ORCID Profile
0000-0001-6097-2088
Current Organisations
Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais
,
Imperial College London
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Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 02-08-2022
DOI: 10.3390/RESOURCES11080072
Abstract: Increasing demand for sand and gravel globally is leading to social, environmental, and political issues that are becoming more widely recognised. Lack of data and poor accessibility of the few available data contribute to exacerbating these issues and impair evidence-based management efforts. This paper presents a database to store stocks and flows data for sand and gravel from different sources. The classification system underlying within it builds on the Universal Materials Information System (UMIS) nomenclature, which is used to construct hierarchical order in the data and in the same manner as the Yale Stocks and Flow Database (YSTAFDB), a common data format. To illustrate how the database is built and used, a case study using UK data is presented. The UK is chosen owing to relatively better access to data compared to other locations. Quantitative analyses of the data show the supply chain of these materials to be currently stable for the UK as indigenous extraction contributes 95.6% to UK sand and gravel production, with imports accounting for the rest of the inputs, of which 50% is reliant on only one nation.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2014
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 13-04-2022
DOI: 10.3390/RESOURCES11040038
Abstract: Increasing demand for sand and gravel globally is leading to social, environmental, and political issues that are becoming more widely recognised. Lack of data and poor accessibility of the few available data contribute to exacerbating these issues and impair evidence-based management efforts. This article presents a database framework designed to describe stocks and flows data for sand and gravel from different sources. The classification system underlying the database builds on the Universal Materials Information System (UMIS) nomenclature, which is used to construct hierarchical order in the data. The common classification system is used to structure sand and gravel data records into a database formatted in the same manner as the Yale Stocks and Flow Database (YSTAFDB), a common data format. To illustrate how the database is built and used, a case study using UK data is presented. The UK is chosen owing to its relatively better access to data compared to other locations. Quantitative analyses of the UK data highlight possible risks in the supply chain of these materials for the UK. Results show that indigenous extraction only contributes 11% to UK sand and gravel production, with trade accounting for the rest of the inputs, of which 50% is reliant on only one nation.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2016
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 29-07-2020
DOI: 10.1038/S41467-020-17583-W
Abstract: Cement plays a dual role in the global carbon cycle like a sponge: its massive production contributes significantly to present-day global anthropogenic CO 2 emissions, yet its hydrated products gradually reabsorb substantial amounts of atmospheric CO 2 (carbonation) in the future. The role of this sponge effect along the cement cycle (including production, use, and demolition) in carbon emissions mitigation, however, remains hitherto unexplored. Here, we quantify the effects of demand- and supply-side mitigation measures considering this material-energy-emissions-uptake nexus, finding that climate goals would be imperiled if the growth of cement stocks continues. Future reabsorption of CO 2 will be significant (~30% of cumulative CO 2 emissions from 2015 to 2100), but climate goal compliant net CO 2 emissions reduction along the global cement cycle will require both radical technology advancements (e.g., carbon capture and storage) and widespread deployment of material efficiency measures, which go beyond those envisaged in current technology roadmaps.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 09-01-2017
DOI: 10.1038/NCOMMS13928
Abstract: Identifying and quantifying dissimilarities among graphs is a fundamental and challenging problem of practical importance in many fields of science. Current methods of network comparison are limited to extract only partial information or are computationally very demanding. Here we propose an efficient and precise measure for network comparison, which is based on quantifying differences among distance probability distributions extracted from the networks. Extensive experiments on synthetic and real-world networks show that this measure returns non-zero values only when the graphs are non-isomorphic. Most importantly, the measure proposed here can identify and quantify structural topological differences that have a practical impact on the information flow through the network, such as the presence or absence of critical links that connect or disconnect connected components.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2015
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 02-10-2021
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2021
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 07-2023
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 24-01-2018
DOI: 10.1111/JIEC.12738
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 09-04-2021
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 30-09-2022
DOI: 10.1038/S41467-022-33289-7
Abstract: Population and development megatrends will drive growth in cement production, which is already one of the most challenging-to-mitigate sources of CO 2 emissions. However, availabilities of conventional secondary cementitious materials (CMs) like fly ash are declining. Here, we present detailed generation rates of secondary CMs worldwide between 2002 and 2018, showing the potential for 3.5 Gt to be generated in 2018. Maximal substitution of Portland cement clinker with these materials could have avoided up to 1.3 Gt CO 2 -eq. emissions (~44% of cement production and ~2.8% of anthropogenic CO 2 -eq. emissions) in 2018. We also show that nearly all of the highest cement producing nations can locally generate and use secondary CMs to substitute up to 50% domestic Portland cement clinker, with many countries able to potentially substitute 100% Portland cement clinker. Our results highlight the importance of pursuing regionally optimized CM mix designs and systemic approaches to decarbonizing the global CMs cycle.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 06-2012
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 15-04-2013
