Life Cycle Assessment Handbook. A Guide for Environmentally Sustainable Products

This first hands-on guide to ISO-compliant Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) makes this powerful tool immediately accessible to both professionals and students. Following a general introduction on the philosophy and purpose of LCA, the reader is taken through all the stages of a complete LCA analysis, with each step exemplified by real-life data from a major LCA project on beverage packaging. Measures as carbon and water footprint, based on the most recent international standards and definitions, are addressed. Written by two pioneers of LCA, this practical volume is targeted at first-time LCA users but equally makes a much-valued reference for more experienced practitioners. From the content: * Goal and Scope Definition * Life Cycle Inventory Analysis * Life Cycle Impact Assessment * Interpretation, Reporting and Critical Review * From LCA to Sustainability Assessment and more.

This important, self-contained reference deals with structural life assessment (SLA) and structural health monitoring (SHM) in a combined form. SLA periodically evaluates the state and condition of a structural system and provides recommendations for possible maintenance actions or the end of structural service life. It is a diversified field and relies on the theories of fracture mechanics, fatigue damage process, and reliability theory. For common structures, their life assessment is not only governed by the theory of fracture mechanics and fatigue damage process, but by other factors such as corrosion, grounding, and sudden collision. On the other hand, SHM deals with the detection, prediction, and location of crack development online. Both SLA and SHM are combined in a unified and coherent treatment.

RENEWABLE ENERGY FOR SUSTAINABLE GROWTH ASSESSMENT Written and edited by a team of experts in the field, this collection of papers reflects the most up-to-date and comprehensive current state of renewable energy for sustainable growth assessment and provides practical solutions for engineers and scientists. [/b] Renewable energy resources (RERs) are gaining more attention in academia and industry as one of the preferred choices of sustainable energy conversion. Due to global energy demand, environmental impacts, economic needs and social issues, RERs are encouraged and even funded by many governments around the world. Today, researchers are facing numerous challenges as this field emerges and develops, but, at the same time, new opportunities are waiting for RERs utilization in sustainable development all over the globe. Efficient energy conversion of solar, wind, biomass, fuel cells, and other techniques are gaining more popularity and are the future of energy. The present book cross-pollinates recent advances in the study of renewable energy for sustainable growth. Various applications of RERs, modeling and performance analysis, grid integration, soft computing, optimization, artificial intelligence (AI) as well as machine and deep learning aspects of RERs are extensively covered. Whether for the veteran engineer or scientist, the student, or a manager or other technician working in the field, this volume is a must-have for any library. This outstanding new volume Assesses the current and future need for energy on a global scale and reviews the role of renewable energy Includes multiple chapters on biomass and bioenergy Also includes multiple chapters on solar energy and PVs Also includes chapters on fuel cells, wind power, and many other topics Covers the design and implementation of power electronics for energy systems Outlines best practices and the state of the art for renewable energy with regard to sustainability Audience:[/b] Engineers, scientists, technicians, managers, students, and faculty working in the field of renewable energy, sustainability and power system

Energy and sustainability are two of the most important and often most misunderstood subjects in our world today. As these two subjects have grown in importance over the last few decades, interest in the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) model has grown as well, as a potentially crucial tool in understanding and striving towards sustainability in energy systems. Not just wind and solar systems, but all energy systems, need to be understood through this model. Wind and solar power have the potential to decentralize the U.S. energy system by offering local communities electricity and economic support, depending on the scale and design of projects. Nevertheless, every energy technology potentially faces environmental costs, lay and expert opposition, and risks to public health. Engineers play a central role as designers, builders, and operators in energy systems. As they extend their expertise into electrical, mechanical and chemical fields, from fossil fuel-based systems to renewable energy systems, “sustainability” is steadily becoming one of the key criteria engineers apply in their work. This groundbreaking new study argues that engineering cultures foster sustainability by adopting assumptions and problem-solving practices as part of their identities when designing and building engineering projects. This work examines the politics of creating, utilizing, and modifying Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) in the construction of renewable energy systems. The only volume of its kind ever written, it is a must-have for any engineer, scientist, manager, or other professional working in or interested in Life Cycle Assessment and its relation to energy systems and impact on environmental and economic sustainability.

Handbook of Drying for Dairy Products is a complete guide to the field’s principles and applications, with an emphasis on best practices for the creation and preservation of dairy-based food ingredients. Details the techniques and results of drum drying, spray drying, freeze drying, spray-freeze drying, and hybrid drying Contains the most up-to-date research for optimizing the drying of dairy, as well as computer modelling options Addresses the effect of different drying techniques on the nutritional profile of dairy products Provides essential information for dairy science academics as well as technologists active in the dairy industry

An engaging and comprehensive look at the intersection of financial innovation and the environment This unique book provides readers with a comprehensive look at the new markets being created to help companies manage environmental risks, including weather derivatives, catastrophe bonds, and emission trading permits. Filled with real-world case studies and timely advice, Environmental Finance contains corporate strategies that financial service professionals as well as their clients must understand in order to proactively improve a company's environmental performance.

