Submit to Sustainability Review for Sustainability Propose a Special Issue

Journal Browser

► Journal Browser

Advanced Science and Technology of Sustainable Development for Cities, Infrastructures, Living Spaces and Natural Environment: Including Collections from the Latest Papers of KRIS 2023

Special Issue Editors
Special Issue Information
Keywords
Published Papers

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2023) | Viewed by 7578

Share This Special Issue

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Masaho Yoshida

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

National Institute of Technology, Fukui College, Fukui, Japan
Interests: earthquake geotechnical engineering; wood engineering

Prof. Dr. Kenichi Kurumada

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

National Institute of Technology, Fukushima College, Fukushima, Japan
Interests: process engineering; handling of granular or powdery matters

Prof. Dr. Tatsumasa Kaita

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

National Institute of Technology, Tokuyama College, Shunan, Japan
Interests: structural engineering; bridge engineering

Dr. Ryushi Kimura

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

National Institute of Technology, Kochi College, Kochi, Japan
Interests: building environment engineering

Dr. Ryoichi Furuta

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Remote Sensing Technology Center of Japan, Tokyo, Japan
Interests: geotechnical engineering; natural disaster; remote sensing

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Humanity faces numerous challenges that have never been faced before. There are fears that if we continue on this way, humanity will not be able to continue living in this planet. People from all field around the world have discussed and established specific goals to be achieved by 2030: the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Various technologies are needed to achieve the SDGS as natural energy system, natural disaster mitigation, environmentally friendly civil, marine, material engineering and architecture. In this special issue, we welcome submissions of papers on the science and technology of above technologies.

National Institute of Technology (KOSEN) that is, Japan's largest higher education institution for science and technology, will host KRIS 2023: KOSEN Research International Symposium 2023 in March 2023. One of the major themes of this international conference is SDGS. The papers relating to the above technologies to be discussed at this international conference will be published in this special issue. The editors of this special issue are happy to receive submissions from colleagues around the world.

Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

natural energy system

natural disaster mitigation

environmentally friendly civil

marine

material engineering and architecture

Prof. Dr. Masaho Yoshida
Prof. Dr. Kenichi Kurumada
Prof. Dr. Tatsumasa Kaita
Dr. Ryushi Kimura
Dr. Ryoichi Furuta
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

natural energy system
natural disaster mitigation
environmentally friendly civil
marine
material engineering and architecture

Published Papers (6 papers)

Download All Papers

Research

13 pages, 5228 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Fabrication of Functional Gypsum Boards Using Waste Eggshells to Prevent Sick Building Syndrome

by Kentaro Tsubouchi, Yuta Tsukaguchi, Takeshi Shimizu, Hirofumi Yoshikawa, Ei-ichi Hino, Yusuke Date, Kaoru Aoki and Naoki Tanifuji

Sustainability 2024, 16(7), 3050; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16073050 - 6 Apr 2024

Viewed by 646

Abstract

Eggshells can adsorb chemicals, but no studies regarding the adsorption of gaseous chemicals using eggshells or eggshell membranes have been reported. The purpose of this study was to apply chemical adsorption using eggshells to the maintenance of human health. Building materials containing eggshells may reduce the concentrations of toxic substances, such as formaldehyde, via the adsorption functions of eggshells. In the bending study, the strength of board-shaped gypsum-containing eggshells was not compromised when the content of eggshells within the gypsum was ≤10%. Compared to those of gypsum boards containing seashells, which comprise calcium carbonate, similar to eggshells, gypsum containing eggshells displayed a higher strength. In the adsorption study, board-shaped gypsum containing eggshells placed inside a sealed box rapidly decreased the formaldehyde concentration. A gypsum board with an eggshell content of ≥5% could limit the formaldehyde concentration to ≤0.08 ppm. Furthermore, the results were compared with those of adsorption studies using plasterboard mixed with other natural materials. Eggshells displayed excellent functionalities as novel formaldehyde adsorbents. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Science and Technology of Sustainable Development for Cities, Infrastructures, Living Spaces and Natural Environment: Including Collections from the Latest Papers of KRIS 2023)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

14 pages, 3621 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Direct Observation of Transient Flow Kinematics of Environment-Friendly Silica-Based Alcogel at Instantaneous Gelation

by Kenichi Kurumada, Hidenori Ue and Jun Sato

Sustainability 2023, 15(19), 14460; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151914460 - 3 Oct 2023

