Search Results (285)

This study presents a comparative life cycle assessment (LCA) of a conventional wet flue gas desulfurization (FGD) process and two carbonate-melt-based FGD configurations (CMFGD-H and CMFGD-T), based on a functional unit of 1 kg SO₂ removed. Process-level life cycle inventory (LCI) data were generated using process simulation to ensure consistency and comparability across all systems. The results indicate that both CMFGD configurations significantly reduce environmental impacts in terms of global warming potential (GWP), fine particulate matter formation (PM), and terrestrial acidification (TA) compared to the conventional FGD process. Specifically, GWP decreased from 177.75 kg CO₂ eq to 37.47 and 35.68 kg CO₂ eq for CMFGD-H and CMFGD-T, respectively. Similar reductions were observed for PM and TA, primarily due to the elimination of limestone consumption, the absence of gypsum waste generation, and reduced direct process emissions. Hotspot analysis revealed that direct CO₂ emissions dominate GWP across all configurations, whereas PM and TA are influenced by both direct emissions and upstream energy supply. In the CMFGD systems, environmental burdens shift from direct emissions toward upstream processes, particularly electricity and hydrogen production, highlighting the importance of energy system characteristics. However, a clear trade-off was identified in fossil resource scarcity (FRC), which increased significantly for CMFGD configurations (1.858–1.976 kg oil eq) compared to the conventional process (0.128 kg oil eq). This increase is primarily attributed to greater dependence on upstream energy supply chains, including fossil-based electricity, fuel, and hydrogen production. Sensitivity analysis further indicates that FRC is configuration-dependent, with hydrogen consumption dominating in CMFGD-H and CO utilization playing a more significant role in CMFGD-T. Nevertheless, even with reductions in these key parameters, FRC remains substantially higher than that of the conventional process, indicating that this impact is fundamentally governed by upstream energy dependency rather than individual process variables. The results demonstrate that CMFGD technologies offer substantial environmental benefits in terms of emission-related impacts but may increase resource depletion. These findings highlight that achieving sustainable CMFGD systems requires an integrated approach that combines process optimization with low-carbon and resource-efficient energy supply. Full article

The rapid expansion of solar photovoltaic (PV) deployment has led to increasing concerns regarding end-of-life module management and the sustainability of material supply chains, where waste volumes are projected to reach 3.3–5.6 million tons by 2045. This study evaluates the environmental and economic impact of advanced photovoltaic recycling in Germany, focusing on high-value material recovery from crystalline silicon modules. A Full Recovery of End-of-Life Photovoltaics (FRELP) pathway is developed, integrating light-pulse delamination and molten salt etching, and a comparative life cycle assessment and economic assessment framework is applied. The results indicate that advanced recycling achieves high recovery rates for silicon, silver, aluminum, copper and low-iron glass, yielding around €1174.88 per ton of panels recycled. Economic analysis shows that manufacturing PV modules from recycled materials reduces costs by approximately 60–77% compared to virgin material production, mainly due to avoided energy-intensive upstream processes. From an environmental perspective, the recycling-based pathway yields net benefits across impact categories, as avoided impacts from primary material extraction outweigh additional burdens associated with recycling. Overall, PV recycling in Europe is shown to be environmentally and economically favorable; however, technological maturity and policy constraints remain key barriers to large-scale implementation and a holistic overall recycling process, indicating the need for targeted policy support. Full article

Spatial data supply chains (SDSCs) transform authoritative observations into widely reused spatial products, but users typically lack machine-actionable provenance describing lineage, processing configurations, and custodianship. We introduce GeoPROV, a domain-specialised provenance model that profiles the W3C PROV framework and aligns with OGC GeoSPARQL to support standards-based representation and querying of spatial provenance. GeoPROV extends the Entity–Activity–Agent pattern with spatially meaningful entity types, explicit supply-chain roles, and first-class configuration artefacts. The model is formalised through a conceptual UML model and implementation-ready physical schema. We instantiate a provenance repository using the Geoscape Administrative Boundaries dataset and evaluate GeoPROV under three SDSC-relevant workloads: bounded upstream lineage traversal, downstream impact analysis, and GeoSPARQL-enabled spatial provenance queries. GeoPROV-based provenance infrastructures provide predictable, scalable performance when applying bounded traversal, index-aware spatial filtering, and validation-before-persistence. Overall, GeoPROV offers a reproducible, interoperable, and operationally viable foundation for spatial provenance, addressing key transparency, trust, and governance requirements in contemporary SDSCs. Full article

