Article
Engineering, Environmental
L. Rostek, L. A. Tercero Espinoza, D. Goldmann, A. Loibl
Summary: Accurate and up-to-date accounting of material stocks and flows is crucial for Circular Economy discussions. The application of dynamic material flow analysis shows an increase in recycling rates from 2010 to 2019, but challenges remain in end-of-life waste collection and zinc losses in steel recycling.
RESOURCES CONSERVATION AND RECYCLING
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Golnoush Abbasi, Marina Hauser, Cornelis Peter Balde, Evert A. Bouman
Summary: Plastic pollution is recognized as a major challenge of the 21st century. This study examines the stocks and flows of seven plastic polymers in Norway from 2000 to 2050 and highlights the need for integrating this knowledge into policymaking. The findings can serve as a guideline for other countries to develop regulatory actions and circular strategies.
ENVIRONMENT INTERNATIONAL
(2023)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Joris Baars, Mohammad Ali Rajaeifar, Oliver Heidrich
Summary: Material efficiency (ME) strategies are important for reducing environmental emissions, improving supply chain resilience, and enhancing cost competitiveness. Material flow analysis (MFA) methods can be used to assess the potential impacts of ME strategies. However, there are limitations in MFA methods that hinder its use as a decision support tool. To overcome these limitations, researchers have been integrating MFA with other methods.
JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL ECOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Xaysackda Vilaysouk, Kamrul Islam, Alessio Miatto, Heinz Schandl, Shinsuke Murakami, Seiji Hashimoto
Summary: Global material extraction has been growing rapidly, and nighttime light imagery can be used to measure stocks in economically developing nations. Regression models show a high correlation between lit area and in-use stock, primarily concentrated in urban areas.
RESOURCES CONSERVATION AND RECYCLING
(2021)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Lu Liu, Jinhua Li, Zhibin Jia, Jing Liu
Summary: This study conducted industrial metabolism analysis on a representative wine company in China, comparing the traditional industry chain (TIC) and ecological industry chain (EIC) to explore material flow relationships. The results showed that EIC had higher industrial metabolic efficiency and resource utilization than TIC, with the addition of nodes promoting byproduct reuse and waste reduction.
JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL ECOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Environmental Studies
Guimei Zhao, Wenxiu Li, Yong Geng, Raimund Bleischwitz
Summary: This study investigates the features of antimony flows and stocks in China from 2011 to 2020 and highlights the high supply risk and environmental pollution associated with antimony production. The majority of secondary antimony production in China comes from end-of-life lead-acid batteries and bearing gears. To ensure sustainable supply and clean production, appropriate antimony management policies need to be implemented.
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Minghao Xu, Dingjiang Chen, Yadong Yu, Zengbo Chen, Yupeng Zhang, Bomin Liu, Yike Fu, Bing Zhu
Summary: Considerable progress has been made in material flow analysis (MFA), leading to the necessity of conducting MFA at the subnational level. The study introduces a novel material flow indicator, Provincial Selected Material Consumption (PSMC), and its calculation method to estimate resource consumption mainly by the manufacturing and construction sectors. Through the verification in China, PSMC proves to be a reliable and feasible tool for depicting subnational level material use characteristics, providing valuable insights for sustainable resource management and policy-making.
JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL ECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Ying Chen, Xuehong Zhu, Anqi Zeng
Summary: Increasing aluminum demand under the clean energy and low-carbon transformation background has made the relationship between economic growth and aluminum use or aluminum-related carbon emissions uncertain. This paper establishes an integrated decoupling model to examine the aluminum use and carbon emissions within the anthropogenic aluminum cycle framework. The results show that secondary aluminum has not effectively supplemented primary aluminum in China, and there is a prevalent negative decoupling state. The decoupling effects of carbon emission were better than that of aluminum use, and technology improvement played a significant role in the decoupling process.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Dominik Wiedenhofer, Tomer Fishman, Barbara Plank, Alessio Miatto, Christian Lauk, Willi Haas, Helmut Haberl, Fridolin Krausmann
Summary: Material stocks in infrastructure, buildings, and machinery have a significant impact on current and future resource use and emissions. The analysis suggests that material stocks may saturate, but it is unclear if this evidence holds for a wider range of stocks and flows globally. China leads in global stockbuilding materials, growing at a rate of 8%/year, while industrialized regions are slowly expanding at 1%/year. Stabilizing and reducing resource use in industrialized regions and China require halting net stock expansion and transforming existing stocks.
GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE-HUMAN AND POLICY DIMENSIONS
(2021)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Chika Aoki-Suzuki, Sebastien M. R. Dente, Daisuke Tanaka, Chihiro Kayo, Shinsuke Murakami, Chiharu Fujii, Kiyotaka Tahara, Seiji Hashimoto
Summary: Decoupling well-being from resource use through resource efficiency and circular economy has become the mainstream agenda for sustainable development. This study in Japan is the first to assess the total environmental impact at the national level, focusing on the production process for 213 materials. The study reveals a higher impact generated by production and foreign supply chain phases in biomass and fossil resources, highlighting the need for measures to reduce resource use and improve efficiency in these areas.
JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL ECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Delphine Kawecki, Qie Wu, Joao S. Goncalves, Bernd Nowack
Summary: This study presents a probabilistic material flow analysis of seven common thermoplastics, examining various aspects such as in-use stock, disposal methods, and recycling rates, providing valuable information for assessing the environmental implications of these specific polymers.
RESOURCES CONSERVATION AND RECYCLING
(2021)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Dominik Noll, Christian Lauk, Willi Haas, Simron Jit Singh, Panos Petridis, Dominik Wiedenhofer
Summary: The study focuses on how islands can achieve more sustainable resource use, using a socioeconomic metabolism framework to assess circular economy strategies for the Greek island of Samothraki. Results show significant growth in material stocks, domestic material consumption, and solid waste generation on the island over the past 90 years. The transition towards a less circular biophysical economy resulted in accumulated solid waste stock almost half the size of current material stocks in use on the island.
JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL ECOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Papon Roy, Muhammed Noor Hossain, S. M. Mijan Uddin, Mohammad Mosharraf Hossain
Summary: This study aims to prepare a life cycle inventory (LCI) database for coal mining and import in Bangladesh and conducted material flow analysis (MFA) and life cycle assessment (LCA) of coal to explore sustainable options. The study found that the environmental impacts of imported coal were higher than locally mined coal if the mining process at the source is considered. Coal consumption in Bangladesh mainly contributed to climate change and human toxicity, cancer effects.
JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION
(2023)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Jan Kovanda
Summary: The article introduces a new method called economy-wide material system analysis (EW-MSA) for mapping material flows through the economy. The quantification of material flows in EW-MSA is carried out by unambiguously defined indicators. The case study using the Czech Republic as an example demonstrates that it is an open economy with a continuously growing total physical stock of materials.
JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL ECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Stefan Pauliuk, Niko Heeren
Summary: Germany has successfully reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 35% since 1990, with a national goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. While energy efficiency measures have been established, further reductions will require a focus on material efficiency, such as product lightweighting, material reuse, remanufacturing, and product lifecycle extension. Sector-specific research has shown significant emissions savings potential through material efficiency strategies, and implementing such measures could further reduce emissions by 19-34% in passenger vehicles, 27-31% in residential buildings, and 14-19% in non-residential buildings by 2050.
JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL ECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Economics
Rakhi Manohar Mepparambath, Lynette Cheah, Costas Courcoubetis
Summary: City logistics and road freight for goods movement in urban areas are essential for urban life, but they bring negative impacts like traffic congestion and pollution. Commercial centers and retail districts are heavily affected by logistics activities, attracting freight vehicles and causing limited parking supply issues. Urban planners and decision makers have proposed policies such as delivery time restrictions and Urban Consolidation Centers (UCC) to address these challenges.
TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH PART E-LOGISTICS AND TRANSPORTATION REVIEW
(2021)
Editorial Material
Energy & Fuels
Lynette Cheah
Summary: Vehicle electrification is crucial for reducing carbon emissions in road transport, but challenges remain in terms of electric vehicle adoption and infrastructure planning. A new study examines real-world travel data to explore different charging and supplemental vehicle strategies that can help electric vehicles meet the needs of current drivers.
Article
Engineering, Civil
Raymond Low, Lynette Cheah, Linlin You
Summary: Recent advancements in information and communication technologies have enabled the widespread use of mobile sensing devices for obtaining high-resolution movement data of commercial vehicles. A commercial vehicle survey conducted in Singapore using the FMS platform revealed a significant imbalance between verified and unverified stop activities. To address this issue, an activity prediction model was developed based on various features collected through the FMS platform and Open Street Map, utilizing a gradient boosting approach and data resampling techniques. Integrating this model into the FMS platform can pre-populate survey fields, improve completion rates, and enhance understanding of commercial vehicle behaviors in Singapore.
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INTELLIGENT TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Civil
Lynette Cheah, Qiuhong Huang
Summary: In order to stay competitive, online shopping platforms offer various shipping options to meet consumer preferences. This study aims to evaluate the environmental impact of these options, particularly focusing on carbon emissions. Results show that consumers are willing to compromise delivery speed for a less carbon-intensive shipping option, highlighting the importance of carbon labeling for e-commerce choices.
TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH RECORD
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Mohit Arora, Lih Wei Yeow, Lynette Cheah, Sybil Derrible
Summary: This study introduces a quantitative framework for assessing urban water circularity and applies it to a case study in Singapore. The results show that water circularity has been increasing and provides insights for macro-level water systems planning and policy.
RESOURCES CONSERVATION AND RECYCLING
(2022)
Article
Environmental Studies
Lih Wei Yeow, Yuting Yan, Lynette Cheah
Summary: Alternatives to conventional diesel engines, such as battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles (FCVs), offer promising solutions for decarbonizing road freight. A study comparing the life cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of diesel, BEVs, and FCVs in Singapore found that BEVs powered by the 2019 electricity mix had lower GHG emissions than conventional diesel, while doubling battery capacity to meet travel range requirements increased emissions. FCVs using gaseous hydrogen achieved GHG reductions of 23-30% while meeting range requirements. Obtaining updated and reliable data on vehicle production is critical for assessing emerging technologies and enacting evidence-based decarbonization policies for road freight.
TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH PART D-TRANSPORT AND ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Civil
Rakhi Manohar Mepparambath, Lynette Cheah, P. Christopher Zegras, Andre Romano Alho, Takanori Sakai
Summary: With rapid urbanization, urban logistics in cities face various challenges, especially when delivering goods to congested retail districts in urban centers. Urban consolidation centers (UCC) and off-hour deliveries (OHD) are proposed as solutions. This study uses empirical behavioral models and agent-based simulation to analyze the impact of these initiatives on freight flows in a Singaporean retail district. The results show that participation likelihood in UCC and OHD decreases when multiple actors are involved. Both UCC and OHD have the potential to reduce freight traffic and parking demand in different ways.
TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH RECORD
(2023)
Article
Business
Andre Alho, Simon Oh, Ravi Seshadri, Giacomo Dalla Chiara, Wen Han Chong, Takanori Sakai, Lynette Cheah, Moshe Ben-Akiva
Summary: This study focuses on the parking choices of freight vehicles in large urban freight traffic generators and proposes an agent-based simulation approach to understand the impact of parking choices on externalities such as traffic congestion. A case study in a commercial region in Singapore shows that demand management strategies can improve travel time and reduce queuing.