Viewed by 775

Abstract

This study was intended to exploit the possibility of using the quick gelation of alcogel that is induced by adding catalytic imidazole into a silicate-oligomer-based solution. For this purpose, the experimental viability of the direct observation of the gelation behavior was actually examined. The silicate oligomer, derived from tetraethyl orthosilicate hydrolyzed under an acidic condition (pH ~ 5), was used as the quickly gelling mother solution. The capability of the oligomer solution to form a non-flowable matter in only a few seconds when triggered by the addition of the catalytic solution of imidazole is promising, for example, for stabilizing a sandy ground surface, due to its simplicity. From the practical viewpoint, how long the gelation could take (=gel time) is a crucial parameter when the choice of an appropriate gelling chemical species needs to be made. Thus, this study focused its interest on as simple an experimental method as possible for evaluating the gel time of the gelling systems that actually underwent instantaneous gelation. The silicate oligomer solution was an appropriate material both in its quick gelling behavior and environmental friendliness. For such quick gelation, rheological approaches are not applicable for detecting the boundary in the mechanical properties that delineate the regime of “gel”. In this study, instead, direct observation was employed to capture the short interval during which the gelation was completed. The silicate-oligomer-based gelling solution was observed to lose its flowability within only 0.2 s, as it was seen to come off the bottom of the shaken cylinder at 5 Hz. For a more quantitative estimation, the same gelling solution was observed by high-speed motion picture. The high-speed motion picture could clearly capture the instantaneous gelation as a sudden arrest of the flow. The sub-millisecond direct observation of the gelation behavior revealed that the timescale of the instantaneous termination of the flow was as quick as 1 ms in order of magnitude. Such instantaneous gelation in the sub-millisecond-order timescale could not be forecasted from the observable megascopic gelation, which appeared to last from 10² ms to 10³ ms in our naked-eye observation. The noteworthy gap between the timescale of the naked-eye-observed gelation and that of the true gel time at a localized spot determined by the high-speed motion picture should be noted to avoid excess agitation, which can result in total collapse into gel fragments of the just solidifying or already solidified gel under strong deformational influence by mechanical agitation, for example. Full article

► Show Figures

Figure 1

12 pages, 3396 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Optimum Conditions for Enhancing Chitosan-Assisted Coagulation in Drinking Water Treatment

by Tomoko Takaara and Kenichi Kurumada

Sustainability 2023, 15(19), 14197; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151914197 - 26 Sep 2023

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1109

Abstract

Coagulant aids are useful chemicals that enhance the efficiency of coagulation sedimentation treatment. For this purpose, it is necessary to choose safe chemicals to avoid various risks to the health of those who use the treated water. The use of chitosan, an abundant natural polysaccharide, as a coagulant aid is significant not only for safe water treatment but also for the effective utilization of unused natural water resources, which are mostly wasted. We experimentally determined the optimal treatment conditions for using chitosan as a coagulant aid in water treatment. The most efficient use was identified as adding chitosan at the stage of rapid stirring after the addition of coagulant accelerated initial dispersion. When used with the main coagulant polyaluminum chloride (PACl), the optimal concentration of chitosan was 0.8 mg L⁻¹, as estimated using the ζ potential showing isoelectricity at the optimal chitosan concentration. Determining the chitosan concentration using the minimum ζ potential was also valid for estimating the optimum concentration of chitosan, which is an extension of the method used at much higher turbidity, as seen in wastewater. Thus, the ζ potential-based prediction of the optimum chitosan concentration was effective even when the effect of sweep coagulation, which is normally induced at higher turbidity, was negligible. The superiority of using the coagulant PACl in combination with chitosan as the coagulant aid was demonstrated by comparing the in situ-observed coagulation process to cases with other coagulants and coagulant aids using direct time-series observation of the coagulation process. The use of chitosan with PACl was found to make the flocs easier to remove because it resulted in the largest mass fraction of the resultant floc sedimentation on the bottom of the vessel. In this study, using the PACl coagulant in combination with chitosan as the coagulant aid was found to be as viable as using the current popular combination of aluminum sulfate and polyacrylamide. Replacing polyacrylamide with chitosan contributed to reducing the potential risk to the health of those to use the treated water. Full article

► Show Figures

Figure 1

24 pages, 4187 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Utilization of Hot-Spring-Water-Bound CO₂ for Horticulture Plants Using Incubation Method

by Kyohei Yokota

Sustainability 2023, 15(16), 12504; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151612504 - 17 Aug 2023

