In Occurrence and Fate of the Herbicide Glyphosate in Tile Drainage and Receiving Rivers in East Central Illinois, researchers developed an analytical method to monitor the occurrence of the herbicide glyphosate and its metabolite, aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA), in tile drain water and receiving river water collected in east central Illinois agricultural lands. The developed method was then used to monitor glyphosate and AMPA in tile drainage and their receiving watersheds (e.g., the Spoon River and Salt Fork). Additional data collected during this study are available in Woodword, et al (2019). “Fate and transport of nitrapyrin in agroecosystems: Occurrence in agricultural soils, subsurface drains, and receiving streams in the Midwestern US.” Science of The Total Environment 650(2), 2830-2841. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.09.387.
ISTC’s latest case study features 2017 Illinois Sustainability Award winner Loyola University Chicago. Loyola is an urban Catholic Jesuit university located in near the Chicago lakefront. In 2015, they released a climate action plan which called for them to be carbon neutral by 2025.
Loyola incorporates several tools to ensure that sustainability issues are front and center to their students, staff, and communities. They include:
Extensive use of gardens to manage storm water run-off and provide native
landscapes
Integration of sustainability issues into undergraduate curriculum providing
a environmental foundation for all students
Building, renovating, and managing campus structures to a high standard
of energy efficiency
Engaging the wider community in sustainability initiatives
Loyola’s actions have resulted in a variety of annual reductions and cost savings, including:
1,469,000 gallons of water saved
616 tons of material diverted from landfill
683,575 kWh reduced from high-performing buildings
19,288 mtCO2e reduced
$130,000 dollars saved from natural gas use reduction
ISTC and the Forest Preserve District of Cook County have a history of working together to improve sustainability. Their latest partnership has resulted in the Forest Preserves’ Sustainability & Climate Resiliency Plan, in which they set a goal to reduce its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 80 percent by 2050.
The plan is divided into five priority areas:
Utilities & Emissions
Focus areas include GHG emissions measuring, reporting and reductions; green infrastructure integration; and water use tracking and efficiency
Major objectives include reducing energy consumption by 4.5 percent annually and developing green building and site standards for future projects
Preserve Operations
Focus areas include transportation and waste and recycling
Major objectives include reducing fuel usage by 4.5 percent annually and expanding recycling program to all FPCC facilities
Learning & Engagement
Focus areas include awareness and visibility, community engagement and employee engagement
Major objectives include promoting green practices with permit holders and enhancing Earth Day sustainability programming
Ecological Sustainability
Focus areas include natural resources management and practices
Major objectives include establishing Mitigating Impacts to Nature Policy as well as a Native Seed Policy outreach plan
Implementation & Advancement
Focus areas include green purchasing
Major objectives include establishing a Green Purchasing Policy, establishing and promoting a plastic reduction campaign, and increasing energy rebates and incentives with utilities
ISTC’s latest case study features 2017 Illinois Sustainability Award winner Aisin Manufacturing Illinois, which is based in Marion. Aisin manufactures a wide variety of products for the automotive industry, including sunroofs, grill door shutters, back door components, center pillar garnishes, roof rails, and door handles. They serve various customers, including Toyota, General Motors, Lexus, and Subaru.
AMI utilizes several tools to continously improve on their sustainability efforts. These include:
An ISO 14000 Management System;
Employee opinions and improvement suggestions are incorporated into the environmental planning process;
Environmental “Go Green” incentives for employees that extend outside of the workplace;
Community outreach initiatives that promote a wider adoption of sustainability practices; and
Use of outdoor space around the facility to improve habitats for plants and wildlife.
As a result of these projects, Aisin:
Achieved $212,982 in energy savings from 2008-2013;
Avoided emitting 1,709 tons of carbon dioxide;
Diverted 12,040 tons of material from the landfill from 2009-2016;
Recycled 2,214 tons of material in 2016; and
Paid $9,268 in incentives to employees for green purchases in 2016.
