Raphael R.Z. Tarpani

The incorporation of digital technologies (DTs) and digital services into our daily lives is expected to grow in the years ahead. Whereas these technologies and services are recognised as important enablers of sustainable development, their resource footprint and environmental impacts are often underestimated or overlooked. One of the key proposals...

Cement production significantly contributes to climate change, necessitating alternatives to mitigate the environmental impacts of this essential construction material. This study evaluates 18 environmental impacts of producing Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) and Graphene (Gr) using life cycle assessment (LCA). Additionally, we explore whether mixin...

Studies have demonstrated that a minute quantity of graphene is sufficient to boost cement characteristics, but the attainment of good dispersion and uniformity of the resultant graphene-cement mixture remains a challenge. To alleviate these challenges, this study proposes a low-energy powder-to-powder homogeniser for dispersing reasonably large qu...

Over the past decade, digitalization and digital technologies (DTs) have undergone rapid evolution, transforming how goods and services are produced and consumed in modern societies. Health and well-being sectors have embraced this digital revolution. Besides the economic and social benefits, digitalization can significantly enhance patient diagnos...

The annual global growth rate for geothermal power generation between 2021 and 2030 is targeted to be 13 % to meet net-zero emissions by 2050. Repurposing abandoned oil and gas wells (AOGWs) presents a strategic alternative to boost geothermal power by minimising the drilling requirements. This study performed the first cradle-to-grave life cycle a...

Graphene oxide (GO)-enhanced membranes are being developed to solve major limitations in both reverse osmosis (RO) and membrane distillation (MD) technologies, which include high electricity and thermal energy consumption. This study performed, for the first time, a life cycle assessment to determine the effects of using GO-enhanced membranes on th...

Wastewater treatment plants can become a source of valuable resources, such as clean water, energy, fuels and nutrients and thus contribute to the sustainable development goals and a transition to a circular economy. This can be achieved by adopting advanced wastewater and sludge treatment techniques. However, these have to be evaluated on their su...

Geothermal power generation is expected to increase fivefold worldwide by 2040 compared to 2018. The upcoming growth of geothermal power plants (GPPs) requires assessments of its role in tackling climate change and other impacts within complex environmental, economic and social systems. This study presents the first literature review of GPPs, inclu...

Guaranteeing drinking water access to populations living in urban centres is expected to become a significant challenge. This is due to threats such as climate change, deterioration of freshwater sources, and rapid urbanization. In order to minimize this negative prospect, urban centres should begin to update their water supply infrastructure, impr...

O presente trabalho consistiu na avaliação do desempenho ambiental de sistemas de tratamento que utilizam Lodos Ativados e Biorreatores a Membrana como tecnologia de tratamento de efluentes. Para isso foram utilizadas a Avaliação de Ciclo de Vida (ACV) e a Avaliação da Eficiência dos Sistemas (AES), por meio da análise da remoção de poluentes dos e...

Clean water is becoming an increasingly scarce resource, and its availability is already compromised in many cities. Several techniques for increasing urban water availability are under consideration, but how their life cycle environmental impacts compare amongst one other remain largely unknown. For cities in developing countries, which are more s...

Sewage sludge handling is becoming a concern in Europe due to its increasing amount and the presence of contaminants, such as heavy metals and pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs). Currently, over 70% of sludge in Europe is treated thermally by incineration or used as fertilizer in agriculture. New thermo- chemical methods are under de...

Within developing countries, wastewater treatment (WWT) has improved in recent years in but remains a high priority sustainability challenge. Accordingly, life cycle assessment (LCA) studies have recently started to analyse the environmental impacts of WWT technologies on the specific context of less developed countries, mainly in China and India....

Access to sufficient quantities of fresh water is becoming increasingly difficult, especially in dry regions. Moreover, high levels of salinity, arsenic and boron are further limiting the access to quality fresh water in many isolated communities worldwide. This paper evaluates the life cycle environmental impacts of a small multi-effect distillati...

Scarcity of water and concerns about the ecotoxicity of microcontaminants are driving an interest in the use of advanced tertiary processes in wastewater treatment plants. However, the life cycle environmental implications of these treatments remain uncertain. To address this knowledge gap, this study evaluates through life cycle assessment the fol...

Water treated in advanced wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) could be reused as potable water to address water shortages. Furthermore, sludge from WWTPs can be used to recover nutrients, energy and chemicals. Thus, the role of WWTPs could change from traditional pollution control facilities to sources of freshwater and other valuable resources. How...

Pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs) are of increasing interest because of their ecotoxicological properties and environmental impacts. Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are the main pathway for their release into freshwaters due to the inefficiency of conventional WWTPs in removing many of these contaminants from effluents. Therefor...

Despite an increasing number of studies on pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs), data on their concentrations in the environment are still scant. This is due to many factors, including great variability in usage and physicochemical properties of these compounds, which contribute to their widespread presence and complex behaviour, part...

Existem cada vez mais evidências de que o alumínio é prejudicial à saúde. Seu excesso no organismo prejudica o transporte de Ferro e as funções do ATP, além de provocar osteomalacia, encefalopatia por diálise e anemia microcítica. Suspeita-se também que possa ser um fator desencadeante da doença de Alzheimer e da esclerose múltipla. Uma das fontes...

The intake of aluminum by humans is a matter of interest because it has shown potential association with health disorders, especially neurological complications, after long periods of chronic exposure. In this work, the removal of monomeric aluminum (Al3+) from synthetic solutions and drinking well water using chitin as a sorbent agent was evaluate...

Atualmente há cada vez mais evidências de que o alumínio é prejudicial para a saúde humana. O excesso desse elemento no organismo prejudica o transporte de ferro e as funções do ATP, provocando diversas doenças como osteomalacia, encefalopatia por diálise e anemia microcítica. Há também a suspeita desse elemento ser um fator desencadeante da doença...

Existem cada vez mais evidências de que o alumínio é prejudicial para a saúde. Seu excesso no organismo prejudica o transporte de ferro e as funções do ATP, além de provocar osteomalacia, encefalopatia por diálise e anemia microcítica. Suspeita-se também que possa ser um fator desencadeante da doença de Alzheimer e da esclerose múltipla. Uma dasfon...

Aluminum is currently associated to health problems, especially dementia, and drinking water is one of the most potential sources to Al3+ ingestion. In this work, the Al3+ removal capacities of the biopolymers carboxymethylcellulose (CMC), chitin (QTN), and chitosan (QUIT) were evaluated for synthetic water with a drinking water Al3+ range level an...

Os danos ambientais, particularmente sobre os recursos hídricos, vêm se tornando cada vez mais perceptíveis em nosso dia a dia. Esse fato se deve a décadas de descaso do Brasil com suas nascentes, cursos d’água e áreas adjacentes, que acabaram por comprometer a quantidade e qualidade desse tão valioso recurso natural, a água. A ocupação urbana deso...

In this work we look for emphasize the benefits and the easiness that the navigation in real time with the equipment uses satellites for the positioning on the terrestrial surface provide for the necessary planning and support to collection information of truths sample for use in classifications of remote sensing images. The motivation of this work...