Papers by Asher Kiperstok
The industrial unities of a copper refinery use water intensively in their process with different... more The industrial unities of a copper refinery use water intensively in their process with different qualities for specific purposes, as for: cleaning, cooling, diluting, heating, humidifying, lubricating. The water supplying for this refinery is made by pumping it from deep wells of an important regional water table, while the pretreated inorganic effluent is sent to a central wastewater plant, which treats all the effluent of the petrochemical complex of Camaçari, Bahia, Brazil. In a primary appraisal of the operational aspects, it can be seen that the original design conception adopted at the metallurgy was that of a single passage of the water in the process with emphasis in the combined treatment of the discharged effluents of all unities. This end of pipe approach was predominant when the industry was built and considered that this natural resource was infinite. The present context is far different from that time and demand new approaches, which consider water scarcity and proces...
Sustainability, 2021
This article includes the proposal of a (re)layout project as a strategy to implement Cleaner Pro... more This article includes the proposal of a (re)layout project as a strategy to implement Cleaner Production (CP) practices, with a furniture manufacturing company in the Brazilian municipality of Palhoça (Santa Catarina, Brazil) as a case study. This work is characterized as applied research, using a multi-methodological approach, being subdivided into two different steps: literature review and case study. The (re)layout project led to an increase of the administrative area by 25.18%, having had a positive impact on the management areas, aiming towards the integration of Environmental Management, ecodesign, Production Planning and Control sectors. The project led to a decrease of the total stock area of raw materials/storage by 70.01 m2, representing a reduction of 25.59% when compared to the previous area. The project resulted in an increase of the plant production capacity, increasing the production area by 33.33%, thus optimizing areas and sectors, combining those which are inter-re...
The Covid-19 pandemic has the entire world in agony, and Brazil is one of the countries being hit... more The Covid-19 pandemic has the entire world in agony, and Brazil is one of the countries being hit the hardest. This is the Fourth Article in the series that analyzes a pandemic-related decision made by the Brazilian Ministry of Health in August 2020, when it rejected Pfizer’s proposal to acquire 70 million doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. The question we ask is this: of the Brazilians aged 60 or older who died of Covid-19 in Brazil in June 2021, how many would still be alive if the Ministry of Health had acquired the 70 million doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine in August 2020?
Journal of Cleaner Production
Abstract Agriculture is the activity that contributes most to the emission of greenhouse gases, w... more Abstract Agriculture is the activity that contributes most to the emission of greenhouse gases, water quality degradation, soil loss and nutrient runoff worldwide. These harmful environmental impacts are issues in irrigated agriculture in the Brazilian semi-arid region. The rational use of natural resources and the efficiency of agricultural systems can reduce the environmental impacts and are essential for a more sustainable agriculture. However, a limited amount of data concerning the environmental impacts of horticultural practices is available. To date, no evaluation of a carrot crop life cycle in Brazil could be found in the literature. The purpose of this paper is to present a methodological approach combining Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Cleaner Production (CP) principles in the environmental and economic evaluation of irrigated carrot farming. Life Cycle Impact Assessment was carried using the International Reference Life Cycle Data System (ILCD, 2011) method, including data uncertainty. We evaluated the base scenario based on management practices widely adopted in the studied area, and the recommended scenario based on adoption of CP selected opportunities using agronomic recommendations for the carrot production system. By these means, the environmental impacts can be reduced between 15 and 70% in the evaluated categories from the base to the recommended scenario. Most environmental impacts were related to fertilizer production and field emissions. The global warming effect related to the emission of 0.12 kg CO2 eq/kg product from the base scenario can be reduced to 0.07 kg CO2 eq/kg product in the recommended scenario. This represents a lower value than most global warming rates for carrots found in literature. The costs of inputs were reduced by 49% from in the recommended scenario. Most costs of inputs were related to fertilizers and seed purchasing. The combined use of the two methods proved feasible as LCA identifies the main hotspots of the analyzed system, while CP support practices that reduce costs and the use of inputs such as water, energy, fertilizers, seeds and pesticides. CP provided a higher level of compliance with the technical requirements for the studied system and proved to be more economically and environmentally efficient than ‘end of pipe’ practices. The complementary use of CP and LCA provided better support for a more sustainable irrigated carrot production in the semiarid region of Brazil.