This study presents a gate-to-gate life cycle assessment (LCA) of an industrial sweet cherry sorting and packing facility in Greece, directly addressing environmental sustainability in agri-food supply chains through data-driven impact quantification and improvement pathways in post-harvest operations. The assessment focuses on a gate-to-gate system boundary encompassing all processes inside the cherry sorting and packing facility, while upstream cherry production and downstream waste management are modeled and reported separately to provide system-level context. Core-stage hotspots are then analyzed in detail in the Results section, highlighting the dominant role of electricity use compared with packaging materials. The functional unit is defined as 1 kg of packed, market-ready cherries at the factory gate. Primary data are obtained from high-resolution, batch-level measurements of mass flows, energy use, water consumption, packaging materials and waste streams over a full processing season, structured as virtual sensor outputs. These sensor-informed operational data are combined with secondary life cycle inventory information from established databases to quantify climate change impacts and identify environmental hotspots across materials, energy, water, and waste, thereby delivering a quantified picture of environmental performance in the post-harvest stage. The results show that corrugated cardboard and associated packaging components are among the main contributors within the facility-level, gate-to-gate system, while the Core stage accounts for 28.43% of total GWP100. Upstream cherry production dominates the overall Upstream–Core–Downstream climate footprint with 70.61% of total impacts. Moreover, practical mitigation scenarios are modeled, including packaging optimization, partial substitution of grid electricity with photovoltaic generation, and increased water recirculation. Ιn the combined mitigation scenario, where packaging optimization, low-carbon electricity and improved water management are implemented simultaneously, total GWP100 decreases from 114,207.32 to 92,500.27 kg CO₂-eq (−19.0%) relative to the baseline, providing actionable sustainability improvements for industry stakeholders and supporting Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) related to climate action and resource efficiency. In addition, the proposed virtual sensor architecture and data workflow support continuous monitoring, eco-efficiency management and near-real-time LCA implementation in post-harvest agri-food systems, enabling operational sustainability. Full article

Geopolitical risks—including export controls, entity listings, and end-use restrictions—have become a major source of disruptions in semiconductor supply chains. The impact of such disruptions depends not only on the policy trigger itself but also on the vulnerability of cross-regional partnerships between supply chain partners. Specifically, under the same policy regime, firms with weak partnerships suffer far greater disruption than those with strong partnerships. Apart from risk propagation, this vulnerability also propagates through the supply chain: when an upstream supply channel has weak partnerships, its downstream stages also become more exposed to disruptions. We call this phenomenon vulnerability propagation. Existing Bayesian Network (BN) frameworks portray risk propagation through fixed parameters that do not reflect partnership vulnerability and cannot capture vulnerability propagation. To fill this gap, we propose a Dependency-Robust Bayesian Network (DeRBN) that conditions risk propagation parameters on the partnership vulnerability. A robust worst-case oriented evaluation method is developed to assess the disruption risk under data scarcity. Computational experiments on a typical semiconductor supply chain network show that (i) moving from all-strong to all-weak partnerships increases the worst-case risk by approximately 24%, (ii) the dependency-induced risk amplification is unevenly distributed across supply channels, with the most influential channel contributing approximately 2.2 times the marginal risk of the least influential one, and (iii) the relative ranking of vulnerability profiles remains perfectly stable under varying levels of data uncertainty. These results suggest that DeRBN has the potential to serve not only as a risk assessment tool but also as a diagnostic instrument for identifying and prioritizing the most vulnerable supply channels for targeted risk mitigation. Full article

