Search

Woody and agricultural wastes are important fuels in many countries, and have the potential of being even more important in the future. The main problems of plant biomass combustion are low ash melting temperatures and increased emissions. The most widely used treatment to solve the problem of low ash melting point is blending a fuel with an additive. In this work, pellets were produced from wheat straw containing wood sawdust and paper sludge in the following proportions 40:40:20 and 45:45:10 (straw/sawdust/paper sludge). The purpose of this work was to study the influence of sludge and dendromass on the straw pellet parameters and combustion process. The highest calorific value of 15.71 MJ kg&minus, 1 was registered for a sample with a 10% paper sludge concentration. The effectiveness of paper sludge was proved, and the ash melting temperature was increased from 1025 to 1328 &deg, C for the same sample.

Coatings based on pigment and polymer binders are applied on paper surfaces to improve their surface, optical, and printing properties. Besides the coating composition, the structure and properties of the coated papers are influenced by the coating layer consolidation upon drying. In this study, the influence of drying conditions on the structure and properties of coating layers based on natural pigments (clay) and polymer binders (butadiene acrylonitrile latex) has been analyzed. Using a laboratory rod Mayer device, the coatings were applied as thin layer (about 15&ndash, 16 g/m2) on the paper surface and samples of coated paper were dried at 20 and 105 &deg, C temperatures. The optical, structural, and water absorption properties of the coating layer were evaluated by the measurement of gloss, opacity, void fraction, light scattering, and contact angle. The obtained results highlighted that both the drying temperature and latex content in the coating color have a synergic effect on the coated paper quality.

Paper-based analytical devices have been substantially developed in recent decades. Many fabrication techniques for paper-based analytical devices have been demonstrated and reported. Herein, we report a relatively rapid, simple, and inexpensive method for fabricating paper-based analytical devices using parafilm hot pressing. We studied and optimized the effect of the key fabrication parameters, namely pressure, temperature, and pressing time. We discerned the optimal conditions, including a pressure of 3.8 MPa, temperature of 80 °C, and 3 min of pressing time, with the smallest hydrophobic barrier size (821 µm) being governed by laminate mask and parafilm dispersal from pressure and heat. Physical and biochemical properties were evaluated to substantiate the paper functionality for analytical devices. The wicking speed in the fabricated paper strips was slightly lower than that of non-processed paper, resulting from a reduced paper pore size after hot pressing. A colorimetric immunological assay was performed to demonstrate the protein binding capacity of the paper-based device after exposure to pressure and heat from the fabrication. Moreover, mixing in a two-dimensional paper-based device and flowing in a three-dimensional counterpart were thoroughly investigated, demonstrating that the paper devices from this fabrication process are potentially applicable as analytical devices for biomolecule detection. Fast, easy, and inexpensive parafilm hot press fabrication presents an opportunity for researchers to develop paper-based analytical devices in resource-limited environments.

info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/EC/H2020/787410/EU The work was also partially funded by the Nanomark collaborative project between INCM (Imprensa Nacional - Casa da Moeda). Publisher Copyright: © 2021 The Author(s). Published by IOP Publishing Ltd. Titanium dioxide nanoparticles and nanostructured thin films were simultaneously synthesized using a microwave-assisted hydrothermal method. The synthesis formed very fine particles, appearing as nanospheres in the 11 nm size range. As for the nanostructured films, they have displayed similar structural characteristics to the nanoparticles, with thickness of 130 nm. These films covered uniformly and homogenously the Whatman paper, while maintaining its flexibility. The materials processed had their photocatalytic activity assessed from rhodamine B degradation under solar radiation (91% degradation after 40 min for the powder material and 68% after 6 h for the nanostructured thin films). Reusability experiments were also carried out, revealing superior performance concerning the Degussa P25, the most common photocatalyst used. The results of the present work can be thought as an option for the existing photocatalysts activated under solar light, namely for water purification, as it simultaneously produces enhanced photocatalytic powders and photocatalytic papers fully disposable and that can be easily recycled. publishersversion published

Over the past decades, paper-based lateral flow immunoassays (LFIAs) have been extensively developed for rapid, facile, and low-cost detection of a wide array of target analytes in a point-of-care manner. Conventional home pregnancy tests are the most significant example of LFAs, which detect elevated concentrations of human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG) in body fluids to identify early pregnancy. In this work, we have upgraded these platforms to a higher version by developing a customized microfluidic paper-based analytical device (μPAD), as the new generation of paper-based point-of-care platforms, for colorimetric immunosensing. This will offer a cost-efficient and environmentally friendly alternative platform for paper-based immunosensing, eliminating the need for nitrocellulose (NC) membrane as the substrate material. The performance of the developed platform is demonstrated by detection of hCG (as a model case) in urine samples and subsequently indicating positive or negative pregnancy. A dual-functional silane-based composite was used to treat filter paper in order to enhance the colorimetric signal intensity in the detection zones of μPADs. In addition, microfluidic pathways were designed in a manner to provide the desired regulated fluid flow, generating sufficient incubation time (delays) at the designated detection zones, and consequently enhancing the obtained signal intensity. The presented approaches allow to overcome the existing limitations of μPADs in immunosensing and will broaden their applicability to a wider range of assays. Although, the application of the developed hCG μPAD assay is mainly in qualitative (i.e., positive or negative) detection of pregnancy, the semi-quantitative measurement of hCG was also investigated, indicating the viability of this assay for sensitive detection of the target hCG analyte within the related physiological range (i.e., 10–500 ng/mL) with a LOD value down to 10 ng/mL.

Uniformly dispersing silver nanowires (AgNWs) in polymer matrices is of paramount importance for developing high-performance electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding materials. Herein, new flexible and robust high-efficiency bacterial cellulose (BC)-based EMI shielding papers were developed via a modified step-by-step in situ biosynthesis method, in which, AgNWs were well distributed in the BC network. The BC nanofibers and AgNWs could form an effective entangled network with hydrogen bonding, efficiently strengthening the produced BC/AgNW papers. An electrical conductivity of 608365 S m1 was achieved for a BC/AgNW paper with a AgNW content of 36.5 wt%, which is superior to almost all AgNW-containing papers reported so far. Moreover, the BC/AgNW paper could sustain mechanical deformation and vigorous washing, without losing electrical conductivity. Additionally, this paper presents an ultrahigh specific EMI shielding effectiveness of 6400 dB mm1, which is higher than almost all previously reported AgNW-based polymer composites. The proposed approach in this study provides a facile and scalable fabrication route for producing flexible and highly conductive BC/AgNW papers, which are of great potential as electrically conductive components and EMI shielding elements in advanced applications., This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 51973058 and 31870963), Jiangxi Provincial Natural Science Foundation (Grant No. 20202ACBL214007), Key Research and Development Program of Jiangxi Province (Grant No. 20192ACB80008) and the Key Project of Natural Science Foundation of Jiangxi Province (20202ACBL204013)., info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