Energy, 2016
Wind power in the NE (Northeast) region of Brazil is currently undergoing rapid development and i... more Wind power in the NE (Northeast) region of Brazil is currently undergoing rapid development and installed capacity is expected to exceed 16,000 MW by 2020. This study examines the feasibility of integrating large scale wind power into an electricity grid (the Brazilian NE subsystem) which has a high proportion of existing hydroelectricity. By extrapolating existing wind power generation data, the maximum achievable wind power penetration (without exports to other Brazilian regions) and corresponding surplus energy is determined for the NE subsystem. The viable maximum penetration of wind energy generation in the NE subsystem was estimated to be 65% of the average annual electricity demand assuming that existing hydroelectric and gas generators have 100% scheduling flexibility. These results are compared to the actual gross penetration of wind power forecast to reach 55% in the NE subsystem by 2020. The overall LCOE (levelised cost of electricity) is calculated for various scenarios where wind power replaces all fossil fuel generators in NE subsystem. It was concluded that by 2020, wind power could feasibly reduce the overall LCOE by approximately 46–52% and reduce CO2eq emissions by 34 million tonnes per year compared to a power system with no new renewable generation.
Engenharia Sanitaria e Ambiental
RESUMO Este artigo descreve e discute os métodos usados, as dificuldades encontradas e os resulta... more RESUMO Este artigo descreve e discute os métodos usados, as dificuldades encontradas e os resultados obtidos em um programa de racionalização do uso da água desenvolvido por um programa de pesquisa da Universidade Federal da Bahia. Na universidade, foi alcançada redução de até 49% no consumo per capita. No aeroporto e em um shopping center de Salvador foram identificados cenários de reduções ainda maiores. Pesquisa de opinião justifica a admissão de alternativas inovadoras de grande impacto. Em um conjunto de prédios do Governo do Estado da Bahia as reduções atingiram 55, 72 e 82% nos três prédios mais comprometidos com o projeto. Os resultados obtidos levaram o Governo do Estado a estender o projeto a todos os seus prédios administrativos e às escolas públicas estaduais.
teclim.ufba.br
Page 1. EVOLUÇÃO DOS TRABALHOS DE AVALIAÇÃO DO CICLO DE VIDA NAS INSTITUIÇÕES ACADÊMICAS BRASILEI... more Page 1. EVOLUÇÃO DOS TRABALHOS DE AVALIAÇÃO DO CICLO DE VIDA NAS INSTITUIÇÕES ACADÊMICAS BRASILEIRAS Ângela Maria Ferreira Lima* Mestranda em Gerenciamento e Tecnologias Ambientais no Processo ...
… Sanitária e Ambiental …, 2001
... JOÃO VIANNEY GURGEL FERNANDES Graduado em Engenharia Mecânica – UFCE Especialista em Gestão e... more ... JOÃO VIANNEY GURGEL FERNANDES Graduado em Engenharia Mecânica – UFCE Especialista em Gestão e Tecnologias Ambientais na Indústria – UFBA. ... Não se questiona aqui, evidentemente, a importância da padro-nização de procedimentos mas sim pro-...
Brazilian Journal of Development
VI-054-Avaliação do ciclo de vida de componentes do sistema de distribuição de energia elétrica V... more VI-054-Avaliação do ciclo de vida de componentes do sistema de distribuição de energia elétrica VI-054-Evaluation of the life cycle of components of the electricity distribution system
Sustainability
The present article was aimed at identifying opportunities for cleaner production (CP) from the p... more The present article was aimed at identifying opportunities for cleaner production (CP) from the process flow analysis of a furniture manufacturing company located in the municipality of Palhoça (SC, Brazil). The company was used as an exploratory case study with a qualitative approach. The criteria used for the flow analysis and for identifying the opportunities of CP were associated to the systems and technologies employed, as well as to the process analysis and to the project layout factors (stock location, movement). With this, 107.24 m2 of wasted areas were found in the production environment, of which 72.06 m2 included the floor area with material to be discarded (waste) and 66.93 m of flow lines with returns and crossings. The study identified that the total flow lines of the company represented a total of 775.58 m, with the possibility of being reduced by 29.45%. This reduction is a result of optimizing the physical space and reducing waste with material handling. Twenty-five...
