bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Degradation Potential of Biodegradable Plastics under Laboratory Conditions
Authors: Sandeepani G.D.V.A.  , Ranatunga R.R.M.K.P.  
Published: February 2024

Conventional plastics are one of the greatest environmental issues due to their excessive usage and slow degradation. Biodegradable plastics have been introduced as a promising solution to the issue. However, the degradation potential and the best exposure conditions for biodegradable plastics are not well understood in the local context. Therefore, the present study was conducted to evaluate the degradation potential of some commercially available single-use plastics labeled as ―biodegradable‖. Two brands of lunch sheets (LS1 and LS2) made from Polylactic acid (PLA), Polybutylene adipate terephthalate (PBAT), and corn starch, and one waste bag made from Low- density polyethylene (LDPE) and Linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) were tested against cellulose filter paper (FP) as a positive control. Degradation was tested using mass loss analysis, biogas production, and FTIR spectrum analysis together with visual analysis. The test materials were subject to different exposures, i.e., placed under seawater, beach sand, freshwater, sand with overlying freshwater, and under direct sunlight for 210 days, and anaerobic exposure for 60 days. LS1 had the highest mass loss of 73.3% in freshwater and the lowest of 9.5% in sunlight exposure. LS2 recorded the highest mass loss of 59.3% in compost exposure and the lowest of 2.9% in sunlight exposure. Waste bags recorded 1.5% as the highest mass loss in the sand with overlying freshwater and the lowest 0.3% under direct sunlight which is the lowest among all four samples. FP has shown the highest and lowest mass loss in composting and direct sunlight exposures at 79.7% and 6.2%. The degradation of FP indicates that the conditions required for biodegradation were present in the exposure environments. Direct sunlight exposure does not show a significant impact on the degradation of any of the test materials. The waste bag does not show considerable degradation under any exposure. The carbon dioxide gas production was 8.76×10-4 mol, 18.49×10-4 mol, and 2.88×10-4 mol in LS1, LS2, and waste bag, respectively. LS1 and LS2 showed visual damages and also changes in the FTIR spectrum. However, waste bags did not show any changes visually or in FTIR spectra. Therefore, it can be concluded that LDPE and LLDPE products did not undergo a detectable degradation though PLA, PBAT, and corn starch products show clear signs of degradation. The study needs to be repeated in situ to better understand the degradation behavior in actual exposure situations.
Keywords: Biodegradable plastics, Degradation, Plastic pollution
Degradation Potential of Some Biodegradable Polymers: Do they Degrade?
Authors: Wijetunge D.S.  , Ranatunga R.R.M.K.P.  , Manage P.M.  
Published: February 2024

Biodegradable products were invented and commercially introduced to curb the catastrophic impacts of non-degradable plastics. These intend to act as a green solution since they are manufactured to degrade in the environment without accumulating as waste plastics. Three commercially available products labeled as ―biodegradable‖ i.e. salad plate (SPL), lunch sheet (LS), and garbage bag (GB), were tested for degradation potential in six different exposure media i.e. seawater (SW), beach-sand (BS), freshwater (FW), freshwater sediment (FWS), compost, and ultra- violate (UV) rays, with controlled and uncontrolled conditions simulating the natural environment. Cellulose filter paper (CFP) was the positive control. SW, FW, FWS, and BS were placed in four separate glass tanks while compost was prepared in a 100L plastic storage box. A UV chamber was fabricated to expose samples to UV radiation. SW tank was equipped with a wave pump, and FW tank was continuously aerated. All samples were cleaned, cut into manageable sizes, inserted in synthetic mesh pockets (except for those exposed to UV), labeled, and placed inside the media in triplicates. UV-exposed samples were directly placed in boiling tubes inside the chamber equipped with 15 W LED UV bulbs providing 280-320 nm irradiation. Initial weights were measured and the weight loss over five months was recorded. Physical parameters including temperature, pH, salinity, and conductivity were measured in each sampling. RAMAN spectroscopy and Scanning Electron Microscopy were performed initially to find out the test samples‘ chemical composition and surface structure. CFP and SPL contained cellulose, LS contained Poly Lactic Acid (PLA) and Poly Butylene Adipate Terephthalate (PBAT), and GB contained Poly Ethylene (PE) as major components. Degradation potential was calculated in terms of percentage weight loss with time, and visual remarks of degradation were recorded. The highest weight-loss percentages of CFP (100%), and SPL (100%) were observed in FWS (both in 122 days) and compost (in 92 days, and in 122 days respectively) media. LS showed faster degradation (20% weight loss in 92 days) in compost while GB showed slight fragmentation (2% weight loss in 57 days) under UV during the first five months of sampling. Comparatively minimum signs of degradation were observed in GB in all exposures. CFP, SPL, and LS samples were discoloured and fragmented into small pieces during the degrading process. All products showed lesser degradation potential in SW, FW, and UV exposures. The experiment will be continued further to understand the degradation process.
Keywords: Degradation, Biodegradable products, Abiotic degradation, Plastic pollution
A Comparative Benefit-cost Analysis for the Potential Waste Management Options for the Western Province, Sri Lanka
Authors: De Silva K.W.C.V.  , Gunawardena U.A.D.P.  
Published: February 2024