This paper presents a critical review of laser pyrolysis. Although this technology is almost 60 years old, in literature many researchers, both from academia and industry, are still developing and improving it. On the contrary industrial applications are struggling to take off, if not in very restricted areas, although the technology has undoubted advantages that justify future development. The aim of this work consists in analysing a representative pool of scientific papers (230) and patents (121), from the last 20 years, to have an overview about the evolution of the method and try to understand the efforts spent to improve this technology effectively in academia and in industry. This study is important to provide a complete review about the argument, still missing in the literature. The objective is to provide an overview sufficiently broad and representative in the sources and to capture all the main ways in which laser pyrolysis has been used and with what distribution. The main focuses of the study are the analyses of the functions carried out by laser technologies, the application fields, and the types of used laser (i.e. models, power and fluence). Among the main results, the study showed that the main use of laser pyrolysis is to produce nanoparticles and coatings, the main materials worked by laser pyrolysis are silicon and carbon dioxide and the main searched properties in the products of laser pyrolysis are catalysts activity and electrical conductivity. CO2 lasers are the most used and the have high versatility compared to others. In conclusion, the study showed that laser pyrolysis is a consolidated technology within its main application fields (nanoparticles and coatings) for several years. Within this context, the technology has been developed on very different sizes and processes, obtaining a very wide range of results. Finally, these results may also have stimulated new areas of experimentation that emerged mainly in recent years and which concern biomedical applications, additive manufacturing, and waste disposal. Graphical abstract

Despite years of study, controversy remains regarding the optimal graft for anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR), suggesting that a single graft type is not ideal for all patients. A large community based ACLR Registry that collects prospective data is a powerful tool that captures information and can be analyzed to optimize surgery for individual patients. The studies highlighted in this paper were designed to optimize and individualize ACLR surgery and have led to changes in surgeon behavior and improvements in patient outcomes. Kaiser Permanente (KP) is an integrated health care system with 10.6 million members and more than 50 hospitals. Every KP member who undergoes an ACLR is entered into the Registry, and prospectively monitored. The Registry uses a variety of feedback mechanisms to disseminate Registry findings to the ACLRR surgeons and appropriately influence clinical practices and enhance quality of care. Allografts were found to have a 3.0 times higher risk of revision than bone-patellar tendon-bone (BPTB) autografts. Allograft irradiation >1.8 Mrad, chemical graft processing, younger patients, BPTB allograft, and male patients were all associated with a higher risk of revision surgery. By providing feedback to surgeons, overall allograft use has decreased by 27% and allograft use in high-risk patients ≤21 years of age decreased 68%. We have identified factors that influence the outcomes of ACLR. Statement of Clinical Significance: We found that information derived from an ACLR Registry and shared with the participating surgeons directly decreased the use of specific procedures and implants associated with poor outcomes.

Context: The establishment of the Mining Software Repositories (MSR) data showcase conference track has encouraged researchers to provide data sets as a basis for further empirical studies. Objective: Examine the usage of data papers published in the MSR proceedings in terms of use frequency, users, and use purpose. Method: Data track papers were collected from the MSR data showcase track and through the manual inspection of older MSR proceedings. The use of data papers was established through manual citation searching followed by reading the citing studies and dividing them into strong and weak citations. Contrary to weak, strong citations truly use the data set of a data paper. Data papers were then manually clustered based on their content, whereas their strong citations were classified by hand according to the knowledge areas of the Guide to the Software Engineering Body of Knowledge. A survey study on 108 authors and users of data papers provided further insights regarding motivation and effort in data paper production, encouraging and discouraging factors in data set use, and future desired direction regarding data papers. Results: We found that 65% of the data papers have been used in other studies, with a long-tail distribution in the number of strong citations. Weak citations to data papers usually refer to them as an example. MSR data papers are cited in total less than other MSR papers. A considerable number of the strong citations stem from the teams that authored the data papers. Publications providing Version Control System (VCS) primary and derived data are the most frequent data papers and the most often strongly cited ones. Enhanced developer data papers are the least common ones, and the second least frequently strongly cited. Data paper authors tend to gather data in the context of other research. [...], journal article, 35 pages, 7 figures, 6 tables

Due to the increasing size of s (s), their design and optimization phases (i.e., ) grow increasingly complex. At design time, a large design space needs to be explored to find an implementation that fulfills all specifications and then optimizes metrics like energy, area, delay, reliability, etc. At run time, a large configuration space needs to be searched to find the best set of parameters (e.g., voltage/frequency) to further optimize the system. Both spaces are infeasible for exhaustive search typically leading to heuristic optimization algorithms that find some trade-off between design quality and computational overhead. ML can build powerful models that have successfully been employed in related domains. In this survey, we categorize how () may be used and is used for design-time and run-time optimization and exploration strategies of s. A meta-study of published techniques unveils areas in that are well-explored and underexplored with, as well as trends in the employed algorithms. We present a comprehensive categorization and summary of the state of the art on for. Finally, we summarize remaining challenges and promising open research directions.

Energy management is the most prominent means of improving energy efficiency, and improved energy efficiency constitutes the cornerstone in decarbonization. For successful industrial energy management, defining accurate energy performance indicators (EnPIs) is essential. Energy-intensive industries have previously been found to have an improvement potential regarding the current monitoring of EnPIs, especially at process level. While general models for developing and implementing EnPIs exist, manufacturing industries are diverse in terms of their production processes, which is why industry-tailored models for EnPI development are needed. One major outcome of this paper is a unique model specifically tailored for kraft pulp mills. The model derives from a practice-based approach for EnPI development, building on real-life experiences from a Swedish group of companies. This paper’s developed model, and the validation of the EnPIs, further increase the understanding of the kraft pulp industry’s processes and how to apply descriptive and explanatory indicators. The developed model can potentially be generalized to other sectors. Funding: Swedish Environmental Protection Agency; Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management [802-0082-17]

Robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) are revolutionizing all spheres of human life. From industrial processes to graphic design, the implementation of automated intelligent systems is changing how industries work. The spread of robots and AI systems has triggered academic institutions to closely examine how these technologies may affect the humanity—this is how the fields of roboethics and AI ethics have been born. The identification of ethical issues for robotics and AI and creation of ethical frameworks were the first steps to creating a regulatory environment for these technologies. In this paper, we focus on regulatory efforts in Europe and North America to create enforceable regulation for AI and robotics. We describe and compare ethical principles, policies, and regulations that have been proposed by government organizations for the design and use of robots and AI. We also discuss proposed international regulation for robotics and AI. This paper tries to highlight the need for a comprehensive, enforceable, and agile policy to ethically regulate technology today and in the future. Through reviewing existing policies, we conclude that the European Unition currently leads the way in defining roboethics and AI ethical principles and implementing them into policy. Our findings suggest that governments in Europe and North America are aware of the ethical risks that robotics and AI pose, and are engaged in policymaking to create regulatory policies for these new technologies.

Seaweed fibre is usually discarded as biomass waste after extraction of useful ingredients from seaweed. However this seaweed fibre, a natural abundant cellulose material with uniform dimensions 10 times smaller than other plant-based fibre can be utilized as electrode material for energy storage. In this work, we converted seaweed fibre into conductive carbon electrodes by a thermal carbonisation method. The morphology, chemical composition and conductivity are highly influenced by the carbonisation temperature. In comparison to other biomass sources such as cotton pulp, seaweed fibre is finer, smoother and more conductive at low carbonisation temperature. These carbonized seaweeds were then used as a supercapacitor, giving a high supercapacitance (226.3 Fg−1) at the carbonisation temperature of 900°C, and good stability within 2400 cycles. This specific capacitance is significantly higher than values obtained from filter paper or cotton pulp.