Viewed by 878

Abstract

This study focused on free carbon dioxide (H₂CO₃) contained in volcanic hot spring water. It was clarified whether free carbon dioxide can be emitted into the atmosphere and increase the CO₂ concentration in greenhouses by using the incubation method. Factors influencing the increase in CO₂ concentration were identified based on implementation time in a demonstration experiment, temperature and humidity in the incubator, the amount of hot spring water, and the contact area between the hot spring water and the air. An incubator with an inner volume of 2.17 × 10⁷ mm³ was used in this study. The results showed that unrelated factors were the implementation time in the demonstration experiment, temperature, and humidity. There was a relationship with the amount of hot spring water. The increment of CO₂ concentration in the air by free carbon dioxide increased proportionally by increasing the amount of water. Free carbon dioxide contained in hot spring water can be utilized by considering the volume of facility horticulture and plant factories. The ideal methods for utility are to replace the hot spring water every few minutes and to increase the contact area between the air and the hot spring water. Full article

► Show Figures

Figure 1

14 pages, 2500 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Growth-Promoting Effect of Earthworm Vermiwash on House Tomato Plants

by Shin-ichi Akazawa, Tsagaankhuu Badamkhatan, Kennosuke Omiya, Yumi Shimizu, Nana Hasegawa, Kazuki Sakai, Kenji Kamimura, Akiko Takeuchi and Yuki Murakami

Sustainability 2023, 15(13), 10327; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151310327 - 29 Jun 2023

Viewed by 1998

Abstract

Earthworm vermiwash, a by-product of the vermicomposting process and a light-brown-colored liquid rich in macro- and micronutrients that are essential for plant growth, has recently emerged as a potential tool for sustainable agriculture. It is expected to have antimicrobial, antipest, and soil-stabilizing effects. However, little is known about the optimal composition and dosage of vermiwashes, and the long-term stability is still unknown. Here, we investigated the long-term stability of vermiwash content and conducted a growth test on house tomatoes treated with different concentrations of vermiwash. The phosphate and potassium contents of the vermiwash were remarkably stable over time; however, if the initial ammonium content was high, the content changed with temperature, and nitrate-nitrogen was increased. Our results suggested that the vermiwash can be preserved at any temperature as both nitrogen components are helpful for plant growth. The vermiwash treatment outperformed the other two treatments in terms of plant height and fruit size. The threshold vermiwash nitrogen level was approximately 17.5–35 mg/L per week. Although an ideal ratio is advisable, earthworm vermiwash does not inhibit growth even at high concentrations. Thus, vermiwash is a sufficiently stable, beneficial liquid plant fertilizer. Full article

► Show Figures

Figure 1

19 pages, 10309 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Study of Purification in Pine Forest Soils after Salt Damage from the Tsunami in Enjugahama Beach, Wakayama Prefecture

by Hayato Masuda and Kyohei Yokota

Sustainability 2023, 15(11), 9136; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15119136 - 5 Jun 2023

Viewed by 1077

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the feasibility of using a river as a water source for purification of soil damaged by the tsunami in a pine forest in Enjugahama, Mihama town, Wakayama prefecture, and to create a “purification map” visualizing the amount of purification water. Soil from the pine forest was placed in a plastic container and seawater was poured into it, followed by river water. The amount of water required for soil purification was determined by measuring the EC at this time. It was confirmed that 333,364 m³ of water would be required to purify the entire pine forest, which is approximately 1 km². The time required to collect this volume of water from the West River would be 265 h (about 2 weeks) for an average flow rate. These results were aggregated to create the purification map. Using this map, it is possible to estimate the amount of water needed for purification at any given point and to make decisions, such as prioritizing areas that are easier to purify, thereby contributing to the purification of pine forests after tsunamis. However, it could be said that purification would be difficult in cases where seabed sediments have been deposited on the soil. Full article

► Show Figures

Figure 1

Journal Menu

Journal Browser

Advanced Science and Technology of Sustainable Development for Cities, Infrastructures, Living Spaces and Natural Environment: Including Collections from the Latest Papers of KRIS 2023

Share This Special Issue

Special Issue Editors

Special Issue Information

Keywords

Published Papers (6 papers)

Research

Further Information

Guidelines

MDPI Initiatives

Follow MDPI