Sri Lanka generates 7,000 metric tons of solid waste per day while only 3,242 tons are being collected. Within the Western province 1783 metric tons are collected daily. Management of municipal solid waste is mainly a responsibility of local governmental entities. Only a few waste management options are often practiced while economic aspects of this problem are rarely taken into consideration. The present study was designed therefore with the objective of analysing current and potential waste management options for the western province and identifying the best option that maximises the net benefit to the country. Seven different options for municipal solid waste management were identified for the analysis (option 1–open dumping; 2-sanitary landfilling; 3- recycling paper, polythene, glass and other recyclable waste (15%) and open dumping the rest; 4- composting the biodegradable (62%) and open dumping the rest (38%); 5-composting the biodegradable (62%), recycling paper, polythene, glass and other recyclable waste (15%) and open dumping the remaining; 6–waste to energy handled by the government; 7–waste to energy collaborated with private organizations). Then costs and benefits, including environmental costs related to each option were identified and quantified using literature and information obtained from interviews held with coordinators of waste management projects under both government and private sectors. Economic cost-benefit analyses were conducted for the seven options for a period of 30 years assuming that a constant amount of municipal solid waste (100 MT) per day is treated by each method. All seven models were developed on the basis of current municipal solid waste composition. According to the net present value analysis, five options resulted in negative net present values, while options four and five showed positive net present values. In the next step, the value of compost was re-estimated considering the replacement benefit of imported nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium fertilizer which has yielded a much higher net present value than earlier. Furthermore, option five was identified as the economically most profitable option. The results of the study will provide guidance toward designing the most economically and environmentally viable waste management options for urban areas of Sri Lanka.
Keywords: Municipal solid waste, Composting, Recycling, Cost-benefit analysis
Valuation of Ecosystem Services for Driving Community-assisted Forest Landscape Restoration in Endane Biodiversity Corridor, Sri Lanka
Authors: Madawala M.M.G.I.N.M.B.  , Rajasooriya P.G.C.L.  , Fernando A.P.S.  , Perera A.  , Gunatilleke I.A.U.N.  , Nanayakkara S.  , Geekiyanage N.  
Published: February 2024

The ecosystem services: direct or indirect benefits of ecosystems to human well-being, need to be recognized in conservation and restoration decision-making. In the human-dominated southwest Sri Lanka, we have established a forest landscape restoration project (Endane Biodiversity Corridor) linking a peripheral forest reserve to Sinharaja Rainforest Complex. The ecosystem services provided by tea monocultures, abandoned tea lands, and lowland home gardens were estimated employing a range of methods for estimating respective ecosystem service values with data collected from household surveys, key stakeholder interviews, and survey of tree flora in 20 m × 20 m plots for estimating aboveground carbon stock. The benefit transfer approach was used to value the supporting and regulating services. The total value of ecosystem services provided by this forest corridor landscape was 6,465 USD ha/yr in 2021. This amount included: provisioning services of 1,950 USD ha/yr, supporting services of 645 USD ha/yr, regulating services of 3,807 USD ha/yr, and cultural services of 38.8 USD ha/yr. Overall, our forest corridor landscape of 59.3 ha provided 382,362 of USD of ecosystem services a year. In comparison to tea monoculture, species-rich home gardens generate a high amount of provisioning services. Our study site is prone to ecosystem degradation due to human activities like forest land encroachment, illegal gem mining, and over-harvesting of forest products. However, we recognize the opportunity of enhancing the biodiversity of monoculture tea gardens and home gardens of the corridor following the principles of agroforestry and enrichment planting. These results i.e., the ecosystem service values among different land uses, are imperative for financing and encouraging community participation for forest restoration activities.
Keywords: Forest resources assessment, Forest restoration, Common-based restoration
A Sustainable Form of Land Use under Borassus flabellifer: A Case Study in Jaffna District of Sri Lanka
Authors: Gnanavelrajah N.  , Sathasivam T.  , Jeyavanan K.  , Raveendran S.  
Published: February 2024