RESEARCH IN TRANSPORTATION BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT
(2022)
Editorial Material
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Lynette Cheah, Andy Tay
Article
Engineering, Civil
Meijing Zhang, Lynette Cheah, Costas Courcoubetis
Summary: With increased urbanization and the rise of e-commerce, there is a growing demand for freight transport in cities. To address the challenge of timely, cost-effective, and reliable deliveries, the concept of crowdshipping has gained interest. This research focuses on Singapore as a case study and explores the potential impact of using public transport for crowdshipping in a congested city. The results show that crowdshipping can reduce vehicle kilometers traveled, air emissions, and delivery costs, making it a sustainable method for moving goods in urban areas.
TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH RECORD
(2023)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Samuel Chng, Sabreena Anowar, Lynette Cheah
Summary: Shared autonomous vehicles (AVs) have long-term environmental, economic, and societal benefits to cities, but they need to overcome both technological challenges and social barriers for successful marketplace penetration. An online survey conducted in Singapore found that autonomous shuttles had the highest acceptance, followed by larger autonomous buses. AV rideshares and taxis were mainly appealing to existing users of these services. To encourage a mode switch, shared AVs need to address an underserved transportation need or population.
Article
Transportation
Kristine Miller, Samuel Chng, Lynette Cheah
Summary: This study investigates user acceptance of shared autonomous vehicles (AVs) among people with different mobility and communication needs in Singapore. The study found that these user groups have positive attitudes towards AVs in public transport but also express concerns about safety. Safety and reliability of AV services are ranked as top concerns for all groups surveyed. The participants identified several important service features such as onboard safety features, dedicated lanes for AVs and ease of boarding and alighting. Inclusive experiential rides on AVs will help these groups feel more comfortable and prepared for AVs.
TRAVEL BEHAVIOUR AND SOCIETY
(2022)
Review
Transportation
Haimanti Bala, Sabreena Anowar, Samuel Chng, Lynette Cheah
Summary: The emergence and growth of vehicle automation have led to new transport service offerings called Autonomous Mobility Services (AMS) that can potentially replace human-operated vehicles. However, the functionalities of AMS blur the lines that distinguish different transport modes, making it necessary to review studies related to Shared Autonomous Mobility Services (SAMS). This study aims to fill this gap by reviewing studies on public acceptability and acceptance of SAMS across different dimensions. The results indicate heterogeneity in the adoption of SAMS among different sub-groups.
Article
Engineering, Civil
Meijing Zhang, Lynette Cheah
Summary: The continuous growth of e-commerce requires logistic service providers to handle more parcel deliveries, and there is a growing demand for sustainable solutions. Crowdshipping is an innovative logistic service that utilizes the public to fulfill parcel deliveries along their pre-committed journeys. This paper proposes a comprehensive framework for crowdshipping using public transport passengers as crowdshippers. The results from real-world data show that crowdshipping can reduce delivery vehicle kilometers and carbon dioxide emissions by up to 20%, with 11% of parcels being redirected for crowdshipping. Crowdshipping using public transport has the potential to be a sustainable solution for urban logistics in dense cities.
TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH RECORD
(2023)
Proceedings Paper
Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence
Samuel Chng, Mikiko Kawasumi, Mohd Al-Ahda, Chavi Mangla, Lynette Cheah
Summary: As the development of autonomous vehicles (AVs) progresses, it is important to consider how to promote acceptance and positive interactions between humans and AVs. This study focuses on enhancing AV-to-pedestrian interactions through graphic messages displayed on the exterior of the vehicle to facilitate future human-machine interface (HMI) design. The findings from an online survey with 440 participants from Japan and Singapore show that pictograms were the most preferred graphic type, with Japanese participants showing a preference for graphics with eyes. Participants in both countries exhibited positive attitudes towards the use of these graphics in AVs.
2022 IEEE 25TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON INTELLIGENT TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS (ITSC)
(2022)
