Ts. Dr. Vincent Woon, Dr. Sang Kun, and NESE Student Publish in Journal of Cleaner Production
The Research and Postgraduate Centre congratulates Phuang Zhen Xin and Assoc. Prof. Ts. Dr. Vincent Woon Kok Sin (corresponding author) from the School of Energy and Chemical Engineering, as well as Asst. Prof. Dr. Sang Kun from the School of Communication, for their recent research article published in the Journal of Cleaner Production, an SCI Q1 journal with the latest impact factor of 9.8.
Phuang Zhen Xin is a third-year PhD student in XMUM New Energy Science and Engineering Programme. This research is conducted in collaboration with Dr. Wang Xue-Chao from the Beijing Normal University and Prof. Dr. You Fengqi from the Cornell University. The project is financially supported by the Fundamental Research Grant Scheme (FRGS/1/2020/TK0/XMU/02/2) and Xiamen University Malaysia Research Fund (XMUMRF/2019-C4/IENG/0022) and (XMUMRF/2023-C11/IENG/0057).
In the paper entitled "Sustaining regional infrastructure resiliency with externality for plastic waste circularity via geospatially-enhanced P-graph-life cycle optimization framework", the researchers proposed a novel two-stage optimization framework integrating geospatial allocation assessment for plastic waste (PW) facilities and the P-graph-life cycle optimization (P-graph-LCO) to enhance the feasibility of optimal PW management solutions which are commonly limited by externalities and geospatial restrictions. The investigation unfolds that the PW footprints of suggested landfill and incinerator locations can overturn from positive gains to negative losses (-4.6M US$2022 y-1 at maximum) when incorporating externality considerations. Given the geospatial limitations of the optimal solutions, including incineration in PW management pathways from the P-graph-LCO method has proven unfeasible. Mandatory extended producer responsibility (EPR) with externality consideration and ecosystem services in PW facility planning are among the recommended strategies for strengthening the PW circular economy value chain.
This study aligns with SDG 11 (Sustainable cities and communities) and SDG 12 (Responsible consumption and production), bolstered by externality and geospatial considerations in EPR-supported PW handling measures.
The published full article can be accessed at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2024.144413
Graphical abstract of this research