Sustainability
Despite the sectoral initiatives, the construction industry faces difficulties in incorporating e... more Despite the sectoral initiatives, the construction industry faces difficulties in incorporating effective environmental impact control systems in construction sites. Most of the instruments have been adopting a qualitative approach to environmental issues, with few cases of a quantitative approach. This article introduces a quantitative method for predicting environmental aspects and impacts during the construction of residential buildings, through the integration between environmental indicators and construction cost bases. The methodology was based on the analysis of the relationships among activities, aspects and environmental impacts considered in EU Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) for the development of the method and its mathematical representation. A case study was carried out to evaluate the method using the bill of quantities (BOQ) from two residential construction sites to measure their environmental aspects. The results suggest the usefulness of the method in the decision-making process on the allocation of control systems and, in some cases, recommending the execution of off-site services to reduce the impacts on the site's neighborhood. Additionally, the method proved to be easy to apply to evaluate construction sites, as well as flexible to incorporate other activities, adapting to the demand of builders and municipalities to reduce the environmental impacts of construction sites.
Science of The Total Environment
Construction and Building Materials
Sustainability
The traditional decision-making process in construction is still driven by factors such as cost a... more The traditional decision-making process in construction is still driven by factors such as cost and time, not adequately addressing indicators to control their environmental impacts. So, how to improve environmental communication to incorporate sustainable building practices. The incorporation of environmental indicators may enlarge the scope of construction management tools. In the case of cost databases, widely used in the construction sector, this action can contribute to the communication and dissemination of environmental practices. This paper mapped 24 indicators from construction cost databases to assess their ability to communicate and disseminate environmental information. The research comprised: (a) a review of the use of cost bases in the environmental study, (b) identification of the most cited bases in 27 Brazilian civil engineering courses, and (c) analysis of the selected databases through of the assessment matrix, it crosses cost data versus environmental information...
Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change
The risks related to global climate change are seen as threats to companies, taking into consider... more The risks related to global climate change are seen as threats to companies, taking into consideration their impact on the return on investment. In order to mitigate climate risk and introduce new opportunities to financiers, companies need to identify, manage, and report climate risks. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the climate risks disclosed by the 100 largest companies in the world, according to the Bloomberg and Price Waterhouse Coopers Mitig Adapt Strateg Glob Change
The Science of the total environment, Jan 16, 2018
By the end of this century higher temperatures and significantly reduced rainfall are projected f... more By the end of this century higher temperatures and significantly reduced rainfall are projected for the Brazilian North and Northeast (NE) regions due to Global Warming. This study examines the impact of these long-term rainfall changes on the Brazilian Northeast's hydroelectric production. Various studies that use different IPCC models are examined in order to determine the average rainfall reduction by the year 2100 in comparison to baseline data from the end of the 20th century. It was found that average annual rainfall in the NE region could decrease by approximately 25-50% depending on the emissions scenario. Analysis of historical rainfall data in the São Francisco basin during the last 57years already shows a decline of more than 25% from the 1961-90 long-term average. Moreover, average annual rainfall in the basin has been below its long-term average every year bar one since 1992. If this declining trend continues, rainfall reduction in the basin could be even more sever...
Environmental science and pollution research international, Jan 10, 2018
The change in nitrogen balance causes many environmental and socioeconomic impacts. In relation t... more The change in nitrogen balance causes many environmental and socioeconomic impacts. In relation to food production and nitrogen release in wastewater systems, wastewater and sludge discharge and mineral fertilizer use intensify nitrogen imbalance of a region. The replacement of mineral fertilizer by nitrogen from treated wastewater, biosolids, and treated urine is a promising alternative. This work presents a model to support decision taking for the management of reactive nitrogen flows in wastewater systems based on system dynamics. Six scenarios were simulated for nitrogen flows in wastewater systems and related components.
The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment
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Papers by Asher Kiperstok