DOI: 10.1021/LA4000473
Abstract: Structural models for the primary strength and durability-giving reaction product in modern cements, a calcium (alumino)silicate hydrate gel, have previously been based solely on non-cross-linked tobermorite structures. However, recent experimental studies of laboratory-synthesized and alkali-activated slag (AAS) binders have indicated that the calcium-sodium aluminosilicate hydrate [C-(N)-A-S-H] gel formed in these systems can be significantly cross-linked. Here, we propose a model that describes the C-(N)-A-S-H gel as a mixture of cross-linked and non-cross-linked tobermorite-based structures (the cross-linked substituted tobermorite model, CSTM), which can more appropriately describe the spectroscopic and density information available for this material. Analysis of the phase assemblage and Al coordination environments of AAS binders shows that it is not possible to fully account for the chemistry of AAS by use of the assumption that all of the tetrahedral Al is present in a tobermorite-type C-(N)-A-S-H gel, due to the structural constraints of the gel. Application of the CSTM can for the first time reconcile this information, indicating the presence of an additional activation product that contains highly connected four-coordinated silicate and aluminate species. The CSTM therefore provides a more advanced description of the chemistry and structure of calcium-sodium aluminosilicate gel structures than that previously established in the literature.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2014
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 07-02-2019
DOI: 10.1111/JIEC.12730
Abstract: Modern society depends on the use of many erse materials. Effectively managing these materials is becoming increasingly important and complex, from the analysis of supply chains, to quantifying their environmental impacts, to understanding future resource availability. Material stocks and flows data enable such analyses, but currently exist mainly as discrete packages, with highly varied type, scope, and structure. These factors constitute a powerful barrier to holistic integration and thus universal analysis of existing and yet to be published material stocks and flows data. We present the Unified Materials Information System (UMIS) to overcome this barrier by enabling material stocks and flows data to be comprehensively integrated across space, time, materials, and data type independent of their disaggregation, without loss of information, and avoiding double counting. UMIS can therefore be applied to structure erse material stocks and flows data and their metadata across material systems analysis methods such as material flow analysis (MFA), input‐output analysis, and life cycle assessment. UMIS uniquely labels and visualizes processes and flows in UMIS diagrams therefore, material stocks and flows data visualized in UMIS diagrams can be in idually referenced in databases and computational models. Applications of UMIS to restructure existing material stocks and flows data represented by block flow diagrams, system dynamics diagrams, Sankey diagrams, matrices, and derived using the economy‐wide MFA classification system are presented to exemplify use. UMIS advances the capabilities with which complex quantitative material systems analysis, archiving, and computation of material stocks and flows data can be performed.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 03-02-2021
DOI: 10.1111/JIEC.13105
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 29-05-2020
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 08-09-2017
DOI: 10.1038/S41598-017-11146-8
Abstract: Calciuam-silicate-hydrate (C-S-H) is the principal binding phase in modern concrete. Molecular simulations imply that its nanoscale stiffness is ‘defect-driven’, i.e., dominated by crystallographic defects such as bridging site vacancies in its silicate chains. However, experimental validation of this result is difficult due to the hierarchically porous nature of C-S-H down to nanometers. Here, we integrate high pressure X-ray diffraction and atomistic simulations to correlate the anisotropic deformation of nanocrystalline C-S-H to its atomic-scale structure, which is changed by varying the Ca-to-Si molar ratio. Contrary to the ‘defect-driven’ hypothesis, we clearly observe stiffening of C-S-H with increasing Ca/Si in the range 0.8 ≤ Ca/Si ≤ 1.3, despite increasing numbers of vacancies in its silicate chains. The deformation of these chains along the b -axis occurs mainly through tilting of the Si-O-Si dihedral angle rather than shortening of the Si-O bond, and consequently there is no correlation between the incompressibilities of the a- and b- axes and the Ca/Si. On the contrary, the intrinsic stiffness of C-S-H solid is inversely correlated with the thickness of its interlayer space. This work provides direct experimental evidence to conduct more realistic modelling of C-S-H-based cementitious material.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2015
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 07-04-2018
DOI: 10.3390/MA11040568
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 25-09-2014
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2017
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 15-12-2017
DOI: 10.1021/ACS.LANGMUIR.6B03474
Abstract: The workability of fresh Portland cement (PC) concrete critically depends on the reaction of the cubic tricalcium aluminate (C
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 10-03-2017
DOI: 10.1038/SREP44032
Abstract: The incorporation of Al and increased curing temperature promotes the crystallization and cross-linking of calcium (alumino)silicate hydrate (C-(A-)S-H), which is the primary binding phase in most contemporary concrete materials. However, the influence of Al-induced structural changes on the mechanical properties at atomistic scale is not well understood. Herein, synchrotron radiation-based high-pressure X-ray diffraction is used to quantify the influence of dreierketten chain cross-linking on the anisotropic mechanical behavior of C-(A-)S-H. We show that the ab -planar stiffness is independent of dreierketten chain defects, e.g. vacancies in bridging tetrahedra sites and Al for Si substitution. The c -axis of non-cross-linked C-(A-)S-H is more deformable due to the softer interlayer opening but stiffens with decreased spacing and/or increased zeolitic water and Ca 2+ of the interlayer. Dreierketten chain cross-links act as ‘columns’ to resist compression, thus increasing the bulk modulus of C-(A-)S-H. We provide the first experimental evidence on the influence of the Al-induced atomistic configurational change on the mechanical properties of C-(A-)S-H. Our work advances the fundamental knowledge of C-(A-)S-H on the lowest level of its hierarchical structure, and thus can impact the way that innovative C-(A-)S-H-based cementitious materials are developed using a ‘bottom-up’ approach.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 07-06-2019