Praise for Handbook of Workplace Assessment «Wow—what a powerhouse group of authors and topics! This will be my go-to s ource for in-depth information on a broad range of assessment issues.»—Wayne F. Cascio, editor, Journal of World Business, and Robert H. Reynolds Chair in Global Leadership, The Business School University of Colorado Denver «The Handbook of Workplace Assessment is must reading for practitioners, researchers, students, and implementers of assessment programs as we move forward in a global world of work where changes are continuously anticipated in the workforce, design of jobs, economies, legal arena, and technologies.»—Sheldon Zedeck, professor of psychology, vice provost of academic affairs and faculty welfare, University of California at Berkeley «The Handbook of Workplace Assessment is a book you will find yourself reaching for time after time as we all navigate through the demands of attracting, developing, and retaining talent. The authors and editors capture, in practical terms, how companies can effectively leverage assessment techniques to successfully manage talent and achieve business goals.»—Jennifer R. Burnett, senior vice president, Global Staffing and Learning Talent Assessment for Selection and Development, Bank of America «Scott and Reynolds have succeeded in developing a comprehensive yet practical guide to assessment that is sure to be a trusted resource for years to come.»—Corey Seitz, vice president, Global Talent Management, Johnson & Johnson

The essential resource for personality assessment, updated and expanded The Handbook of Personality Assessment provides comprehensive guidance on the administration, scoring, and interpretation of the most widely-used instruments. Written by two of the field's foremost authorities, this well-balanced guide blends theory and application to provide a foundational reference for both graduate students and professionals. Updated to reflect the most current advances, this second edition includes new chapters on the Minnesota Personality Inventory-Restructured Form and the Rorschach Performance Assessment System, along with in-depth coverage of the MMPI-2, MMPI-2-A, MCMI-IV, PAI, NEO-PI-R, Rorschach Comprehensive System, TAT, and Figure Drawing and Sentence Completion Methods. Each instrument is discussed in terms of its history, administration, scoring, validity, assessment, interpretation, applications, and psychometric foundations, and other chapters address ethical considerations and provide general guidelines in the assessment process. Personality assessments guide recommendations in a broad range of clinical, health care, forensic, educational, and organizational settings. This book delves deeply into the nature and appropriate use of the major assessment instruments, with authoritative insight and practical guidance. Review the latest concepts, research, and practices Administer, score, and interpret the most widely-used instruments Understand the psychometric foundations of personality assessment Access downloadable sample reports that illustrate software interpretation An individual's nature and disposition can be assessed in several ways. This book focuses on standardized psychological tests that assess personality characteristics and indicate how a person is likely to think, feel, and act. The results can only be as accurate as the process, from assessment selection and administration, to scoring, interpretation, and beyond. The Handbook of Personality Assessment is an invaluable resource for every stage of the process, with a practical focus and advice from two leading experts.

There have been many books on the topic of Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) over the last 100 years. They all, however, focus on how to recover more oil faster, taking a rather myopic approach. The solutions presented all work fantastically in theory and even in the laboratory, but each fails to produce results in the field with long-term success. The petroleum industry is almost resigned to the belief that for an EOR technique to be successful, it must be propped up with public funds or must compromise environmental integrity. In line with modern engineering practices, previous books discuss how existing technologies can be tweaked to accommodate for any shortcomings that just came to light. This book is unlike any other book on the topic of recovery in particular and engineering in general. This groundbreaking volume is a continuation of the author’s and his research group’s work that started publishing on the subject of global sustainability involving energy and the environment, dating back to early 2000s. Starting with a paradigm shift in engineering that involves a long-term focus, rather than looking for short-term solutions, the methods and theories presented here delve into applying green engineering and zero waste principles to EOR. Historically, EOR has received mixed success, mainly because innovations in these disciplines relied heavily on processed materials, which are both uneconomical and toxic to the environment. This book explains how engineers missed entirely the causes of unsustainability in these technologies due to the prevalence of many myths that are embedded in modern engineering. Once these myths are deconstructed, the appropriate technologies emerge and the merits of them both in terms of economic and environmental benefits become clear. The book reveals how previous practices in EOR can be replaced with their sustainable versions while saving in material costs. A number of innovative technologies are introduced that can render well known technologies, such as steam flood, in situ combustion, chemical flooding, and microbial EOR environmentally sustainable and economically attractive. A triple dividend is received once these technologies are applied in otherwise marginal reservoirs, unconventional plays and even abandoned formations. The overall reserve, which reflects recoverable oil with new technologies, goes up drastically. Further benefits are drawn when processes such as value addition of waste material is performed. Overall this book shows how EOR can be rendered green while increasing the profitability. This is in stark contrast to the past practices that considered environmental integrity as a drain on profitability. This book proves that a paradigm shift can turn a “technological disaster” into a technological marvel.