We show that a A-linear map of Hilbert A-modules is induced by a unitary Hilbert module operator if and only if it extends to an ordinary unitary on appropriately defined enveloping Hilbert spaces. Applications to the theory of multiplicative unitaries let us to compute the equivalence classes of Hilbert modules over a class of C*-algebraic quantum groups. We, thus, develop a theory that, for example, could be used to show non-existence of certain co-actions. In particular, we show that the Cuntz semigroup functor takes a co-action to a multiplicative action.

Typical fire extinguishing agents were considered: water; bischofite solutions (with a mass fraction of 5% and 10%); bentonite slurries (with a mass fraction of 5% and 10%); foaming agent emulsions (with a mass fraction of 5% and 10%). The heating temperature range of 150-400°С was chosen to correspond to the conditions of rapid thermal decomposition of forest fuels. The experimental research findings suggest that the rates of moisture release depend exponentially on the heating temperature. It was established that the rates of moisture release in the above temperature range may differ significantly for the forest fuels and fire extinguishing agents under study. Conditions were identified when the general approximation equations, presented in this paper, can be used to predict the vaporization characteristics of firefighting liquids.

In recent years renewable and cleaner fuel for diesel engines are compulsory due to depletion of fossil fuel. Various types of bio-based fuels are investigated by the researchers. Biodiesel is anticipated as potential contenders of diesel fuel. Though it is possible to utilize pure biodiesel in diesel engines, some burdens like higher density, lower cetane number and lesser calorific value hinder it from replacing conventional diesel completely. Therefore, using blends with biofuels in diesel engines has a preference. Thus, this paper reviews two different approaches on the role of nanoparticles on biofuel production and effects of nanoparticles in biodiesel–diesel fuel blends on performance, combustion analysis and emission characteristics of diesel engines. Wide range of results from previous research studies with potential and application of nanoparticles in bioethanol production, the effect of the addition of nanoparticles into diesel fuel with different biofuels ratios are collected in this review study. There are different engine performances enhancing methods surveyed. Nanoparticles can be utilized in the production of biofuels from feedstock pre-treatment to chemical reaction as catalysts. It was observed from the overall results that by adding nanoparticles, there was a significant reduction in the brake specific fuel consumption about 20% to 23% as compared with biodiesel–diesel blends with and without alcohol as additives. Besides as nanoparticles possess high thermal conductivity, the addition of nanoparticles enhanced the process of combustion and increases the brake power about 2.5% to 4%. Emission results showed that in most reviews, NO x emission is increased by up to 55%, while HC, CO and PM are decreased significantly. It was concluded from the study that a diesel engine could be effectively run and give better performance and effective regulated emissions on the application of added nanoparticles with biodiesel and their blends as fuel in a CI engine.

Lubricants are widely used in macroscopic mechanical systems to reduce friction and wear. However, on the microscopic scale, it is not clear to what extent lubricants are beneficial. Therefore, in this study, we consider two diamond solid-state gears at the nanoscale immersed in different lubricant molecules and perform classical MD simulations to investigate the rotational transmission of motion. We find that lubricants can help to synchronize the rotational transmission between gears regardless of the molecular species and the center-of-mass distance. Moreover, the influence of the angular velocity of the driving gear is investigated and shown to be related to the bond formation process between gears.

Objective The interaction between proteoglycan loss and collagen damage in articular cartilage and the effect of mechanical loading on this interaction remain unknown. The aim of this study was to answer the following questions: (1) Is proteoglycan loss dependent on the amount of collagen damage and does it depend on whether this collagen damage is superficial or internal? (2) Does repeated loading further increase the already enhanced proteoglycan loss in cartilage with collagen damage? Design Fifty-six bovine osteochondral plugs were equilibrated in phosphate-buffered saline for 24 hours, mechanically tested in compression for 8 hours, and kept in phosphate-buffered saline for another 48 hours. The mechanical tests included an overloading step to induce collagen damage, creep steps to determine tissue stiffness, and cyclic loading to induce convection. Proteoglycan release was measured before and after mechanical loading, as well as 48 hours post-loading. Collagen damage was scored histologically. Results Histology revealed different collagen damage grades after the application of mechanical overloading. After 48 hours in phosphate-buffered saline postloading, proteoglycan loss increased linearly with the amount of total collagen damage and was dependent on the presence but not the amount of internal collagen damage. In samples without collagen damage, repeated loading also resulted in increased proteoglycan loss. However, repeated loading did not further enhance the proteoglycan loss induced by damaged collagen. Conclusion Proteoglycan loss is enhanced by collagen damage and it depends on the presence of internal collagen damage. Cyclic loading stimulates proteoglycan loss in healthy cartilage but does not lead to additional loss in cartilage with damaged collagen.

As natural organic matter (NOM) can cause serious ultrafiltration (UF) membrane fouling, most previous studies on UF fouling caused by NOM focused on the contribution of NOM characteristics. In this study, the correlation of molecular weight and fluorescence characteristics was examined and the fouling behavior of NOM was examined in a comprehensive manner through a lot of analysis including redundancy analysis (RDA), parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The results showed that NOM from Tong Xin river was composed of humic acid (500 Da–8,000 Da), tryptophan-like substance, soluble microbial product (SMP) and aromatic protein (600,000 Da–2,000,000 Da). Notably, UF performance was significantly affected by the humic acid-like substance. Concurrently, the combined mechanism (CM) model was adopted to evaluate the fouling mechanism of NOM. The results indicated that the cake-intermediate model played an important part during membrane fouling and the cake layer fouling had a larger predominance over the intermediate blocking, which can be further proved in the membrane morphology detection. HIGHLIGHTS The correlation of fractions with different molecular weight and fluorescent components was examined.; Fouling potential of NOM fractions was ranked by RDA analysis.; Humic acid like substance was the most detrimental foulant in the experiments.; The cake-intermediate fouling played the domain part in UF fouling.

This experimental research deals with the characteristic work on the performance, combustion, and exhaust pollutants for unleaded gasoline mixed with n-pentanol in the proportion of 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20% (by vol.) of the total quantity. The trials were performed on a 1-cylinder, 4-stroke, water-cooled, port-fuel injection (PFI) spark-ignition (SI) engine loading an AC active dynamometer so as to scrutinize the aforementioned behaviors of n-pentanol. The test fuels (unleaded gasoline, Pt5, Pt10, Pt15, and Pt20) were experimented with at various loads ranging from 1 kW to 5 kW with intervals of 1 kW under 1600 rpm fixed speed. The findings coming from the tests exhibited that the infusion of n-pentanol to gasoline has caused to reducing the HC, CO, CO2, and NO emissions in contrast to the baseline gasoline however, O2 levels were observed to be higher. At all of the engine loads, n-pentanol blends exhibited an improvement in BTE when compared with gasoline by reason of the inherent oxygen concentration of used alcohol. As hoped, the peak in-cylinder pressure and apparent heat release rate (HRR) values for the tested fuel blends were found to be higher than that of UG test fuel. It is to be noticed that the higher-order alcohol namely n-pentanol may be used as a partial replacement for gasoline fuel in the SI engine applications according to the experimental outcomes.