Background: Circular supply chains (CSC) have emerged as a strategic response to sustainability challenges, while adoption remains uneven. Supplier selection is a key driver of effectiveness, shaped by organizational capabilities, institutional support, and leadership. This study develops a structured framework for circular supplier selection (CSS) using a hybrid multi-criteria decision-making approach, addressing fragmented research and strengthening the link between methodological innovation and practice. Methods: The proposed framework integrates fuzzy DEMATEL, the Best-Worst Method (BWM), and the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) within MCDM. Fuzzy DEMATEL identifies cause-and-effect relationships among criteria, distinguishing net causes from net effects. The most influential and dependent criteria serve as anchors for the BWM weighting, followed by AHP to evaluate sub-criteria and alternatives. Results: Environmental governance emerged as the most influential driver in the causal analysis, while circular performance received the highest weight in BWM. The final AHP evaluation ranked Alternative 5 as the most suitable, followed by A9 and A3, confirming the framework’s ability to deliver consistent, actionable insights for circular supplier selection. Conclusions: This integration enables a more granular and robust evaluation of supplier strategies within CSC, reinforcing their role in accelerating sustainability transitions. It establishes a structured framework for CSS, highlighting CSS performance and upstream supply chain decision-making. Full article

Cronobacter spp. are opportunistic foodborne pathogens that can cause neonatal meningitis, necrotizing enterocolitis, and sepsis. This study conducted a systematic contamination survey and whole-genome epidemiological analysis of 562 low-water-activity food samples in Hunan Province of China. The results showed an overall Cronobacter spp. detection rate of 41.99% (236/562), with spices exhibiting the highest contamination rate (60.06%), and with high-level contamination samples (>110 MPN/g) concentrated in this category. The 236 isolates comprised 6 species, 120 sequence types, and 39 clonal complexes, with C. sakazakii being the most frequently isolated species (64.83%) and high-risk clones ST4, ST1, ST148, and ST64 prevailing. Multiple virulence genes (TraJ, fur, rcsAB, rpoS) and antimicrobial resistance genes (qnrS1, blaTEM-1, blaCTX-M-55, blaLAP-2, aac(3)-IId, aadA2, tet(A), floR, mcr-9.1, sul2) were detected. Core genome multilocus sequence typing (cgMLST) identified two clustering patterns: Cluster C, whose genetic clustering was consistent with transmission associated with potential common upstream raw materials across different brands and provinces, and Cluster G, whose clustering suggested potential persistent colonization in the production environment across multiple batches of the same brand. This study elucidates the contamination characteristics of Cronobacter spp. in low-water-activity foods from Hunan Province and provides a basis for WGS-based active surveillance and supply chain traceability. Full article

This study presents a comprehensive life cycle assessment (LCA) of the modernization of an existing 460 MW coal-fired power unit into a hybrid system incorporating a high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR). The analysis was conducted from a cradle-to-grave perspective using a functional unit of 1 MWh of net electricity, based on the ecoinvent 3.9 database and the ReCiPe 2016 Midpoint method. The results indicate that the modernized system achieves a global warming potential (GWP) of 18.2 g CO₂-eq/kWh, representing a 93.5% reduction compared to a supercritical coal-fired unit. The largest contribution to the total environmental burden is associated with the upstream uranium supply chain, accounting for approximately 42% of GWP. In contrast, the operational phase exhibits a negative contribution due to the application of environmental credits resulting from the avoidance of emissions related to coal combustion. The findings also confirm a significant improvement in resource efficiency, including reduced primary energy demand and waste generation compared to the reference system. Sensitivity analysis demonstrated the robustness of the results with respect to variations in key economic and thermodynamic parameters, particularly CAPEX (capital expenditures) and operating temperature. Overall, the results suggest that hybrid retrofitting of coal-fired power plants with HTGR technology may serve as a viable transitional pathway supporting the decarbonization of the Polish energy sector. Full article

