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Geotextiles incorporating inorganic nutrients (particularly phosphorous) to enhance the growth of oil degrading microoganisms when geotextiles are used in pervious pavement applications have been shown to be effective in the past. However the cost and manufacturing difficulties have been a barrier to their use. A polypropylene random mat geotextile incorporating an alternative polymer additive as a source of phosphorus has been investigated as a potential self-fertilising geotextile. Experiments are reported which investigate nutrient leach rates, biofilm formation and biodegradation activity.

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An analysis has been made as regards emission characteristics of ocean energy systems from life cycle assessment and scope of energy availability from energy accounting studies. Assessment tools developed and standardized were the indices like scope of Green house gases (GHG) emission per kWh power generation, percentage of CO2 saved compared to coal fired power station and the energy payback period. Emission characteristics of ocean energy systems were also compared with that from solar power, bio-fuels and wind energy systems. Four case studies were made comprising of wave energy converters, Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) system and tidal energy. It could be observed that CO2 emission percentage saved from ocean energy schemes were more than 95 per cent; and energy payback period varied between one year and a little higher than two years, depending on the type of the device.

Sustainability is a growing concern worldwide. While companies used to focus on financial performance, now the focus has shifted to considering envi- ronmental and social performance as well. This trend is not only based on ‘image’, but recent research has proven that a complex approach regarding sustainability could significantly increase a company’s performance. The selection of sustainability indicators as well as the development of sustainabil- ity frameworks has been analysed by researchers already. The authors argue that interdependencies exist between different sustainability indicators and concepts. To address this issue, the fuzzy set method has been used and integrated into as- sessment methods, making it possible to develop a sustainability index which is able to consider the dependencies of the integrated variables. The proposed method can prove that indicator dependencies have a significant influence on the sustain - ability performance of a company and therefore on its overall performance.

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