction as a key benefit, due to the cost savings it provides. By highlighting regional drivers and barriers to CE adoption, this research establishes a foundation for developing targeted policies and collaborative strategies to advance CE implementation in construction worldwide.
- ItemOpen AccessEco-Friendly Alternatives in Leather Production: Performance of Biodegradable Alginate-Based Retanned Leather Compared to Conventional Leathers and Plant-Based Materials(MDPI, 2024-11) Quaratesi, Ilaria; Badea, Elena; Calinescu, Ioan; Pourrasoul Sardroudi, Nima; Zengin, Gökhan; Casas, Concepció; Bacardit i Dalmases, AnnaThis study explores the development and characterization of biodegradable leather using alginate derivatives as sustainable tanning agents, aiming to reduce the environmental impact associated with traditional leather tanning processes. Alginate, a natural polysaccharide derived from brown algae, was modified through ultrasound treatment to reduce viscosity and improve its application in leather tanning. This study investigated the use of sodium alginates as bio-based retanning agents, comparing their performance against that of conventional chromium-tanned and vegetable-tanned leathers, as well as synthetic alternatives such as leatherette, Piñatex®, and Desserto®. The physical, chemical, and thermal properties of the resulting leathers were assessed. The results demonstrated that alginate-based tanning agents could produce leather with comparable or superior properties to conventional and synthetic leathers, meeting the quality standards required for high-end footwear and leather goods. This research highlights the potential of alginate derivatives to serve as eco-friendly alternatives in the leather industry. The findings underscore the feasibility of integrating bio-based materials into industrial applications, promoting environmental conservation and resource efficiency.
- ItemOpen AccessNewly created ecosystems for a green built environment: Green roofs and green walls/facades(Elsevier, 2024) Pérez Luque, Gabriel; Coma Arpón, JuliàGreen roofs and green walls/facades are newly-created ecosystems that allow the re-naturalization on remote-opportunistic places within the built environment, where traditional urban greenery solutions such as urban gardens, parks or forests, are not a feasible option. These hybrid Nature Based Solutions (NBS) provide multiple ecosystem services at both the city and building scale, encompassing biodiversity enhance ment, heat-island reductions, among other benefits. Moreover, their proximity to citizens lead to great opportunities to incorporate participatory models of co-maintenance and co-monitoring ensuring their long-term sustainability and performance while maximizing users contact with nature, improving society well-being and health.
- ItemOpen AccessStudy of the hydrothermal stability of leather tanned with vegetable extracts using an isometric method(Elsevier, 2024) Morera Prat, Josep M.; Bartolí, Esther; Esteban Dalmau, BernatThe main objective of this research is to validate the application of a recently developed isometric method for determining the resistance to denaturation of leather tanned with different vegetable extracts. The results obtained for shrinkage temperature and denaturation temperature are similar to those obtained by methods based on ISO 3380 (traditional) and Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC). The isometric method also allows evaluating the evolution of hydrothermal breakdown of the different types of collagen (leather) – tannin (vegetable tanning extract) bonds as a function of the thermal increase to which the leather is subjected. It is concluded that, with the isometric method, and for leathers tanned with vegetable extracts, much more comprehensive information is obtained about the denaturation process of vegetable-tanned leather than with the traditional method, without requiring significant investments as in the case of the DSC method.