Modelling Recycling Targets:Achieving a 50%Recycling Rate for Household Waste in Denmark

Within the European Union (EU) a paradigm shift is currently occurring in the waste sector, where EU waste directives and national waste strategies are placing emphasis on resource efficiency and recycling targets. The most recent Danish resource strategy calculates a national recycling rate of 22% for household waste, and sets an ambitious goal of a 50% recycling rate by 2020. This study integrates the recycling target into the FRIDA model to project how much waste and from which streams should be diverted from incineration to recycling in order to achieve the target. Furthermore, it discusses how the existing technological, organizational and legislative frameworks may affect recycling activities. The results of the analysis show that with current best practice recycling rates, the 50% recycling rate cannot be reached without recycling of household biowaste. It also shows that all Danish municipalities will need to make efforts to recover all recyclable fractions, and that the increased recycling efforts of only selected municipalities will not be sufficient to reach the target.

Discrete Element Simulation of Asphalt Pavement Milling Process to Improve theUtilization of Milled Old Mixture

In order to improve the utilization of milling materials,save stone resources and reduce milling energy consumption,the aged Styrene-butadiene-styrene(SBS)modified asphalt was used as a binder to prepare AC-16 asphalt mixture to simulate old asphalt pavement materials.First,the test and discrete element simulation results of uniaxial compression tests were used to calibrate the parameters of the parallel bonding contact model between asphalt mortar and aggregates.On this basis,a microscopic model of the asphalt mixture was established to simulate the old asphalt pavement.Then,the discrete element software PFC(Particle Flow Code)was used to simulate the milling process of the old asphalt pavement.Analyzed the force of the cutting tool and the utilization rate of milling materials,and the optimal milling speed and milling depth were determined.Finally,the energy consumption in the milling process was measured.It is concluded that in the process of milling the old asphalt pavement,using a cutting angle of 42°,milling speed of 0.5 m/s and milling depth of 20 mm can reduce the wear of the cutting tool.In this case,the direct utilization rate of milling materials is 85.3%,and the rate of energy consumption reduction is 33.53%.After parameter optimization,the utilization rate of milling materials can be increased by 17.4%.

Some Problems of Recycling Industrial Materials

The industrial system should learn from the natural ecosystem. The resource utilization efficiency should be increased and the environmental load should be decreased, depending on the materials recycled in the system. The classification of industrial materials from the viewpoint of large-scale recycling was stated. Recycling of materials, on three different levels, was introduced in the industrial system. The metal flow diagram in the life cycle of products, in the case of no materials recycled, materials partially recycled, and materials completely recycled, was given. The natural resource conservation and the waste emission reduction were analyzed under the condition of materials completely recycled. The expressions for the relation between resource efficiency and material recycling rate, and the relation between eco-efficiency and material recycling rate were derived, and the curves describing the relationship between them were protracted. The diagram of iron flow in the life cycle of iron and steel products in China, in 2001, was given, and the iron resource efficiency, material recycling rate, and iron eco-efficiency were analyzed. The variation of iron resource efficiency with the material recycling rate was analyzed for two different production ratios.

Long term performance of recycled concrete beams with different water-cement ratio and recycled aggregate replacement rate

The purpose of this study is to reveal the service performance of recycled aggregate concrete(RAC)components for different values of water-cement ratio and replacement rate of recycled coarse aggregate(RCA).Generally,the concrete strength decreases with the increase of the replacement rate of RCA,in order to meet the strength requirements when changing the replacement rate of RCA,it is necessary to change the water-cement ratio at the same time.Therefore,the axial compressive strengths of prism with 25 mix proportions,the short-term mechanical properties and long-term deformation properties of reinforced concrete beams were tested respectively by changing water-cement ratio and RCA replacement rate.The bearing capacity and the strain nephogram of samples under different loads were obtained using the Digital Image Correlation(DIC)method,and a self-made gravity loading experimental device was used for long-term deformation investigation.Results showed that the damage pattern of RAC was the same as that of natural aggregate concrete(NAC),but the brittleness was more pronounced.The brittleness of concrete before failure can be reduced more effectively by adjusting the replacement rate of RCA than by adjusting the water-cement ratio.The water-cement ratio has an evident influence on the axial compressive strength and early creep of concrete,while the replacement rate of RCA has a remarkable effect on the long-term deformation of the concrete beams.

Rapid decolorization of Acid Orange Ⅱ aqueous solution by amorphous zero-valent iron

Some problems including low treatment capacity,agglomeration and clogging phenomena,and short working life,limit the application of pre-treatment methods involving zero-valent iron （ZVI）.In this article,ZVI was frozen in an amorphous state through a melt-spinning technique,and the decolorization effect of amorphous ZVI on Acid Orange II solution was investigated under varied conditions of experimental variables such as reaction temperature,ribbon dosage,and initial pH.Batch experiments suggested that the decolorization rate was enhanced with the increase of reaction temperature and ribbon dosage,but decreased with increasing initial solution pH.Kinetic analyses indicated that the decolorization process followed a first order exponential kinetic model,and the surface-normalized decolorization rate could reach 2.09 L/（m^2 ·min） at room temperature,which was about ten times larger than any previously reported under similar conditions.Recycling experiments also proved that the ribbons could be reused at least four times without obvious decay of decolorization rate and efficiency.This study suggests a tremendous application potential for amorphous ZVI in remediation of groundwater or wastewater contaminated with azo dyes.