AbstractFrom a traditional market economy perspective, the productivity attained when water and land is used for acequias is much lower than the productivity achieved when applying these same resources to urban and industrial uses. An analysis of key stakeholders has indicated that there are cultural and environmental attributes of acequia agriculture landscapes that are not captured in the market-assigned value of acequias. This analysis revealed the motivations behind the value placed on acequ...
Autori: Joseph Ulibarri, Steven Archambault
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=25212

Abstract A crucial stage which makes the other directions of development of membrane processes is getting new membrane materials, to meet increasingly stringent of selectivity and productivity. Polyetheretherketone shows high stability against chemical and physical agents but is poorly soluble in most common solvents. Present studies on obtaining the support of the polyetheretherketone membranes were limited by: solubility of polyetheretherketone in concentrated sulfuric acid and fast speed a...
Autori: Mihaela Emanuela Craciun, Aurelia Cristina Nechifor, Florin Aldea, Gheorghe Nechifor
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=25475

Abstract The idea of sustainable farming relies on raising its yield along with a safe and constant gain with minimum environmental impact and by ensuring the population’s food security. Sustainable agriculture is a large concept that encompasses the complexity of this production system, the biological stability of farming plants and varieties, the conservation and protection of natural resources, but also the implementing and generalization of high-output modern technologies. Sustainable a...
Autori: Brindusa Robu, Carmen Cătălina Ioan, Edinel Robu, Matei Macoveanu
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=25520

Abstract The present paper proposes an integrated-treatment process of leachate from a municipal landfill, which involves two treatment steps. The first step consists in diminishing the organic content through an advanced oxidation process using ozone and hydrogen peroxide. The second step is performed in order to diminish the content of heavy metals through a sorption process on a natural low-cost biosorbent, thus the traces of organic substances remained after oxidative degradation or oxida...
Autori: Carmen Paduraru, Corneliu Pohontu, Igor Creţescu, Lavinia Tofan, Marius Sebastian Secula, Matei Macoveanu
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=25589

Abstract:The increasing of energy consumption and fossil fuel emissions (especially CO2, SO2 and NOx) and the limitation of crude oilreserves, determined a growing trend toward renewable energy technologies, like solar, wind, geo-thermal energy and biomass forbiofuels.From all the renewable energies sources, biomass attracts more and more interest being a renewable resource with economicpotential, which can be found all over the world, with positive environmental properties due to neutral emissi...
Autori: Anca Sauciuc, Angela Potetz, Georg Schlaub, Gerald Weber, Hermann Hofbauer, Lucia Dumitrescu, Reinhard Rauch, Ziad Abosteif
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=25762

The environment is an intrinsic component of most tourism products, and in segments, such as rural and outdoor tourism, it is the reason for their existence. In recent years, tourists have been including respect for the environment as a factor in their purchasing decisions; and many businesses are using this factor as a differential component to increase their market competitiveness. However, few studies have examined the use of the environment by tourism firms as a competitive strategy and what...
Autori: Alejandro García-Pozo, José-Luis Sánchez-Ollero, Macarena Marchante-Lara
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=25820

Nowadays, advanced wastewater treatment has become a stringent step for the removal of priority organic pollutants and many technologies have been proposed in order to achieve effluents with a superior quality for recycling or reuse purposes. This research is focused on the possibilities of using an integrated process, comprising 2 stages: the advanced oxidation process of ultrasonication and a membrane separation process, ultrafiltration. The main objective of the study is to assess the efficie...
Autori: , Daniela Cailean
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=25880

AbstractThe role of human resources in agricultural exploitations proved to be an essential matter due to the decisive influence on theagricultural crop efficiency and production results. There exist particularities regarding the calculation of the human resourcesnecessary in vegetal crop production, animal husbandry and other activities connected with agriculture. From an economicalfinancialpoint of view, the analysis of human resources efficiency is based on two indicators, as follows: labour ...
Autori: Carmen Olguta Brezuleanu, ,
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=26068

Abstract Recently, a new failure probability index was introduced that characterizes the operation of highly sensitive chemical reactors (i.e. when highly exothermic / hazardous reactions are conducted). Based on this, the current paper exemplifies the application of the risk analysis methodology proposed to generate the Pareto optimal operating solutions accounting for reactor productivity maximization (product yield) and probabilistic risk minimization. The multi-objective optimi...
Autori: Anca Dan
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=26108

AbstractAdopting the theories and methods of emergy analysis, the annual average emergy input-output of the Lake Nansi wetlandecosystem is calculated. Further, the emergy analysis chart is drawn to evaluate the energy flow and the economic value of thelake. The structure and functions of the Lake Nansi wetland ecosystem are analyzed as a whole. The results showed that theamount of the input solar emergy (including sunlight, wind and rainfall) of the Lake Nansi is 1.11×1021 1021 solar emergyjoule...
Autori: Liang Chunling
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=26183