Perennial plantations play a significant role in mitigating climate change and improve the plant diversity. This study was carried out to estimate the carbon sequestration potential of Plamyrah (Borassus flabellifer) land use in twelve different soil series in Jaffna district and to estimate the plant diversity of the same. Samples were collected from sampling quadrates of 10 mx10 m. A total of 75 quadrates were sampled. Numbers of quadrates in each soil series were selected based on the extent of Palmyrah plants and soil series. From each quadrate following data was collected: number of Palmyrah trees and other trees and their height and diameter at breast height. Soil samples were also collected within each quadrate at three depths, up to a depth of 30 cm. For the estimation of biomass carbon stock Palmyrah wood density was determined using 15 wood samples. Biomass carbon was estimated using the standard equations. Soil organic carbon percentage was determined by loss on ignition method. The total carbon stock was determined by the summation of carbon in palm biomass and soil carbon. Plant diversity was estimated in terms of number of species, Shannan Weiver index (SWI) and evenness. Soil organic carbon percentage of Palmyrah land use in different soil series ranged between 1.1-4.5%. Soil organic carbon stock in different soil series ranged 51-190 Mg/ha. There was no significance difference among soil organic carbon percentage of Palmyra land use in different soil series. Top most layer (0-10 cm) had significantly higher amount of soil organic carbon than sub surface layers (10-20 cm, 20-30 cm). Palm density of Plamyrah land uses in different soil series ranged 5-13/100 m2. Biomass carbon stock ranged between 2.83-6.80 Mg/100 m2. Biomass carbon stock in different soil series was significantly differed. Total carbon stock ranged 4.06-7.97 Mg/100 m2. A total of 22 plant species belonging to 13 families were identified in the Palmyrah land uses in the study area. Arecaceae family was vastly distributed in the palmyrah land use while Poaceae and Malvaceae were the poorly distributed ones. The mean value of Shannan Weiver Index (SWI) was 1.2 while evenness was 0.74. This study therefore concludes that the Plamyrah land use in the study area has great potential to sequester carbon in long term, while maintaining a reasonable tree species diversity.
Keywords: Soil carbon, Biomass carbon, Plant diversity, Carbon stock
Green Building Rating of High-Rise Buildings in Sri Lanka
Authors: Abeywickrama B.K.A.I.  , Witharana A.  
Published: February 2024

As a result of urbanization, constructions of high-rise buildings become a major component of urban development. Constructing high-rise buildings contributes to social, economic and environmental development as well. There are many stages of construction including planning, designing, procurement and implementation. There is a wide range of sustainability practices which can be implemented in each stage of construction. In leading Sri Lanka to Sustainable Development, the green building rating system was introduced by National Green Building Council of Sri Lanka in 2002. This rating system has 100 total points and minimum of 40 points is required for green building certification. The rating system has different components. Among them sustainable sites category includes 25% of total points in green building rating system. This research study highlights the significance of sustainable sites category in order to award the green certification in green building rating system. For this research five major high-rise building construction sites in Colombo were selected and existing site selection practices of each site were investigated. Each site was visited and in-depth discussions were carried out with the planning engineer and other people in the construction site. The structured questionnaire was filled and scores were given accordingly where they have met the sustainable sites criteria. Two sites out of five could not earn single point as they did not fulfill the prerequisites of the site section category. The rest of the sites (three) earned 20, 19, and 18 respectively out of 25 points. In this study, lack of awareness in sustainable site selection practices has dropped the chances of being eligible for the green building certification. Since the minimum points required for green building certification is 40, buildings which are under planning or pre-construction stage have higher chances of obtaining silver, gold and platinum awards for green building certification. Therefore, sustainable sites category of the green building rating system contributes significantly to increase the score and therefore it is highly important in green certification & sustainable construction.
Keywords: Green concept, High-rise buildings, Sustainable development, Sustainable site selection
Urban Farms for Neighborhood Improvement and Social Well-being of Urban Areas in Kandy
Authors: Dilshani C  , Kulathunga S.  , Udawaththa C.  
Published: February 2024

