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Sustainability
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Environmental Sustainability in Natural and Engineering Systems
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Environmental Sustainability in Natural and Engineering Systems

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Sustainability and Applications".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 October 2023) | Viewed by 2587

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Qammer Zaib

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Ulsan, Daehak-ro 93, Nam-gu, Ulsan 44610, Republic of Korea
Interests: environmental engineering; sustainability; life cycle assessment (LCA); water treatment; nanomaterials
Dr. Agusta Samodra Putra

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Research Center for Sustainable Production System and Life Cycle Assessment, National Research and Innovation Agency, Building 720 PUSPIPTEK Area, Serpong 15314, Indonesia
Interests: life cycle assessment; bioresources engineering; biomaterial chemistry

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to announce a new Special Issue entitled “Environmental Sustainability in Natural and Engineering Systems” in Sustainability journal (IF=3.9, Citescore=5.8).

The protection of the environment is attainable through the application of a sustainable strategy to both natural and engineered systems. The term “sustainability” refers to the practice of preventing the depletion of natural resources to maintain ecological equilibrium. Natural resources are not only used by the natural system process but also in the engineering production process. Therefore, the sustainability aspect should be addressed in both systems.

By definition, a natural system refers to the various components of air, water, land and biological resources that routinely interact with one another. Natural systems exist without a human influence, while engineered systems are designed and built by humans. 

Recently, the system for evaluating sustainability has been developed rapidly. For instance, the life cycle assessment (LCA) is often used as a tool to assess the environmental sustainability of various technological processes in both natural and engineered systems. This methodology was commonly integrated with other engineering tools and concepts in the application stage.

Thus, the Special Issue “Environmental Sustainability in Natural and Engineering Systems” in the Sustainability journal aims to identify, discuss and address the recent trends in the environmental sustainability assessment, especially in the case study of natural and engineering systems. We are seeking research and review manuscripts dealing with these relevant research fields.     

In this Special Issue of Sustainability, we would like to collect contributions that focus on (but are not limited to) the topic of:

  • Life cycle thinking in natural and engineering systems;
  • Coupled engineering-natural systems;
  • Sustainability assessment for natural products;
  • Environmental impact assessment for innovative technological process;
  • Environmental sustainability assessment tools;
  • Conceptualization of innovative engineering systems based on life cycle perspective;
  • Process optimization;
  • Emerging technologies;
  • Resource conservation;
  • Life cycle assessment (LCA).

Dr. Qammer Zaib
Dr. Agusta Samodra Putra
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • environmental sustainability
  • natural system
  • engineering system
  • life cycle thinking
  • life cycle assessment
  • natural products
  • LCA

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

19 pages, 3495 KiB  
Article
Dam Sustainability’s Interdependency with Climate Change and Dam Failure Drivers
by Qusay Abu-Afifeh, Michel Rahbeh, Aya Al-Afeshat, Saif Al-Omari, Tala Amer Qutishat, Ali Brezat and Ali Alkayed
Sustainability 2023, 15(23), 16239; https://doi.org/10.3390/su152316239 - 23 Nov 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1023
Abstract
The complex interplay between the drivers of dam failure and climate change factors constitutes a central focus of this study. Variations in temperature and precipitation patterns have profound effects on dam storage volume, quality, and structural stability. This research serves two purposes. First, [...] Read more.
The complex interplay between the drivers of dam failure and climate change factors constitutes a central focus of this study. Variations in temperature and precipitation patterns have profound effects on dam storage volume, quality, and structural stability. This research serves two purposes. First, it employs the Wroclaw Taxonomic Method (WTM) to construct a comprehensive indicator called the Index of Sustainable Dams (ISD). The King Talal Dam (KTD) was chosen as a case study using data spanning from 2011 to 2022, encompassing 14 variables. Second, the Granger Causality Test (GCT) is applied to examine the causal connections between the ISD, climate change, and dam failure. The research provides an in-depth evaluation of the KTD in terms of the ISD and its three critical dimensions: environmental, economic, and social. It also reveals substantial bidirectional causality relationships between the ISD, climate change (as measured by mean maximum and minimum temperature and mean annual precipitation), and dam failure (as measured by dam age, sediment yield, and storage). The analysis confirms a strong interdependence among the drivers of climate change, dam failure, and dam sustainability. Moreover, combining the WTM and the GCT is efficient for assessing the sustainability of various dam types. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Sustainability in Natural and Engineering Systems)
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21 pages, 6509 KiB  
Article
Exploring Virtual Water Network Dynamics of China’s Electricity Trade: Insights into the Energy–Water Nexus
by Hang Lei, Xin Zhang and Xinyi Han
Sustainability 2023, 15(22), 15977; https://doi.org/10.3390/su152215977 - 15 Nov 2023
Viewed by 951
Abstract
The escalating challenges regarding the sustainable utilization of coupled energy and water resources require the implementation of synergistic management. Electricity-related virtual water flows could result in the transfer of freshwater vulnerability and environmental inequalities. Aiming to systematically characterize its holistic patterns, network structure [...] Read more.
The escalating challenges regarding the sustainable utilization of coupled energy and water resources require the implementation of synergistic management. Electricity-related virtual water flows could result in the transfer of freshwater vulnerability and environmental inequalities. Aiming to systematically characterize its holistic patterns, network structure and formation mechanisms, we constructed a virtual water network for electricity trade in China based on provincial lifecycle water footprints; portrayed the statistical features, structural stability and interregional equilibrium using Complex Network Analysis (CNA); and introduced the Quadratic Assignment Procedure (QAP) to gain socio-environmental insights into the driving factors. The results show that the virtual water transferred with China’s interprovincial electricity trade increased from 851.24 million m3 to 3441.58 million m3 from 2006–2020. Eastern, developed provinces with a high electricity demand have effectively relieved their water stress by expanding import sources, but the transfer of water resource benefits from western exporting regions (especially in the arid northern provinces) is irreversible. The current electricity market forces reflect the scarcity of energy and capital factors in the context of China’s interprovincial trade, but not the scarcity of water resources. Consequently, we proposed integrated management strategies including strengthening sectoral collaboration, optimizing energy-use structures and establishing ecological compensation mechanisms to build a more water-efficient future power system. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Sustainability in Natural and Engineering Systems)
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