There is renewed interest in local sourcing, regional supply chains, and the rebuilding of fiber-to-fashion systems. However, limited attention has been paid to the upstream role of fiber farmers and the infrastructure that enables or constrains regional textile economies. This study investigates the opportunities and challenges of fiber farming in West Virginia and explores the motivations that drive participation in this sector. Using a qualitative approach, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 16 fiber farmers across West Virginia. The findings revealed five interconnected themes: heterogeneous actants, the translation of wool, regional network breakdown, festivals and social media as network hubs, and institutional gaps and network fragility. The results indicate that fiber farming persists through strong community networks, adaptive entrepreneurial strategies, and deep attachments to place. However, its economic viability is constrained by declining processing infrastructure, labor shortages, weakened institutional support, and fragmented supply chains. These challenges also have important sustainability implications. Most notably, wool is often discarded because processing and transportation costs exceed its market value, resulting in the waste of a renewable and biodegradable fiber that could otherwise remain in productive use. This study contributes to the literature on local sourcing, rural entrepreneurship, and sustainable and circular economies by highlighting the relational infrastructures required to rebuild regionally embedded textile systems in Appalachia and beyond. Full article

Hydrogen supply chains require coordinated planning from upstream production to downstream distribution and end-user delivery; however, significant logistical challenges remain under emerging hydrogen infrastructure constraints. In particular, the transportation sector faces difficulties in achieving efficient distribution while accounting for limited hydrogen refueling availability and vehicle range restrictions. This study evaluates key network design decisions involving distribution center location and fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) routing while incorporating hydrogen refueling stations within the transportation system. An integrated framework is proposed by combining K-means clustering for DC location planning with a hydrogen-powered FCEV routing model. Hydrogen refueling stations are incorporated as routing constraints to ensure feasible distribution operations. Next, a case study in Thailand is conducted to validate the proposed model under realistic logistical conditions. The results illustrate how clustering-based allocation improves network coordination, while the integrated FCEV routing approach ensures feasible and efficient delivery under refueling constraints. Comparative analysis further highlights improvements in system performance and provides practical insights for designing coordinated hydrogen logistics systems across integrated supply chain networks. Full article

The global leather and hide industry faces increasing sustainability pressures and growing competition from synthetic and bio-based alternatives. This study presents a strategic case analysis of the U.S. leather and hide industry, examining the competitive and sustainability challenges facing small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and their strategic pathways for long-term viability. Drawing on sustainability transitions theory, the study employs a qualitative case-study approach based on semi-structured interviews with five senior industry experts. Data were analyzed thematically and interpreted through PESTEL, Porter’s Five Forces, and SWOT frameworks. Four interconnected themes emerged: (1) trade pressures and supply-chain fragmentation; (2) sustainability as compliance, cost, and communication challenge; (3) leather under pressure: the rise of alternative materials; and (4) repositioning for survival: premiumization, technology, and regulatory adaptation. The findings indicate that sustainability is not primarily a production-level technical challenge; rather, key barriers lie in upstream operations and sustainability communication. The industry remains export-oriented for raw hides, while wet-blue and finished leather compete in specialized niche markets where differentiation is essential. Externally, the sector is most strongly shaped by substitute materials, increasing demand for credible sustainability data, and animal welfare concerns. Internally, most notably, it faces high capital intensity, elevated costs, and persistent supply-chain fragmentation. The study contributes to sustainability transitions and SME research while offering practical implications for industry and policy stakeholders. Full article

Agri-food systems account for a substantial share of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, with a significant proportion arising from upstream supply-chain activities beyond direct operational control. In this context, effective decarbonization requires systematic assessment of emissions across all life-cycle stages. This study applies an ISO 14040/44-compliant cradle-to-grave Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to CERELAC^® infant cereal, a processed dairy-based product, to quantify Scope 1, Scope 2, and Scope 3 emissions and identify mitigation pathways across the full product life cycle. Results indicate that Scope 3 emissions account for 94.3% of total product emissions, with product use (44.7%) and purchased goods and services (36.9%) as the primary contributors. Upstream agricultural inputs—particularly milk powder—emerge as the dominant hotspot due to methane emissions and energy-intensive processing. Scenario-based evaluation suggests that regenerative sourcing, ingredient optimization, packaging redesign, logistics improvements, and consumer-phase engagement could significantly reduce life cycle emissions. The findings demonstrate how product-level LCA can operationalize Scope 3 decarbonization strategies in processed food systems, bridging corporate net-zero ambitions with actionable supply chain interventions. These results provide transferable insights for cleaner production transitions within the agri-food sector. Full article