This study was conducted to examine cement kiln dust (CKD) efficiency for wastewater treatment. We analyzed the physicochemical characteristics of wastewater before and after treatment and then we determined its removal potential. The optimum factors of the treatment process were determined using a jar test technique. It was pH (8.1), dosage (1.9 g) and grain size (0.1 mm) with contact time of 30 min at 150 rpm. CKD pollutant removal efficiency reached 85.3, 81.6, 97.1, 86.8, 36, 74, 61.2, and 94.6% for BOD, COD, TP, TN, TDS, salinity, conductivity and turbidity, respectively, with an increase in the concentration of DO of 84%. On the other hand, removal percent of heavy metals achieved were 88.4, 90.9, 88.5, 97.2, 94.2, 70, and 79.9% for Pb, Cd, Zn, Fe, Co, Ni, and Cu, respectively. These results were compared with alum removal potential of wastewater treatment for confirmation. Alum pollutant removal efficiency reached 86.6, 79.6, 96.6, 59.9, 39.7, 65, 59 and 95.2% for BOD, COD, TP, TN, TDS, salinity, conductivity and turbidity, respectively, with an increase in the concentration of DO of 85.3%. On the other hand, removal percent of heavy metals achieved were 82.1, 90.6, 89.1, 96.8, 93.2, 72.8, and 84.1% for Pb, Cd, Zn, Fe, Co, Ni, and Cu, respectively. The methodology carried out in this study indicated that CKD can be used as a good environmental alternative coagulant for low to moderate wasted water as it achieved removal percent similar to that achieved by the common coagulant alum.

Street tree pruning residues are a widely available and currently undervalorized bioresource. Their utilization could help alleviate an increasing biomass shortage and offset costs of the pruning process for the municipalities. In this work, a holistic valorization pathway of pruning residues leading to fibers, oligosaccharides, biogas, and compost is presented. For this, representative mixtures of tree pruning materials from the most prevalent street tree genera (oak, linden, maple) found in Hamburg (Germany) were prepared by shredding and cleaning procedures. Collection of sample material was performed in summer and winter to account for seasonality. A steam-based fractionation was conducted using treatment severities ranging from log R₀ = 2.5 to 4.0. At the highest severity, a fiber yield of around 66%, and liquor yield of 26–30% was determined. The fibers were evaluated with respect to their properties for paper product applications, with higher treatment severities leading to higher paper strengths. From the oligosaccharide-rich liquor, emulsions were created, which showed promising stability properties over 8 weeks of storage. The liquors and the rejects from the material preparation also displayed good potential for biomethane production. Overall, the differences between material collected in summer and winter were found to be small, indicating the possibility for a year-round utilization of pruning residues. For the presented utilization pathway, high severity treatments were the most promising, featuring a high liquor yield, good biomethane potential, and the highest paper strengths. Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (BMBF)

Contains fulltext : 222324.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access) In the early months of 2020, the deadly Covid-19 disease spread rapidly around the world. In response, national and regional governments implemented a range of emergency lockdown measures, curtailing citizens' movements and greatly limiting economic activity. More recently, as restrictions begin to be loosened or lifted entirely, the use of so-called contact tracing apps has figured prominently in many jurisdictions' plans to reopen society. Critics have questioned the utility of such technologies on a number of fronts, both practical and ethical. However, little has been said about the ways in which the normative design choices of app developers, and the products that result therefrom, might contribute to ethical reflection and wider political debate. Drawing from scholarship in critical design and human–computer interaction, this paper examines the development of a QR code-based tracking app called Zwaai ('Wave' in Dutch), where its designers explicitly positioned the app as an alternative to the predominant Bluetooth and GPS-based approaches. Through analyzing these designers' choices, this paper argues that QR code infrastructures can work to surface a set of ethical–political seams, two of which are discussed here - responsibilization and networked (im)permanence - that more 'seamless' protocols like Bluetooth actively aim to bypass, and which may go otherwise unnoticed by existing ethical frameworks. 28 september 2020 11 p.

Restricted resources of fossil fuels together with exhaust-gas emissions dilemma led to looking for the promising solutions to increase the engine’s efficiency and decrease the fuel consumption. Substituting the biodiesel instead of diesel oil as well as using additives, have been introduced as reliable solutions to increase the engine efficiency and reduce the emissions. In this experimental work, the various concentrations of cerium oxide nano-particles (i.e. 60 ppm, 90 ppm and 120 ppm) were added to diesel/biodiesel fuel blend and their effects on energy and exergy efficiency are examined on the single cylinder in-direct injection diesel engine. Results revealed that B0W5N60 (diesel containing 5% water and 60 ppm NPs) has 2.5% higher brake thermal efficiency compared to pure diesel. Also, B0W5N90 and B0W5N120 lead to 3.8% and 4.7% improvement in brake thermal efficiency compared to diesel, respectively. By adding the nano-particles into the fuel samples, brake specific fuel consumption is enhanced; Results indicated that brake specific fuel consumption of B0W5N120 and B5W5N90 are 1.05% and 0.42% lower than that of B5W5N60, respectively. Increasing the nano-particles concentration has the increasingly effect on the exergy efficiency for all amounts of biodiesel. For B0 fueling cases, the maximum exergy efficiency of the engine belongs to the B0W5N120 (36.6%) while minimum amount is assigned to the B0W15N60 (31%).

Biodiesel has great potential as an alternative fuel for diesel engines. However, poor low-temperature flow property and high viscosity of biodiesel limit its use in engines. Therefore, alcohol comes into researchers’ eyes as a promising additive for diesel–biodiesel (DB) blends. In this study, the effects of lower and higher alcohol contents with different speeds on combustion and emissions characteristics were investigated in a modified single cylinder diesel engine. The results indicated that the maximum pressure rise rate (MPRR) maintained a consistent drop ratio as speed increased from 1500 rpm to 1800 rpm for the tested fuels. However, B10E10 (10% biodiesel and %10 ethanol by volume) had a big drop, which meant that engine’s power ability had a big loss at high speed. The declining rate with speed decreased for indicated thermal efficiency (ITE) when adding alcohol to diesel–biodiesel blends, especially n-pentanol. Moreover, compared with other tested fuels, B10P10 (10% biodiesel and 10% n-pentanol) had smaller cycle variation and more stable combustion state as speed changed, despite it had the highest coefficient of variation (COV) at 1000 rpm. It can be found that has advantages in combustion stability, and can well reduce the total hydrocarbon (THC) and carbon monoxide (CO) emissions under the condition of medium speed commonly used by vehicle. Overall consideration, using diesel/biodiesel/alcohol ternary fuels may be a better choice for diesel engines.