AbstractThe purpose of this paper is to analyze the impact on rooms pricing of environmental management practices in the hotels ofAndalusia (Southern Spain). Empirical evidence is obtained using a database that was created as part of the project Quality,Productivity and Competitiveness in the Hospitality Industry for Andalusia (PO7/SEJ-02889). From this database, we use asample statistically representative of hotels in the region and applied a hedonic pricing model. The main reason for using thi...
Autori: Alejandro García-Pozo
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=26192

AbstractThe efficiency of enzymatic hydrolysis of Penicillin G to 6-Aminopenicillanic acid under substrate inhibition has been analyzedfor a bioreactor with mobile bed of immobilized penicillin amidase. The results indicated that the optimum values of temperatureand pH remained the same as for homogeneous hydrolysis using free enzyme. The inhibitory effect induced at higher PenicillinG amount in liquid phase was attenuated by increasing the size of the biocatalyst particles. For this reason, at ...
Autori: Ramona Mihaela Matran
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=26224

AbstractWastewater sludges are organic and nutrient-rich materials that could be used to improve soil tilth. However, the land applicationof sludge needs to be properly managed to avoid the detrimental effects on micro and macroorganisms in the soil. Earthwormsare one of the most important soil macroorganisms. Addition of sludge to the soil environment may impact earthworm activity,and in turn, soil productivity and health. In this study, sludge from the canned food industry was added to soil mi...
Autori: Efsun Dindar
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=26238

AbstractAccording to the study results, the level of soil pollution with heavy metals in the northern part of Kryvyy Rih iron ore basin(Kryvyy Rih district, Ukraine) reach to “moderately threating”. In the southern part of Kryvyy Rih basin (Shyroke district,Ukraine) the level of soil pollution was between two assessments: “moderately threating” and “permissible”. The results of thestudy on buffer capacity of usual black soils show that the tested elements can be arranged in the following descend...
Autori: Mykola Kharytonov
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=26389

AbstractResearches aim to develop new knowledge in the metal cutting field, using a relatively new technique with a low number ofapplications nationwide, namely the flexible explosive charge with cumulative effect for fast and precise cutting of metals. Theprocedure of cutting with explosives is a process that involves using and handling materials in their solid phase.This procedure isespecially applied in cases where materials are mostly metals and it uses a directed and controlled cumulative e...
Autori: Ilie Ciprian Jitea
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=26410

AbstractThe electricity consumption of a country is influenced by several parameters of the national economic structure, the level ofsocietal advancement and the economic climate. Indicators based on the rate of GDP and electricity consumption are widely usedfor characterizing the productivity of an economy. In this paper, the electricity consumption of the household and productivesectors is analyzed based on reference electricity consumption (proportional to GDP) and the relationship between co...
Autori: Judit T. Kiss
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=26540

Abstract Wind erosion, which strongly affects both plant and soil development in arid environments, is dependent on soil properties, wind characteristics and plant cover. In a semiarid zone in SE Spain, a new technique consisting of dusting plants with a forced wind stream reduces tillage and significantly increases productivity. By using a blower once a year, dust is raised and partly retained by plants, and eventually ends up in the understory. To assess the influence of this technique on ...
Autori: Carlos Asensio
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=26735

Abstract This paper presents a toolset for the efficient control of the indoor air quality and thermal comfort in retrofitted buildings. The refurbishment of existing buildings, compliant to actual regulations, often leads to airtightness and the consequent poor conditions for the occupants that could cause low productivity and even sickness. For this reason, the CETIEB (Cost Effective Tools for Better Indoor Environment in Retrofitted Energy Efficient Buildings) project developed innovative...
Autori: Gian Marco Revel
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=26770

Abstract Hydrolysates of Arundo donax, a crop offering high productivity in contaminated or salinized soils with no inputs of irrigation and agrochemicals, were used in a discontinuous fermenter to grow the oleaginous yeast Lipomyces starkey, to obtain microbial oils potentially useful for the production of 2nd-generation biodiesel. A mixture of fermentable sugars was obtained by steam-explosion and subsequent enzymatic hydrolysis of the lignocellulosic materials. The concentration of Ni2+ ...
Autori: Domenico Pirozzi
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=26789

Abstract For the purpose of evaluating the effect of environmental regulations addressing Energy Conservation and Emission Reduction (ECER) on Chinese industry, this paper introduces a non-radial, non-oriented and slacks-based data envelopment analysis (DEA) model, energy conservation and undesirable output reduction slacks-based Malmquist index (EUSM index) and its decompositions. This model can simultaneously measure energy and non-energy inputs along with pollutant emissions in addition t...
Autori: Jing Xiu
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=26805