DOI: 10.1038/S41597-019-0085-7
Abstract: We present the Yale Stocks and Flows Database (YSTAFDB), which comprises most of the material stocks and flows (STAF) data generated at the Center for Industrial Ecology at Yale University since the early 2000s. These data describe material cycles, criticality, and recycling in terms of 62 elements and various engineering materials, e.g., steel, on spatial scales and timeframes ranging from cities to global and the 1800s to ca. 2013. YSTAFDB integrates this erse collection of STAF data, previously scattered across various non-uniformly formatted electronic files, into a single data structure and file format. Here, we discuss this data structure as well as the usage and formatting of data records in YSTAFDB. YSTAFDB contains 100,000+ data records that are all situated in their systems contexts, with additional metadata included as available. YSTAFDB offers a comprehensive basis upon which STAF data can be accumulated, integrated, and exchanged, and thereby improves their accessibility. Therefore, YSTAFDB facilitates deeper understanding of sustainable materials use and management, which are key goals of contemporary sustainability science.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 31-07-2022
DOI: 10.1002/ECE3.9132
Abstract: Socioeconomic demand for natural capital is causing catastrophic losses of bio ersity and ecosystem functionality, most notably in regions where socioeconomic‐and eco‐systems compete for natural capital, e.g., energy (animal or plant matter). However, a poor quantitative understanding of what natural capital is needed to support bio ersity in ecosystems, while at the same time satisfy human development needs—those associated with human development within socioeconomic systems—undermines our ability to sustainably manage global stocks of natural capital. Here we describe a novel concept and accompanying methodology (relating the adult body mass of terrestrial species to their requirements for land area, water, and energy) to quantify the natural capital needed to support terrestrial species within ecosystems, analogous to how natural capital use by humans is quantified in a socioeconomic context. We apply this methodology to quantify the amount of natural capital needed to support species observed using a specific surveyed site in Scotland. We find that the site can support a larger assemblage of species than those observed using the site a primary aim of the rewilding project taking place there. This method conceptualises, for the first time, a comprehensive “dual‐system” approach: modelling natural capital use in socioeconomic‐and eco‐systems simultaneously. It can facilitate the management of natural capital at the global scale, and in both the conservation and creation (e.g., rewilding) of bio ersity within managed ecosystems, representing an advancement in determining what socioeconomic trade‐offs are needed to achieve contemporary conservation targets alongside ongoing human development.
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 25-02-2020
DOI: 10.3390/SU12051725
Abstract: This research aimed to develop a simple but robust method to identify the key barriers to the transition from a linear to a circular economy (CE) for end of life products or material. Nine top-tier barrier categories have been identified that influence this transition. These relate to the basic material properties and product characteristics, the availability of suitable processing technology, the environmental impacts associated with current linear management, the organizational context, industry and supply chain issues, external drivers, public perception, the regulatory framework and the overall economic viability of the transition. The method provides a novel and rapid way to identify and quantitatively assess the barriers to the development of CE products. This allows mitigation steps to be developed in parallel with new product design. The method has been used to assess the potential barriers to developing a circular economy for waste feathers generated by the UK poultry industry. This showed that transitioning UK waste feathers to circularity faces significant barriers across numerous categories and is not currently economically viable. The assessment method developed provides a novel approach to identifying barriers to circularity and has potential to be applied to a wide range of end of life materials and products.
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 20-05-2022
DOI: 10.3390/RESOURCES11050050
Abstract: The published article [...]
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2013
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2016
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2021
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 05-2017
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 19-12-2020
Abstract: Cement production is among the most difficult industrial activities to decarbonize. Various measures have been proposed and explored to reduce its CO
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2023
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 25-01-2018
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 20-02-2021
Publisher: Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC)
Date: 2015
DOI: 10.1039/C5DT01124H
Abstract: Solubility–structure–composition relationships in calcium (alkali) aluminosilicate hydrate (C-(N,K-)A-S-H) are analysed, including the mean chain length, basal spacing and cross-linking.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2019
Publisher: Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC)
Date: 2019
DOI: 10.1039/C9DT01726G
Abstract: Electrochemistry, nuclease assays, and EPR were used to detect ascorbyl and hydroxyl radical generation by a copper complex adsorbed on gold.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 09-08-2021
Publisher: Springer International Publishing
Date: 2014
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 10-2020
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 15-09-2021
Location: United States of America
Location: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Location: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Location: United States of America
Location: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Location: Switzerland
No related grants have been discovered for Rupert Myers.