R ice bran oil (RBO) is claimed to be a potential feedstock for biodiesel production. N on-catalytic in-situ biodiesel production from a low-cost feedstock ( rice bran ) using subcritical ethanol-water mixture was investigated in this study . T he influence of four independent variables, i.e. , addition of co-solvent, ethanol concentration, temperature, and time of reactions , on the yield of biodiesel was examined . The results showed that the most effective co-solvent was ethyl acetate and the optimum ethanol concentration, temperature and reaction time were 80% v/v, 200 o C and 3 hours, respectively. The maximum yield of biodiesel was found to be around 80%. The optimization of operating conditions was carried out by response surface methodology (RSM) with historical data design (HDD). The statistical method also suggested similar optimum operating conditions, i.e., 78.44% (v/v) ethanol concentration, 200 o C, and 3.2 hours reaction time with ethyl acetate as a co-solvent. The predicted maximum biodiesel yield was also slightly lower, i.e., 76.98%. Therefore, this study suggests that biodiesel production from rice bran through a non-catalytic in-situ process using a subcritical ethanol-water mixture with ethyl acetate as a co-solvent is very feasible since the yield can reach 80%. The study also found that RSM with HDD can predict the optimum operating conditions with a good accuracy.

Deslagging of Eichhornia crassipers and Pistia stratiotes biomass pellets was studied after dynamic or static addition of CaO, MgO or kaoline at 600 or 800 °C. Then the chemical element and crystal phase compositions of ashes were characterized by X-ray fluorescence and X-ray diffraction. The K and Cl concentrations declined by 10%–12% and 6%–8% respectively after the use of additives, and were both higher under dynamic addition than under static addition at the same temperature. The ashes contained some high-melting-point crystal phases (e.g. Ca3Si2O7, CaMgSi2O7), which can raise the melting temperature of ashes. By comparing the slagging indices between the two types of biomass ashes, we found the deslagging effect of static loading of additives was better than dynamic loading. The deslagging effect was optimized after the static loading of kaoline at 800 °C for both types of biomass. Under the condition that these research results are applied to thermal system of power plant, it can provide basis for solving slagging problem of biomass boiler.

Depletion of mineral reservoirs along with health and environmental concerns have led to a greater focus on bio-lubricants. The purpose of this study was to analyze and optimize the reaction conditions of the transesterification process for cotton biolubricant synthesis by using Response Surface Methodology (RSM). In RSM, Rotatable central composite design was selected to examine the effect of reaction input factors on the yield of cotton bio-lubricant during the transesterification process. ANOVA analysis showed that temperature was the most significant factor followed by time, pressure and catalyst-concentration. Optimum reaction conditions obtained by RSM for maximum TMP tri-ester (cotton bio-lubricant) yield of about 37.52% were 144 °C temperature, 10 h time, 25 mbar pressure, and 0.8% catalyst-concentration. RSM predicted results were successfully validated experimentally and by artificial neural networking. About 90%–94% cotton seed oil bio-lubricant was obtained after purification and its physiochemical, lubricity and tribological properties were evaluated and found comparable with ISO VG-46 and SAE-40 mineral lubricant. Hence, cottonseed oil is a potential source for the bio-lubricant industry.

The efficiency of hot water extraction (HWE) is dependent on the size of treated wood. While previous research regarding this size-effect has focused on HWE treating sawdust and wood chips, this study investigated its effect on wood blocks with precise dimensions and a broad range of treatment conditions. Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) sapwood samples with dimensions of 10 × 10 × 20 mm3 and 25 × 25 × 50 mm3 (R × T × L) were HWE treated at 130–170 °C for 40–200 min using liquid-to-solid ratios of 4–20. Our results showed that wood mass loss, which was primarily caused by the decomposition of hemicelluloses, was larger when using small samples. This was mainly assigned to a higher quantity of acetone-soluble decomposition products that remained within the large samples, due to longer distances for diffusion and mass transfer from the wood blocks to the extraction liquid. In line with wood mass loss differences, the amount of dissolved compounds (i.e., carbohydrates) in the extraction liquid at different treatment severities was dependent on the wood size, while the liquid-to-solid ratio had only modest effects. However, composition changes of the extraction liquid, in particular changes in the proportion of poly- and monocarbohydrates with increasing treatment severity, were similar for both sample sizes.

Until today, most wool and cotton fabrics are dyed with synthetic dyes such as reactive, acid, etc. which are generally non-environmentally friendly. In this study, wool and cotton fabrics were dyed using as a bio-based dye Beta Vulgaris L. The dyeing experiments were performed both without using chemicals and using metal salts such as iron, tin, chrome, zinc, alum and copper to increase the dyeing strength. The SEM and the FTIR data of the fabrics were collected and evaluated at the end of the trials. At the same time, dyed fabric's color efficiencies (K/S) and CIE L*a*b* color values were measured on a reflectance spectrophotometer. Moreover, the color fastness properties of all dyed samples such as washing, rubbing, light were also tested. The results are satisfactory. The dyeing and test results showed that the performance of dyeability of the cotton and wool fabrics with Beta Vulgaris L. could be greatly influenced by the used mordant and its application method.

The aim of the work was to assess the efficiency of ozonation and ozonation in combination with H$_2$O$_2$ in jet loop reactor to increase biotreatability of persistent veterinary antibiotic Tiamulin. The efficiency of oxidative processes was monitored by combined approach based on determination of efficiency of wastewater treatment and impact to waste sludge stabilization. Degradation of Tiamulin in model wastewater (100 mg L$^{−1}$) during oxidation was followed by COD and DOC measurements while changes in biodegradability were determined by respirometric measurements. Biogas production potential was also determined to identify problems related to anaerobic digestion of waste sludge resulted in treatment of Tiamulin-contaminated wastewater. At ozone dose of 69 g$_{ozone}$ g$_{COD}^{−1}$ and 220 g$_{ozone}$ g$_{DOC}^{−1}$removal for COD and DOC was 26% and 17%, respectively. Better biotreatability was confirmed by respirometric testing. H$_2$O$_2$ addition did not improve removal efficiency (11–13%). The second stage of nitrification was suppressed by the addition of Tiamulin and ozonation again recovered N-NO$^−_3$ formation. O$_3$/H$_2$O$_2$ treated sample reduced the nitrification, especially formation of N-NO$^−_2$ in the first phase of the process. Simultaneously, quadratic model was developed to describe the relationship between oxygen uptake rate and changes in ammonium nitrogen concentration due to the oxidative treatment. The positive impact of ozone was also confirmed by ozonation of Tiamulin-contaminated (400 mg L$^{−1}$) waste sludge where biogas production potential was increased for 6-times. Combination of approaches confirmed, that O$_3$ effectively increase the treatability of Tiamulin in wastewater and sludge while addition of the hydrogen peroxide generally did not improve the performance of the processes.