Abstract The feasibility of humidification-dehumidification utilizing waste heat from exhaust gas was investigated. The exhaust gas below 100°C was used as the heat resource and to evaporate the salt water. The effect of operation conditions on the fresh water productivity and thermal efficiency was studied, including the salt water flow rate, exhaust gas flow rate and temperature. The performance of this process was discussed from the view of temperature field, and the temperature field...
Autori: Huaigang Cheng
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=26812

Abstract The first step for scientific and sustainable aquaculture development is appropriate site selection, and the success or failure of any aquaculture development largely depends on the right selection of the site. Due to favorable climatic conditions, suitable water quality, soil high natural productivity and space availability, the long southern coastline of Iran is regarded as highly suitable for aquaculture development. Site selection can be viewed as a multi-criteria decision makin...
Autori: Freydoon Vafaie
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=26866

Abstract Safe operation of highly thermally sensitive industrial reactors is still considered a major issue in chemical engineering practice. The problem becomes even more stringent when highly exothermic reactions are conducted under randomly fluctuating operating variables, and especially when the set-point is located in a close vicinity of the runaway boundaries for increasing the reactor productivity. This study is aiming to derive the runaway boundaries and their associated region of co...
Autori: Constantin Muscalu
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=26884

Waste recycling in steel industry by turning grain-size and powdery waste into pellets is a must now more than ever for economical motivation, in order to save raw materials and also for ecological reasons, as it leads to a cut down in the quantity of dumped waste. Industrial practice offers processors various technologies of waste recycling (agglomeration, briquetting, pelleting, mechanical mixture). The optimal variant should be chosen according to waste type, its content of useful elements...
Autori: Ana Virgina Socalici
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=26968

The economic literature provides ample evidence that tourism makes intensive use of land both as a product and as a production factor. However, what is now known as mass tourism was developed in a setting in which respect for the environment among businesses and consumers was conspicuous by its absence. This situation has recently changed as consumers increasingly demand sustainable tourism products and require companies to respect specific environmental commitments. How companies manage thi...
Autori: José Luis Sánchez-Ollero
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=27068

Phosphorous (P) and organic carbon (OC) found in organic matter (OM) play pivotal role in the productivity process of aquatic environment and significantly controlling its physico-chemical properties. The excessive P and OC containing muds of aquaculture systems deteriorate the congenial culture environment through developing eutrophication problems. The objective of present study was to determine the distributional relationship between the P, OC, and OM in the mud of shrimp-farming ponds of Vie...
Autori: Jatindra N. Bhakta
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=27175

Groundwater originating from two rural communities from Cluj and Bistrita Nasaud counties was analyzed using parallel ion chromatography, the focus being on major anions (chloride, nitrite, nitrate, phosphate and sulphate) and cations (potassium, sodium, ammonium, calcium and magnesium). These analytes were determined simultaneously using a Shimadzu two-channel instrument with non-suppressed conductivity detection, separations being carried out using an Allsep Anion 7u column and an Universal Ca...
Autori: Edward Muntean
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=27211

The present work illustrates the results of a long-term field experiment with sewage sludge used on agricultural land in order to assess the influence of sewage sludge on wheat crop productivity. The experimental research was conducted for three years as following: the evaluation of the agricultural use of sewage sludge in the year of application and its residual effect in grain and in soil for the next two years. The sewage sludge considered in the framework of the study was from Sfantu Gheorgh...
Autori: Diana Mariana Cocarta
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=27303

The paper presents a study concerning the influence of the hydraulic and hydrological connectivity among the oxbow lakes and the restoration of riparian-zones have on aging. Interconnectivity oxbow lakes emerge after complex regulating works for the protection of the shores and bottom of the lakes. Research has analyzed the influence of the hydraulic connectivity of three lakes located in northern Poland on the structure of associated bottom invertebrates – elements that monitor the cond...
Autori: Anca Balan
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=27342

The paper is focused on a research project aiming to provide conditions for market competitiveness of producers and to guarantee the free movement of Romanian products on the EU. This is done by guaranteeing essential health and safety requirements applicable to work equipment in order to implement policies set out in the strategy EUROPE 2020. This strategy takes into account the priority of: favourable growth of inclusion-promoting an economy with a high rate of employment, ensuring social and ...
Autori: Anca Elena Antonov
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=27371