In the latter half of the 20th century, as urban populations increased in the majority of emerging nations, the reliability of urban food production and delivery networks decreased. Urban hunger increased concurrently with the urban population, speeding up by in response, urban farms spread over a growing worldwide. However, later other purposes were added to it and urban farms were nurtured. Globally, urban farms are changing as a result of political, economic, environmental, and technical advancements. With time, urban farming activities are becoming a reason to improve the value and quality of life in terms of economic, social, and other elements. In this research, it was investigated how urban farming affects the social well-being and neighborhood improvements of urban areas. Furthermore, it focuses on urban farms' relative attachment to the neighborhood and confidence, their impact on agriculture literacy and youth development, and the economic and food crises in the urban areas. It was sought to understand community perceptions of how urban farms can benefit cities through a qualitative study conducted in two urban farms in Kandy. Interviews with visitors, laborers, and professionals related to urban farming revealed the pathways by which community members view farms as improving neighborhoods and social well-being. According to this study, six characteristics are highlighted and evaluated: neighborhood attachment, neighborhood confidence, youth development, food access, agricultural literacy, and economic development. Benefits stemmed from a primary changes urban farms made to neighborhood improvement: the creation of public project involvement, the physical improvement of degraded space, the production of local food, and the creation of new businesses. These changes led to multiple perceived benefits, including increased social connectedness, a transformed physical landscape, an improved neighborhood reputation, and employment opportunities. But there were some points that should be developed. especially in cases of food access and youth development. Urban farms with strong social aims may appear to contribute little to economic development if measured using traditional indicators of success such as job creation or fiscal impacts, but they provide numerous other benefits for community development.
Keywords: Urban farms, Social connectedness, Physical improvement, Food access, Youth engagement, Economic development
Alternative Timber Applications for Sri Lankan House Construction during the Economic Crisis
Authors: Dabare E.T.D.  , Udawattha C.D.  , Udawattha C.D.  
Published: February 2024

A crucial component of civilization, housing construction has evolved in a variety of ways based on new technology and materials. However, due to Sri Lanka's economic crisis, house building is now one of the most in-danger industries there. Subjectively, the cost of imported base building materials has grown due to the danger of inflation, and this increase is dependent on the US dollar exchange rate. The reason is that more than 50% of the building and raw materials are imported, and a rise in the US dollar value will raise the price of construction supplies. In order to find the best materials to reduce the cost of building a house based on imported materials, this study compares the life cycle quality of imported and local alternatives for imported materials made of timber. There are many various kinds of materials that have been utilized in house construction, but the focus of this study is on timber-based alternatives. The study is mainly focused on aluminum and glass as imported materials and timber as an alternative material. Based on life cycle cost analysis, these materials were compared using material costs and data gathered through interviews. Additionally, weighted analysis has been utilized to choose the optimum material based on consumer preferences, appearance and aesthetics, durability, and local availability of resources. Even though local materials are more affordable and score higher on other metrics, it was discovered that they may no longer be comparable to imported materials. People also rapidly switch back to imported materials when they are affordable after the economic crisis. It also found that local timber consumption increased during the economic crisis leading to deforestation.
Keywords: Alternative materials, Appearance, Durability of materials, Finishing materials, House construction, Life Cycle Cost Analysis, Timber
Potential of a Charcoal Evaporative Cooling Chamber for Extending the Shelf Life of Vegetables
Authors: Karunathilaka T.D.  , Rupasinghe C.P.  , Samaraweera M.D.S.  
Published: February 2024

There are wide varieties of vegetables in Sri Lanka. The ambient temperature and relative humidity have an impact on rate of vegetables deteriorate. Evaporative cooling is a well-known, cost- effective way to reduce postharvest lost in order to lower the temperature and increase the relative humidity. This research was done to create a charcoal cooling chamber for increase the shelf life of vegetables combining polythene packaging and active packaging additives. The study was carried out in wet zone, Sri Lanka with a sizable chamber made of coconut shell charcoal. A rectangular box made of chicken wire with a 1 m3 capacity serves as the evaporative cooling chamber. It made of chicken wire mesh with a hardwood frame. The walls filled with 50 mm thick coconut shell charcoal and a water outflow 8.33 ml/min for wetting the walls. Vegetable samples without any treatment were placed in the charcoal chamber along with vegetables wrapped in sealed polyethylene (gauge 300) with and without active packing components. With a control sample held in ambient settings, the treatments were put to the test four times over the course of nine days. Both unloading and loading situations were used to evaluate the performance of chamber. Temperature drops of 4° C on average and 2.07° C on average, respectively, were seen in dry and wet climate conditions. 92.49% on average was the cooling efficiency. Sealed polyethylene bags without active packaging components were found to be the best treatment when taking into account physiological weight loss and sensory tests. When compared to the control group on days 3, 6 and 9 physiological weight loss was considerably (P<0.05) less in the sealed polyethylene bags without active packing components. When compared to the control sample total soluble solid content less in sealed polythene bag. The sensory evaluation for the treatments inside the chamber was more acceptable than for the control. Vegetables can store fresh for up to three days in evaporative cooling chamber without packaging. These chambers can install vegetable stalls on the side of the roads in Sri Lanka for temporary purposes.
Keywords: Charcoal, Evaporation, Shelf-life, Temperature, Vegetables