The production operation plays a crucial role in reducing the environmental impacts in various stages of the life cycle of products, from the extraction of materials to production, end-use, reuse, and recycling. Therefore, the process of reducing these environmental impacts in relation to production contributes to achieving competitive advantages and increased market shares. As such, discursive approaches to prevent industries from acting as pollutants are proposed. Since the medium density fiberboard industry is among the industries which consume high volumes of materials and energy, this study is considered to be a strategic model for enhancing efficiency and minimizing pollution and energy consumption within the framework of continuous improvement of the protection of the environment. To this aim, through the AHP, a three-level hierarchy, five criteria (product modification, process change, bill of material implementation, recycling, and human resources), and 45 sub-criteria were analyzed at Kimia Choob Medium Density Fiberboard Industry. The overall results showed that process change, among the main criteria, and planning to prevent unnecessary stoppage in machinery and equipment used as a sub-criterion were identified as the highest priorities. The total inconsistency ratio is 0. 1, which proves the consistency of the results.

The health of humans is some way related to the quality of food consumed by them; therefore, at present, the production of organic agricultural products is a necessity of the agricultural sector. In this regard, the behavior of farmers in the use of organic farming is very important. Accordingly, the main purpose of this study was to investigate the behavior of greenhouse owners in organic cultivation of strawberries and the analyze determinants of cleaner production in strawberry greenhouses. Statistical population of the study were strawberry growers in Alborz province (N=159). Sample size determined via Krejcie and Morgan’s table(n=114). Sampling method was Stratified random sampling. The data were collected using a researcher-made questionnaire, the validity of which was confirmed by a panel of experts. Also, To determine the reliability of the questionnaire, a pilot test was conducted and then Cronbach’s Alpha was calculated (between 0.71 - 0.9). The results of the regression analysis showed that three variables of financial and skill, attitude and intellectual / knowledge power in about 47 percent of the changes related to organic agricultural behavior were explained in the form of planned behavior model. Also, according to the Extended Model of Planned Behavior, four variables of social factors, financial and skill ability, intellectual ability/knowledge and attitude explained about 70% of the changes related to organic agricultural behavior.

Identifying the constraining factors of production and yield gap is very important. Therefore; this research was performed to identify the production constraining factors of local rice cultivars. All management practices from nursery preparation to harvesting stages for 100 paddy fields of local rice cultivars were recorded through field studies, in Sari, from 2015-2016. In the CPA, the actual and calculated potential yield were 4495 and 5703 kg/ha, respectively and the gap was 1221 kg/ha. The yield gap caused by number of top-dressing variables was 324 kg/ha, equal to 27% of the total yield gap. The yield gap related to previous year of legumes cultivation was 218 kg ha-1, equal to 18% of the total yield variation. Among the 10 variables entered in the CPA model, the effects of top-dress fertilizer application and its application frequency and foliar application were remarkable, which could compensate a significant part of the yield gap (444 kg/ha, 37% of total) in the farmers’ fields by managing these variables. According to boundary line analysis (BLA) finding, actual yield mean on the basis of optimal limit related to 12 variables under study was 5369 kg/ha, with 881 kg/ha yield gap . Mean relative yield and relative yield gap for 12 variables (transplanting date, seedling age, number of seedlings per hill, planting density, nitrogen and phosphorous per hectare, nitrogen before transplanting, harvesting date, lodging problem, pest problem, diseases problem and weeds problem) were 83.64 and 16.35 kg/ha, respectively. Based on the finding, it can be stated that the model precision is appropriate and can be applied for both estimation of the quantity of yield gap and determining the portion of each restricting yield variables.

Cleaner production helps preserve raw materials and water. It also eliminates hazardous materials and reduces the amount of emission toxicity as well as waste in the production process. This type of production is a universal strategy to make the necessary changes to technology and industry. Since factories of medium density fiberboard face such problems as excessive energy consumption and production of significant amounts of solid waste, reducing the adverse effects of these problems, in line with cleaner production strategies, should be considered a priority in planning. This article describes the results of the first phase of a research project which aimed to prioritize the cleaner production criteria in a medium density fiberboard factory through a hierarchical analysis process. After rigorous field research, the main criteria of product improvement, process change, recycling, implementation of BOM system, and human resources were identified and subsequently divided into 62 sub-criteria.

In order to decrease the discharge from sulfide mine flotation plants, treatment and reuse approaches based on our previous wastewater monitoring experiments were explored in these plants. The flotation wastewater was collected from the case plant and was treated with coagulation sedimentation and activated carbon adsorption. Then, the effluent was examined for reuse in the flotation process. Furthermore, the effluent was also treated with sodium hypochlorite oxidation to avoid pollution in case effluent happened to be discharged accidently. The results showed that flotation wastewater pollutants could be eliminated effectively and reuse of the effluent did not cause adverse effects, during the six-year application of this procedure. In addition, flotation reagent consumption was greatly reduced, since the effluent containing mostly foaming agents could be reused. Thus, this method proved to be environmentally friendly due to the decreased use of fresh water as well as being economically beneficial.

atural dyes are known for their added benefits over synthetic dyes in terms of health and ecology. They are considered to present a limited range of shades, which limits their use in high-end value-added products. Thus, to explore natural dyes on large scales, it is essential to generate a wide range of shades like synthetic dyes. Therefore, it is important to explore the secondary shades of natural dyes especially those which can act as primary colors in the recipe (red, yellow and blue). In the present work, three natural dyes, namely indigo, pomegranate peels and kumkum were used to dye the polyester fabric. Along with color strength at different dye concentrations, functional properties such as antioxidant, antibacterial, and UV protection were also evaluated. The dyed polyester showed good color values (K/S>1. 7) and also displayed satisfactory color fastness to light, washing and rubbing. The polyester fabric dyed with pomegranate and kumkum in self-shades displayed a variety of functional properties including a bacterial reduction of more than 90%, radical scavenging activity of greater than 90% and also displayed excellent UPF values (UPF > 270). Indigo-dyed samples displayed antibacterial activity and UV-protection, however, their antioxidant activity was poor. The secondary shades of these dyes were produced on polyester fabric.