Irrigation is an increasingly important practice for sustainable agriculture. Water reuse as refined or non-refined wastewater can help agroecosystem productivity. Contaminated water may influence seed germination. Two experiments as laboratory and pot were carried out to assess impact of different levels of laundry detergent and water stress on seed germination and early growth in maize. At the laboratory experiment, seeds were treated with solutions of 0, -0.01, -0.09, -0.6 MPa polyethylene gl...
Autori: Hassan Heidari
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=27527

Indoor environment significantly affects occupants’ health and productivity. However, in smart buildings and cities, it can be improved thanks to the implementation of innovative ICT systems and services. Thermal comfort is one of the most complex aspects to be considered to enhance occupants’ well-being, because of the relevant role played by subjective parameters (physiological, psychological and cultural) in its evaluation. This challenge can be tackled by integrating wearable dev...
Autori: Andrea Calvaresi
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=27783

The catalytic hydrogenolysis of glycerol, a by-product of the biodiesel manufacturing process was studied on copper chromite catalysts with different chemical composition. The obtaining of propylene glycol was studied under mild reaction conditions (180- 240oC temperature range, 8 hours reaction time and moderate pressures). These important parameters have significant effects on the glycerol conversion and that is way the actual study was concerned to the obtaining of a superior selectivity t...
Autori: Adriana Marinoiu
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=27892

The polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) production by photoautotrophic cultures is a potential eco-sustainable process to produce bioplastics. The biosynthesis of PHB by cyanobacteria meets a twofold target: the use of CO2 as feedstock alternative to the fossil resource used in the conventional processes; the contribution to the reduction of the CO2 concentration in the atmosphere. This contribution reports results of a study regarding the optimal growth conditions for cyanobacteria to produce PHB unde...
Autori: Roberta Carpine
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=28021

Agriculture is a highly water-demanding sector. Developed in recent years, the precision farming approach allows to optimize irrigation without compromising crops productivity. WSN networks are a key element of this approach because they allow to monitor continuously large number of parameters providing the possibility of a real-time intervention on field management practices. The WSN networks can be used to measure traditional parameters such as precipitation, soil moisture, or irradiation and ...
Autori: Sara Simona Cipolla
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=28083

As CO2 concentration levels in the atmosphere are steadily reaching a point of no return, it is paramount that actions are taken towards mitigating emissions by improving the efficiency of existing processes. Sorption-enhanced water-gas shift (SEWGS) combines the water-gas shift reaction with in-situ adsorption of CO2 on potassium-promoted hydrotalcite (K-HTC). This enables a direct conversion of syngas into separate hot streams of H2 at feed pressure and CO2 at regeneration pressure, making th...
Autori: Vlad-Cristian Sandu
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=28149

In the current situation of increasingly urgent environmental problems, how to improve the capacity of green technology through spillover means based on the existing green knowledge and technology stock in the western region of China, so that the economy of the western region can move towards a low-carbon, coordinated and sustainable direction in a short period of time is worthy of our deep discussion. This study measured the carbon dioxide emissions and calculated the green total factor produc...
Autori: Xing Li
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=28234

Current landscapes have been intensively modified by humans and forest fragmentation has created substantial increases of forest edges. So far, scale-dependence between observable ecological patterns and the underlying processes affected by forest fragmentation have been widely ignored. To overcome the widespread ambiguity in selecting relevant spatial scales for studying the ecological effects of forest fragmentation, we investigated the effect of forest prevalence and edge length on carbon st...
Autori: Emilia I. Cojoc
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=28242

Two dairy farms (one a semi-confinement system and the other a pasture-based system) in the same region of Spain were chosen for comparison from a life cycle assessment perspective. In both cases, cattle feeding was found to be the main contributor to environmental impact in most categories. Additionally, cow emissions to air were the principal contribution to the global warming, fine particulate matter formation and terrestrial acidification categories. Although cow productivity in the pasture...
Autori: Amanda Laca
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=28243

In mitigating occupational hazards, there is often a need to use administrative controls such as job rotation over a prolonged period until the hazards can be eliminated or mitigated to safe levels. This research develops a noise-safe job-rotation optimization model that accounts for learning, forgetting, and boredom effects. Our analysis focuses on the case of human-paced and labor-intensive operations, considering the trade-off between safety and productivity. A case of multi-skilled workers ...
Autori: Pavinee Rerkjirattikal
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=28256

To study the inter-provincial eco-efficiency in China from multiple perspectives and various aspects, this paper built the superefficiency data envelopment analysis (US-DEA) model of undesirable outputs, σ convergence model, spatial correlation model and Malmquist index. The model constructed was used to analyze the convergence of inter-provincial eco-efficiency of different years based on the inter-provincial panel data from 2008 to 2017 in China. The spatial correlation of inter-provinci...
Autori: Weiyang Yu
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=28343