International audience; The use of pesticides has been increasing in recent years for maintaining traditional agricultural practices. However, these chemicals are associated with several environmental impacts, demanding urgent remediation techniques. Biochar is a carbonaceous material produced by pyrolysis that has the potential for pesticide sorption and remediation. In this context, this interdisciplinary review systematically assessed the state of the knowledge of crop residues to produce biochar for pesticide sorption. We focused on maize, rice, and wheat residues since these are the three most-produced grains worldwide. Besides, we evaluated different biochar handling, storage, and soil dispersion techniques to ease its implementation in agriculture. In general, pyrolysis temperature influences biochar characteristics and its potential for pesticide sorption. Furthermore, biochar amended soils had greater pesticide sorption capacity, limiting potential leaching and runoff. Most studies showed that the feedstock and specific surface area influence the biochar sorption properties, among other factors. Also, biochar reduces pesticides’ bioavailability, decreasing their toxicity to soil organisms and improving soil fertility and crop yields. Nonetheless, the retrieved papers assessed only 21 pesticides, mainly consisting of lab-scale batch experiments. Therefore, there is still a gap in studies evaluating biochar aging, its potential desorption, pesticide co-contaminations, the associated microbiological processes, and field applications. Determining flow properties for biochars of different sizes and pellets is vital for reliable handling equipment design, and performing techno-economic assessment under different farm contexts is encouraged. Ultimately, coupling biochar production with residue management could address this challenge on sustainable agricultural systems.

Sugar beet by-products are a lignocellulosic waste generated from sugar beet industry during the sugar production process and stand out for their high carbon content. Moreover, cow manure (CM) is hugely produced in rural areas and livestock industry, which requires proper disposal. Anaerobic digestion of such organic wastes has shown to be a suitable technology for these wastes valorization and bioenergy production. In this context, the biomethane production from the anaerobic co-digestion of exhausted sugar beet pulp (ESBP) and CM was investigated in this study. Four mixtures (0:100, 50:50, 75:25, and 90:10) of cow manure and sugar beet by-products were evaluated for methane generation by thermophilic batch anaerobic co-digestion assays. The results showed the highest methane production was observed in mixtures with 75% of CM (159.5 mL CH4/g VolatileSolids added). Nevertheless, the hydrolysis was inhibited by volatile fatty acids accumulation in the 0:100 mixture, which refers to the assay without CM addition. The modified Gompertz model was used to fit the experimental results of methane productions and the results of the modeling show a good fit between the estimated and the observed data.

The treatment of different types of wastewater by physicochemical or biological (nonmicroalgal) methods could often be either inefficient or energy-intensive. Microalgae are ubiquitous microscopic organisms, which thrive in water bodies that contain the necessary nutrients. Wastewaters are typically contaminated with nitrogen, phosphorus, and other trace elements, which microalgae require for their cell growth. In addition, most of the microalgae are photosynthetic in nature, and these organisms do not require an organic source for their proliferation, although some strains could utilize organics both in the presence and absence of light. Therefore, microalgal bioremediation could be integrated with existing treatment methods or adopted as the single biological method for efficiently treating wastewater. This review paper summarized the mechanisms of pollutants removal by microalgae, microalgal bioremediation potential of different types of wastewaters, the potential application of wastewater-grown microalgal biomass, existing challenges, and the future direction of microalgal application in wastewater treatment. 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. Funding: This research was funded by Qatar National Research Fund, grant number NPRP8-646-2-272, and the APC was funded by Qatar National Library. Scopus

Over the last decades, microalgal biomass has gained a significant role in the development of different high-end (nutraceuticals, colorants, food supplements, and pharmaceuticals) and low-end products (biodiesel, bioethanol, and biogas) due to its rapid growth and high carbon-fixing efficiency. Therefore, microalgae are considered a useful and sustainable resource to attain energy security while reducing our current reliance on fossil fuels. From the technologies available for obtaining biofuels using microalgae biomass, thermochemical processes (pyrolysis, Hydrothermal Liquefaction (HTL), gasification) have proven to be processed with higher viability, because they use all biomass. However, due to the complex structure of the biomass (lipids, carbohydrates, and proteins), the obtained biofuels from direct thermochemical conversion have large amounts of heteroatoms (oxygen, nitrogen, and sulfur). As a solution, catalyst-based processes have emerged as a sustainable solution for the increase in biocrude production. This paper’s objective is to present a comprehensive review of recent developments on the catalyst-mediated conversion of algal biomass. Special attention will be given to operating conditions, strains evaluated, and challenges for the optimal yield of algal-based biofuels through pyrolysis and HTL.

Lignin, the term commonly used in literature, represents a group of heterogeneous aromatic compounds of plant origin. Protolignin or lignin in the cell wall is entirely different from the commercially available technical lignin due to changes during the delignification process. In this paper, we assess the status of lignin valorization in terms of commercial products. We start with existing knowledge of the lignin/protolignin structure in its native form and move to the technical lignin from various sources. Special attention is given to the patents and lignin-based commercial products. We observed that the technical lignin-based commercial products utilize coarse properties of the technical lignin in marketed formulations. Additionally, the general principles of polymers chemistry and self-assembly are difficult to apply in lignin-based nanotechnology, and lignin-centric investigations must be carried out. The alternate upcoming approach is to develop lignin-centric or lignin first bio-refineries for high-value applications; however, that brings its own technological challenges. The assessment of the gap between lab-scale applications and lignin-based commercial products delineates the challenges lignin nanoparticles-based technologies must meet to be a commercially viable alternative.

The production of lignin nanoparticles (LNPs) has emerged as a way to overcome the highly variable and complex molecular structure of lignin. It can offer morphological control of the lignin polymer, allowing the formation of stable LNP dispersions in aqueous media, while increasing the potential of lignin for high‐value applications. However, the polydispersity and morphology of LNPs varies depending on the lignin grade and preparation method, and a systematic comparison using different technical lignins is lacking. In this study, it was attempted to find a green fabrication method with a distinct solvent fractionation of lignin to prepare LNPs using three different technical lignins as starting polymers: BLN birch lignin (hardwood, BB), alkali Protobind 1000 (grass, PB), and kraft LignoBoost (softwood, LB). For that, three anti‐solvent precipitation approaches to prepare LNPs were systematically compared: 70 % aqueous ethanol, acetone/water (3 : 1) and NaOH as the lignin solvent, and water/aqueous HCl as the anti‐solvent. Among all these methods, the acetone/water (3 : 1) approach allowed production of homogeneous and monodisperse LNPs with a negative surface charge and also spherical and smooth surfaces. Overall, the results revealed that the acetone/water (3 : 1) method was the most effective approach tested to obtain homogenous, small, and spherical LNPs from the three technical lignins. These LNPs exhibited an improved stability at different ionic strengths and a wider pH range compared to the other preparation methods, which can greatly increase their application in many fields, such as pharmaceutical and food sciences., Choose your path: A green fabrication route is discovered to prepare homogeneous and monodisperse lignin nanoparticles with spherical and smooth surfaces, using three different technical lignins as starting polymers. Results show that the acetone/water (3 : 1) method is the most effective approach to obtain such lignin nanoparticles, which can greatly increase their application in many fields (e. g., pharmaceutical and food sciences).