Decarbonizing the built environment depends not only on improving operational efficiency but also on how supply is formed along the construction chain. Carbon pricing may reshape that process through upstream material costs, financing conditions, and project timing, yet evidence on the timing and stability remains limited. This study examines how carbon-price shocks are transmitted to construction activity in China and whether this transmission changed after the launch of the national emissions trading system (ETS) in July 2021. Using monthly data from January 2014 to October 2025, the analysis first applies additive Bayesian network (ABN) structure learning to identify links among carbon-market conditions, material costs, finance, and construction activity and then estimates a time-varying structural vector autoregression (TVP-SVAR) to trace dynamic responses across regimes. The results show that carbon-price shocks mainly depress housing starts and area under construction at medium horizons, especially around 6–12 months, with stronger contraction around the 2021 transition and easing later. Allowance trading volume responds positively on impact, but this sensitivity weakens in the post-2021 period. Forecast error variance decompositions further show that carbon-price shocks become an important source of medium- and long-horizon fluctuations. At the 12-month horizon, they account for 18.7% and 18.4% of the forecast-error variance of housing starts in the pre- and post-2021 regimes, and 13.7% and 10.8% of that of trading volume. Overall, the findings point to a project-cycle channel through which carbon pricing reshapes built-environment supply formation, with implications for procurement, transition finance, and the evaluation of carbon-market effectiveness in construction. Full article

Tungsten is a critical strategic resource whose supply chain has become increasingly exposed to external trade shocks, raising concerns about its resilience and sustainability. However, existing studies mainly focus on single products and lack a systematic analysis of multi-stage supply chain networks under trade shocks. Using trade data for 66 countries from 2012 to 2023 obtained from the UN Comtrade database, this study constructs a multi-stage trade network of the global tungsten supply chain, covering upstream, midstream, and downstream segments, and combines complex network analysis with a difference-in-differences (DID) approach to examine whether and how Sino–US trade friction affects supply chain resilience. The results show that the trade network exhibits significant structural heterogeneity across segments, with downstream networks being more complex and interconnected; trade friction has no significant effect on upstream and midstream segments but has a significant positive effect on downstream network centrality, indicating stronger adaptability and structural resilience in downstream segments; the results further suggest that the observed downstream adjustment is mainly associated with changes in China’s network position, while the impact on the United States remains statistically insignificant. This study contributes to the literature by integrating network analysis with causal inference in a supply chain framework and provides new evidence on the heterogeneous effects of trade shocks across different stages of strategic resource supply chains under geopolitical risks. Full article

Abrupt maritime-energy disruption can generate system-wide production losses before firms and policymakers can adjust. Existing assessments usually emphasize direct exposure or long-run equilibrium responses, which makes them less suitable for short-run risk assessment in energy-dependent production systems. We develop a threshold-cascade framework that combines dual-track dependence topology, edge-level inventories, smooth operability bands, and a separate price-validation step to identify the blockade intensity at which a localized chokepoint shock becomes systemic production loss. The framework is evaluated against the March 2021 Suez blockage and the 2022 Russia–Ukraine producer-price episode, and then applied to a 2026 Strait of Hormuz stress scenario using the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Inter-Country Input-Output (ICIO) tables, 2025 edition, with the 2022 benchmark year. Under the baseline 150-day horizon, terminal loss first reaches 50% at about 32% blockade intensity, with a broader calibrated threshold band of 32–46%. Losses spread beyond the point of origin and become concentrated in East and Southeast Asian manufacturing supply chains and in downstream consumer markets after inventories at connected hubs are depleted. Policy experiments show that single-channel interventions shift the threshold only modestly, whereas an integrated package that relaxes logistics, inventories, and upstream scarcity moves the threshold to about 46% in this calibration. The analysis targets the weeks-to-months interval before substitution, contract renegotiation, and broader market adjustments dominate. Within that interval, the model identifies when buffers fail, how production losses spread, and which intervention packages delay systemic disruption. Full article