For more details on Aisin Manufacturing Illinois’ sustainability projects, read the case study.
Because today is also #ThrowbackThursday, I’m going to highlight some classic P2 publications. Although they were originally in the published in the 1990s through early 2000s, they contain a trove of useful information about implementing pollution prevention in today’s industrial facilities.
Want to learn more? Visit the Pollution Prevention 101 LibGuide for a comprehensive guide to pollution prevention and sustainable business resources.
EPA Sector Notebooks (U.S. EPA, late 1990s) EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA) developed the EPA Sector Notebooks to provide chemical profiles of selected industries. Each profile includes information about the processes conducted in the industry, chemical releases and transfers of chemicals, opportunities for pollution prevention, pertinent federal statutes and regulations, and compliance initiatives associated with the sector. Although these notebooks were published in the late 1990s, they still contain a wealth of information about the production processes, environmental impacts, and pollution prevention options for these sectors.
Facility Pollution Prevention Guide (U.S. EPA, 1992)
For those who are interested in and responsible for pollution prevention in industrial or service facilities. Summarizes the benefits of a company-wide pollution prevention program and suggests ways to incorporate pollution prevention in company policies and practices.
Guide to Industrial Assessments for Pollution Prevention and Energy Efficiency (U.S. EPA, 1990)
Presents an overview of industrial assessments and the general framework for conducting them. It describes combined assessments for pollution prevention and energy and provides guidance for performing them at industrial or other commercial facilities.
The Industrial Green Game: Implications for Environmental Design and Management (National Academies Press, 1997)
This volume examines industrial circulation of materials, energy efficiency strategies, “green” accounting, life-cycle analysis, and other approaches for preventing pollution and improving performance. Corporate leaders report firsthand on “green” efforts at Ciba-Geigy, Volvo, Kennecott, and Norsk Hydro.
Organizational Guide to Pollution Prevention (U.S. EPA, 2001)
This Pollution Prevention (P2) Guide provides information to help organizations get P2 programs started or to re-evaluate existing P2 programs. It presents an alternative method for working on P2 projects and four approaches to implementing a P2 program in an organization.
Pollution Prevention : A Guide to Project and Program Implementation (Illinois Hazardous Waste Research and Information Center, 1993)
This manual serves as an overview for Illinois businesses of all sizes that have chosen to learn more about developing a pollution prevention program.
Searching for the Profit in Pollution Prevention: Case Studies in the Corporate Evaluation of Environmental Opportunities (U.S. EPA, 1998)
This research was initiated to more fully illuminate the challenges facing industry in the adoption of pollution prevention (P2) opportunities, and to identify issue areas that can be studied and addressed by policy-makers and industry. The case studies in this paper describe three P2 projects that were chosen/or analysis precisely because they were in some way unsuccessful. This analysis, based on a small and non-random sampling, is not necessarily representative of the experiences of all companies or all P2 investment possibilities.
As part of a USDA funded effort to reduce food waste in rural K-12 schools, the Iowa Waste Reduction Center has developed posters for elementary, middle, and high schools to hang in their cafeterias to remind students to think about food waste.
In 2015, the Great Lakes Regional Pollution Prevention Roundtable (GLRPPR) began a project to analyze data from U.S. EPA’s Toxics Release Inventory (TRI), Greenhouse Gas Emissions database, and the Census Bureau’s County Business Patterns database to determine the impact of manufacturing on the economy and environment of the six states in U.S. EPA Region 5. The following fact sheets are currently available:
ISTC’s annual report for the period January 1, 2016-June 30, 2017 is now available in IDEALS, the University of Illinois’ institutional repository.
The report highlights ISTC’s technical and research efforts during the period. It also provides an overview of the Center’s long running Sustainability Awards program and outreach and educational activities.