International audience; Interest and need for Wireless Body Area Networks (WBANs) havesignicantly increased recently. WBAN consists of miniaturized sensors de-signed to collect and transmit data through wireless network, enabling medicalspecialists to monitor patients during their normal daily life and providing realtime opinions for medical diagnosis. Many wireless technologies have provedthemselves in WBAN applications, while others are still under investigations.The choice of the technology to adopt may depend on the disease to moni-tor and the performance requirements, i.e. reliability, latency and data rate.In addition, the suitable sensor is essential when seeking to extract the datarelated to a medical measure.This paper aims at surveying the wireless technologies used in WBAN sys-tems. In addition to a detailed survey on the existing technologies, the use ofthe emerging Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) technologies, and thefuture 5G, B5G and 6G is investigated, where the suitability of these technolo-gies to WBAN applications is studied from several perspectives. Furthermore,medical applications of WBAN are discussed by presenting their methodolo-gies, the adopted wireless technologies and the used sensors. Given that eachmedical application requires the appropriate sensor to extract the data, wehighlight a wide range of the sensors used in the market for medical systems.Recent and future challenges in WBAN systems are given related to the powerconsumption, the emergence of the Internet of Things (IoT) technologies inWBAN and others.

In this study, biogas production was investigated in mesophilic conditions from sugar beet pulp (SBP). In untreated conditions, water dissolution rate was 15.5% and biogas production rate was 168.7 mL/g TS (total solid). Alkaline thermal pretreatments were applied at 100 °C with 3 N NaOH and KOH solutions. Amounts of alkaline and acid were added in an amount equal to 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, and 30% of the solids in the reactor. Acid thermal pretreatments were applied at 100 °C with 5% (v/v) H2SO4 and HNO3 solutions. The anaerobic digestion (AD) time was shortened by approximately 10 days after pretreatment. The highest biogas yield was 458.4 mL/g TS as a result of KOH thermal pretreatment. In this reactor, soluble chemical oxygen demand (sCOD) removal was 87.1%, and cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin removals were 32.4%, 28.6%, and 33.5% w/w, respectively. It was observed that the cumulative biogas production (CBP) successfully fitted the modified Richards (MR) model and modified Gompertz (MG) model. © 2019, Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature. Sivas Cumhuriyet Üniversitesi: CUBAP-M-665 The financial support of this study was provided by the scientific research projects unit of the Cumhuriyet University (CUBAP-M-665). We would like to thank you for your contribution to the related institution.

Thermodynamic data indicate that the oxidation of oxygenated organic species originating from biomass instead of water at the anode of an electrolysis cell should allow decreasing the cell voltage below 1.23 V. Biosourced alcohols, polyols, sugars, lignocellulosic compounds, and their derivatives are then electroreformed to produce clean hydrogen at the cathode and compounds at the anode of electrolysis cells. The reported studies highlight the main challenges to make electroreforming a future industrial process: higher reaction kinetics and hydrogen evolution rate; better selectivity of anode catalysts toward the formation of CO2 or added-value compounds; and utilization of nonstrategical metals. An attractive solution to decrease hydrogen production costs and to make bankable other economic activities consists in directly valuing wastes from agriculture/forestry (lignocellulosic raw materials) and/or wastes from biofuel industries.

A large quantity of leachate is generated during municipal solid waste collection operation and in landfills due to the large amount of organic waste and high humidity. The content of medium chain fatty acids (MCFAs) in the leachate is a low cost feedstock for bio-based chemical and fuel production processes. The aim of this study is to investigate the MCFA production potential of three leachate ages through chain elongation process under uncontrolled pH batch test. Moreover, the effect of using different external electron donors (ethanol, methanol and a mixture of both) is studied. The experiment consists of characterizing the samples then adding external electron donors with a specific ratio to leachate samples under mesophilic temperature. For this investigation, also a statistical analysis is done, which shows the production of MCFAs is highly influenced by leachate age. The results indicate that the production of even-numbered acids increase from 600 to 1,000 mg/L by the end of the ethanol chain elongation experiment for young leachate. However, a higher MCFA production of more than 1,000 mg/L is achieved by using the mixture of methanol and ethanol as electron donor. Furthermore, all methanol chain elongation experiments lead to an odd-numbered production of MCFAs, such as pentanoic and heptanoic acids. These results confirm the potential improvement of MCFA production from leachate through choosing the optimal leachate age and electron donor. Overall, producing MCFAs from leachate is a good example of circular bio-economy because waste is used to produce biochemicals, which closes the material cycle.

The key challenge in reaching the goals set by Renewable Energy Directive is developing a sustainable, profitable, and environmentally acceptable biodiesel production process. In order to achieve balance between the above criteria, any use of high-quality edible oils as feedstocks needs to be avoided and utilization of waste feedstocks, such as used coffee grounds and waste animal fats, should be encouraged. The main drawback of these waste feedstocks is their high impurity content which usually requires an additional purification step. It is the purpose of this research to investigate the deacidification of three different waste biodiesel feedstocks by means of liquid-liquid extraction with deep eutectic solvents, in order to identify possible connections between solvent properties and extraction efficiency. Eight deep eutectic solvents were chosen to cover a wide range of different properties and the three used feedstocks varied in free fatty acid content. The relationship between solvent properties and extraction efficiency was determined by Spearman’s rank-order correlation. Strong, statistically significant positive correlation was found for solvent pH values, while a strong negative correlation was observed for polarities and molar volumes. The most effective solvent was potassium carbonate/ethylene glycol (1:10, mol.). Depending on the initial total acid number, solvent to feedstock mass ratios 0.1:1 and 0.25:1 were enough to reduce the acidity of waste animal fat below 2 mg of potassium hydroxide/g fat and the solvent was successfully reused up to four times.

The results of the 2018 commissioning and experimental campaigns of the new High Power Laser Facility on the Energy-dispersive X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy (ED-XAS) beamline ID24 at the ESRF are presented., Results of the 2018 commissioning and experimental campaigns of the new High Power Laser Facility on the Energy-dispersive X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy (ED-XAS) beamline ID24 at the ESRF are presented. The front-end of the future laser, delivering 15 J in 10 ns, was interfaced to the beamline. Laser-driven dynamic com­pression experiments were performed on iron oxides, iron alloys and bismuth probed by online time-resolved XAS.

Since ash from wood biomass mostly ends up in landfills, recent research has focused on finding its economic and environmental added value as a potential new raw material in the construction industry. However, for wood ash to be used on an industrial scale in construction, a strategy for its proper storage must be defined. Proper storage of WBA is important to ensure quality control for applications in cementitious composites. This work investigated the aging of wood biomass ash (WBA) collected from five different power plants in Croatia and its influence on the performance of cementitious composites. WBA and cement pastes were investigated at different aging times (up to one year) using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), isothermal calorimetry and initial and final setting times. The results showed that storage of WBA in closed and open containers resulted in carbonation and hydration of mainly free lime and periclase, respectively, which affected the reactivity and setting times of WBA cement pastes.

