Sewage sludge ash (SSA) contains the critical raw material phosphorous. International research shows that SSA may be utilized as a secondary resource in concrete, bricks or lightweight aggregates, but the high phosphorous content calls on recovery before such use. In the present investigation, phosphorous was recovered from SSA by electrodialytic separation (EDS), and the treated ash (SSA-EDS) was tested as partial clay substitute in brick manufacturing. The experimental work was made with fired brick discs of 2 cm in diameter. For comparison, similar tests were conducted with SSA-EDS and untreated SSA. During EDS, 84–91% phosphorous was recovered. The pH of the SSA was reduced from 10.2 to 3.7 during EDS, while the content of iron oxides increased. The brickwork clay contained about 17% carbonates, a major cause for firing mass loss. The reference brick discs were yellow. As the carbonate content decreased with increasing clay substitution (0–50% per weight), the firing mass loss decreased accordingly. The SSA was reddish due to a high iron oxide content, and the colour of the brick discs turned increasingly reddish with an increasing percentage of SSA and especially SSA-EDS. Thereby it may act as a colouring agent, to obtain desired red bricks, for which natural clays are becoming scarce. When fired at 1000 °C, all brick discs had apparent densities and open porosities within the accepted range of bricks used in the building industry. SEM micrographs showed that mixes with SSA-EDS fired at 1050 °C contained a glassy phase with isolated spherical pores, which may be related to the high hematite content of SSA-EDS. The formation of the glassy phase resulted in a decrease in open porosity with increasing substitution with SSA-EDS for the discs fired at 1050 °C, which was the reversed order compared to firing at 1000 °C.

/pdf/sewage-sludge-ash-as-resource-for-phosphorous-and-material-2de8tjqgpy.pdf

Sewage sludge ash as resource for phosphorous and material for clay brick manufacturing

The adaptive reuse of cultural heritage has been recognized as a driver of the circular economy. It stimulates economic growth, boosts its inherent values, and reduces material usage and energy consumption. It can be regarded unviable due to financial constraints, limitations in regulatory frameworks and lack of engagement in decision-making. To tackle these challenges, this study aims to examine the drivers and related policy instruments that support adaptive reuse practices, and to analyze the usefulness and feasibility of a set of multi-level policy enablers at varying local contexts. In this context, we first conducted a semi-systematic review of academic and gray literature and identified 19 driving factors and associated policy documents. These instruments were concentrated on administrative, regulatory and financial tools. This analysis led to the identification of policy enablers that can be adopted at three levels: European, national and local. An online survey was then conducted to investigate how a variety of local stakeholders in the selected case cities and region evaluate the adaptability of these enablers in their individual cases. The findings show that all the assessed enablers are deemed useful and feasible to a certain extent with higher score of usefulness, confirming the adaptability of these instruments into the circular economy framework. These evidence-based results can inform future policies at multiple-levels that will accelerate and scale up circular actions through heritage adaptive reuse.

An Empirical Analysis of Driving Factors and Policy Enablers of Heritage Adaptive Reuse within the Circular Economy Framework

Evaluation of Energy

This research was funded by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, grant number PD/BD/150400/2019

https://repositorium.sdum.uminho.pt/bitstream/1822/73969/1/applsci-11-04483-v2.pdf

Adaptability of Buildings: A Critical Review on the Concept Evolution

Circularity assessment tool development for construction projects in emerging economies

Circular economy applications in the construction industry: A global scan of trends and opportunities

A definition framework for building adaptation projects

A computational methodology for generating modular design options for building extensions

Tall concrete structures with cantilevered balconies have prevailed as the main type of multifamily housing construction in Canada since the 1950s. Within aging residential structures, balcony degradation is a prominent contributor to overall performance. This includes high levels of structural failures, low energy performance, and inefficient use. Some common strategies for improvements to balconies in residential towers include structural reconstruction, thermal insulation, enclosure of balconies, and reconstruction of guards. While these strategies can greatly improve existing conditions of residential towers, there is opportunity for anticipating the future needs of dense urban environments through adaptive reuse of residential balconies. This project analyses balcony adaptive reuse strategies focusing on structural and environmental refurbishment as well as spatial conversion in terms of various performance metrics. The goals of this project are to investigate methods for analysing existing buildings for their potential adaptive reuse at the scale of the balcony and optimize decision making through developing an index for adaptability.

/pdf/a-quantitative-comparison-of-adaptive-reuse-strategies-of-a3usknj7ns.pdf

Sheida Shahi

Papers

Circular economy applications in the construction industry: A global scan of trends and opportunities

A definition framework for building adaptation projects

A computational methodology for generating modular design options for building extensions

A Quantitative Comparison of Adaptive Reuse Strategies of Residential Towers in Northern Climates.

Adaptive Balconies: An Open Design System for Housing Tower Renewal at 545-565 Sherbourne Street, Toronto