In 2015, the Great Lakes Regional Pollution Prevention Roundtable (GLRPPR) began a project to analyze data from U.S. EPA’s Toxics Release Inventory (TRI), Greenhouse Gas Emissions database, and the Census Bureau’s County Business Patterns database to determine the impact of manufacturing on the economy and environment of the six states in U.S. EPA Region 5. GLRPPR’s most recent paper summarizes findings for Illinois’ manufacturing sector (NAICS 311-337).
Recycled asphalt is widely used in road construction to minimize waste and reduce costs. A new study of the chemical and physical characteristics of the material will allow stronger roads. Courtesy IDOT Bureau of Materials and Physical Research
A two-year study of asphalt binders will improve the use of recycled material in making long-lasting roads.
Asphalt binders, a key to affordable, long-lasting roads, have surrendered some of their secrets thanks to a two-year examination of their chemistry and composition.
Research led by the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (ISTC) at the University of Illinois’ Prairie Research Institute, in a partnership with the Illinois Center for Transportation (ICT) and the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT), advances knowledge of the role of chemistry and composition on asphalt binders’ performance and proposes new testing thresholds that can supplement existing highway quality assurance programs.
It has long been known that recycling asphalt pavement materials and roofing shingles into new pavement lowers costs, but this can also result in pavement brittleness and faster aging. Still the practice is very common in Illinois and elsewhere in the United States. According to the National Asphalt Pavement Association (NAPA), asphalt pavement is being recycled and reused at a rate over 99 percent, and recycling efforts in 2010 alone conserved 20.5 million barrels of asphalt binder.
“Even with non-recycled road pavement materials, the optimal mix of binders and aggregates is a delicate balance. Add to that calculation more variables from utilizing various recycled binders and the confidence of producing durable and long-lasting roads becomes more difficult,” according to Brajendra K. Sharma, senior research engineer at ISTC.
This study takes a close look at the elemental and chemical composition of binders and how they age. Field performance of various asphalt binder materials to resist cracking and permanent deformation under the traffic loading (rheology) and environmental fluctuations was correlated to the composition and chemical characteristics of binder materials.
Courtesy IDOT Bureau of Materials and Physical Research
A variety of different tests, parameters, and component markers have been developed worldwide over the years to ensure long-lasting roadways. This work also evaluates which diagnostic approaches work best, as well as how the use of recycled or reclaimed materials affects performance, by combining chemical and compositional characterization tests with the rheological tests.
“This research is aimed at reconciling the sometimes conflicting goals of affordably maintaining our quality transportation system and maximizing sustainable construction practices,” said Sharma, lead author of the study.
“A better understanding of asphalt binders’ chemistry and composition in combination with its fundamental rheological properties is critical to achieve good performing and long-lasting pavements. Such a holistic characterization of binder became even more important with the number of recycled constituents, additives, and modifiers that have increased dramatically over the years.” according to Hasan Ozer, research assistant professor at ICT.
Based on the combined results of rheological characteristics, chemistry, and composition, it was concluded that asphalt concrete prepared with high levels of recycled roofing shingles along with reclaimed asphalt concrete could have increased short- and long-term cracking potential. The aging progresses much faster and their lifetime starts at an already critically aged condition because of the high recycled content in the pavement.
The study also provides preliminary recommendations and an implementation plan with critical thresholds that can be obtained from series of chemical, compositional, and rheological tests. The proposed tiered approach can be used by IDOT and other highway authorities to supplement existing asphalt binder quality assurance programs and material selection.
The issue of optimal use of recycled road materials is an important one for transportation officials nationwide. This study is an outgrowth of a 2015 ICT study that last year received the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials’ “Sweet Sixteen High Value Research” projects award. That study, “Testing Protocols to Ensure Performance of High Asphalt Binder Replacement Mixes Using RAP and RAS,” introduced a semi-circular bending test (IL-SCB) coupled with a flexibility index (FI) for testing of fracture potential.
Co-authors of the latest study are Jing Ma, Punit Singhvi and Hasan Ozer, of the U of I department of civil and environmental engineering, and Bidhya Kunwar and Nandakishore Rajagopalan of ISTC.