International audience; Mixing biomasses has a good potential to solve operational problems in thermochemical valorization processes related to ash behavior. Chemical reactions within the ash of the blend, and not only a mixing effect without reaction, need to take place to form new solid phases in the mixture at the expense of getting rid of the problematic liquid one to decrease the slagging tendency. The present work focuses on assessing the presence of a chemical reaction in comparison with a simple mixing effect within the ash of mixtures of wheat straw-oak bark biomass and ash in two laboratory setups and in a fixed and in a moving bed pilot combustion reactors. The operating conditions were varied to study their effects on the reactivity of the ash within the mixtures. This aimed to optimize the ash reactivity and to assess the capabilities of the laboratory test to predict the ash behavior in pilot-scale reactors. Mixing without reaction effect was more evident when mixtures of biomass were used on both laboratory and pilot scales. In this case, the simple mixing rule was able to simulate the general ash behavior of biomass mixture to a certain extent that exact prediction was always limited by the presence of certain chemical reactions. However, chemical reactions effect was dominant when mixtures of ash of biomass were applied as feedstock. Solid crystalline phases K2Ca2Si2O7 and K2Ca6Si4O15 were the direct end products of these chemical reactions. Their relative proportion was inversely proportional to the problematic amorphous phase in the final ash. Hence, optimizing the blend proportion to increase their concentrations has the potential to solve slagging problematic. These two compounds were mostly stable at 1000℃, at which equilibrium was reached after 6h. However, they existed at a lower proportion at 850℃ and disappeared at 1200℃. The developed laboratory pellet test was also able to predict very efficiently the pilot ash behavior of both individual biomasses and their mixture in terms of crystalline and amorphous composition and proportion along with agglomeration distribution.

A Pulsed Electrical Field (PEF) reactor was developed to process biological sludge as a pretreatment method prior to anaerobic digestion. This study focuses on the effects of operational parameters such as applied voltage, pH, conductivity, flow-rate, and temperature affecting the treatment of waste active sludge (WAS) by PEF, the simulation of reactor process conditions and anaerobic biodegradation of PEF pretreated sludge. The effects of the sludge conductivity, flow-rate, and temperature on the Soluble Chemical Oxygen Demand (SCOD) of WAS treated by PEF reactor were investigated by using a Box-Wilson statistical experiment design. Simulations of the PEF process conditions were performed to verify experimental results. After PEF optimization study, the PEF operational conditions for maximum SCOD were obtained at 4 mS/cm conductivity, 5 mL/min flow-rate, and 40 degrees C temperature during PEF treatment. The measured and predicted SCOD showed a good consistency (R (2 )= 0.92). After it was pretreated by the PEF, the SCOD, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, polysaccharide and protein contents of WAS increased. However filterability property also decreased. In the anaerobic digestion study, the reactor fed with the PEF pretreated WAS provided 1.70 times higher methane production compared with raw sludge. In addition to this situation, 18% and 19% improvements, respectively, were observed in SCOD and VSS reductions when it was compared with raw sludge in the 23 days of anaerobic operation. Sixteen percent decrease in CST showed that the PEF enhanced the ?lterability of WAS during the anaerobic stabilization.

Anaerobic digestion is generally restricted by the low degradability of waste activated sludge (WAS) and slow hydrolysis rate. This work provided an innovative technique to promote continuous anaerobic digestion performance mediated by natural diatomite. In continuous tests over 125 days, 2 g/g-Total solids (TS) of natural diatomite addition increased daily methane production and volatile solids (VS) destruction by 23.3% and 23.5%, respectively, leading to a 5.6% decrease in digestate volume for disposal. Microbial community in the natural diatomite mediated digester changed toward a favorable direction for anaerobic sludge digestion. Process modelling indicated that the increased natural diatomite presence increased hydrolysis rate, biomethane potential and degradation extent of the rapidly biodegradable substrates in WAS, with the highest enhancement being approximately 78.9%, 44.5% and 45.0%, respectively, achieved at 2 g/g- TS diatomite. However, the slowly biodegradable substrates in WAS stayed relatively stable. The mechanism studies revealed that natural diatomite mitigated ammonia inhibition and enhanced electron transfer for WAS-to-methane conversion mediated by its strong adsorption capacity and conductivity. The versatility of the technology proposed is also verified by the diatomite mediated experiments using different natural diatomite from different sources. Compared to the most natural minerals, diatomite exhibited either a greater anaerobic digestion performance or a lower dosage, bringing strong benefits in economy, environment and technology.

In quest of meeting the requirements of sustainable development, coupling zero valent iron (ZVI) with microorganisms has attracted extensive attentions for enhancing biological wastewater and sludge treatment in terms of microbial growth, nutrients removal, and resources recovery. Given to the significant role of ZVI playing in biological wastewater and sludge treatment, a thorough evaluation of the associated interactions among ZVI and microorganisms is necessary to further scale-up the application of ZVI-based biotechnologies. To this end, this review comprehensively summarizes the mechanisms of ZVI for enhancing nutrients removal (i.e., C, N, S and P) in several typical biological wastewater treatment processes, discusses the role of ZVI in improving the excess sludge reduction by dewatering or anaerobic digestion for methane production, and analyzes the feasibility of recovering phosphorus from anaerobic sludge digestion system in the form of vivianite through using ZVI. Knowledge gaps regarding the application of ZVI in sludge or wastewater treatment are also identified in this review to facilitate the further development of the ZVI-based biological technology.

Biomass preheating in torrefaction at an industrial scale is possible through a direct contact with the hot gases released. However, their high water-content implies introducing moisture (around 20% v/v) in the torrefaction atmosphere, which may impact biomass thermochemical transformation. In this work, this situation was investigated for wheat straw, beech wood and pine forest residue in torrefaction in two complementary experimental devices. Firstly, experiments in chemical regime carried out in a thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA) showed that biomass degradation started from lower temperatures and was faster under a moist atmosphere (20% v/v water content) for all biomass samples. This suggests that moisture might promote biomass components&rsquo, degradation reactions from lower temperatures than those observed under a dry atmosphere. Furthermore, biomass inorganic composition might play a role in the extent of biomass degradation in torrefaction in the presence of moisture. Secondly, torrefaction experiments on a lab-scale device made possible to assess the influence of temperature and residence time under dry and 100% moist atmosphere. In this case, the difference in solid mass loss between dry and moist torrefaction was only significant for wheat straw. Globally, an effect of water vapor on biomass transformation through torrefaction was observed (maximum 10%db), which appeared to be dependent on the biomass type and composition.

The exploitation of natural quarries generates a high amount of waste as a result of the extraction, screening and segmentation processes. These usually inert wastes are not typically reused and end up in landfills. There is an urgent need for sustainable solutions aiming at the valorisation of these mineral wastes through the development of innovative products with greater added value and active functionalities. In this work, the applicability of different mineral wastes was tested on the development of advanced active ecocomposites. Several formulations/ conditions, using green epoxy and polyester matrixes, were assessed in order to determine the reasonable production parameters. Additionally, two different antibacterial agents were added and the efficacy was tested. The overall mechanical performance of the ecocomposite was evaluated during every stage of development. The combination of dried sludge and green epoxy resin (SE_70), containing 70% of mineral waste, revealed to be most promising composition with interesting mechanical properties (tensile strength 91.63 ± 3.31 (MPa); strain (%) 0.69 ± 0.05; and Young’s modulus (GPa) 13.65 ± 0.64). The functionalization of these samples was successful and the antibacterial activity was confirmed. However, the active agent affected the short-term mechanical properties. Nevertheless, the QUV® accelerated weathering test confirmed that the main long-term properties were unaffected. Thus, it is concluded that mineral waste from quarry activities can be use in the development of new sustainable added value advanced products., This work was supported by Operational Programme “Regional Azores 2014–2020”, through project Basalt Waste Composite (ACORES01-0247-FEDER-000013), Portugal.