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Deliverable 1.7 collatesand consolidatesstakeholder events across the TRAIN project. The events included in this report constitute a wide range of different formats including (but not limited to) meetings, workshops/webinars, training events, conferences and networking events.&nbsp

Report containing an analysis of existing Research and Innovation strategies and a definition of EUTOPIA- TRAIN themes and common research agenda, Deliverable 1.1 for EUTOPIA-TRAIN. Deliverable not yet approved by the European Commission.

Chemical precipitation is a consolidated technique applied in wastewater treatment to remove and recover phosphorous and ammonium that remain in the effluent after the anaerobic digestion treatment. The precipitate is magnesium ammonium phosphate hexahydrate (MgNH4PO4·6H2O), also known as struvite, and it is sold as a slow-release fertiliser. However, the value of struvite is quite low and has a limited market. Furthermore, it precipitates with heavy metals and other impurities that need to be removed to make the fertiliser commercially viable. This study looked at the thermal decomposition of struvite to recover added value products and recycle the magnesium for further precipitation. A kinetic study was carried out to understand the mechanism of decomposition and the formation of the different solid phases, which is fundamental for the design and optimisation of the technology. The thermogravimetric study confirmed that thermal decomposition is possible, but ammonia could not be completely released below 250 °C. The thermal analysis also led to the determination of the energy required for the decomposition, found to be 1.87 kJ g−1, which also includes the evaporation of water and ammonia. The kinetic study through the isoconversional method showed the presence of two major reactions, and the model-fitting approach identified the diffusion model as the best fit for the first reaction. The activation energy of the first reaction found with this method was 0.24 kJ g−1, comparable with the data obtained from the isoconversional method. The two-stage decomposition reactions were proposed, and the final calcination product was confirmed as magnesium pyrophosphate, which could be used in agriculture or dissolved in diluted mineral acids solution to separate the phosphate from the magnesium.\ud \ud

Sustainability assessments require the management of a wide variety of information types, parameters and uncertainties. Multi criteriadecision analysis(MCDA) has been regarded as a suitable set of methods to perform sustainability evaluations as a result of its flexibility and the possibility of facilitating the dialogue between stakeholders, analysts and scientists. However, it has been reported that researchers do not usually properly define the reasons for choosing a certain MCDA method instead of another. Familiarity and affinity with a certain approach seem to be the drivers for the choice of a certain procedure. This reviewpaperpresents the performance of five MCDA methods (i.e. MAUT, AHP, PROMETHEE, ELECTRE and DRSA) in respect to ten crucial criteria that sustainability assessments tools should satisfy, among which are a life cycle perspective, thresholds and uncertainty management, software support and ease of use. The review shows that MAUT and AHP are fairly simple to understand and have good software support, but they are cognitively demanding for the decision makers, and can only embrace a weak sustainability perspective as trade-offs are the norm. Mixed information and uncertainty can be managed by all the methods, while robust results can only be obtained with MAUT. ELECTRE, PROMETHEE and DRSA are non-compensatory approaches which consent to use a strong sustainability concept, accept a variety of thresholds, but suffer from rank reversal. DRSA is less demanding in terms of preference elicitation, is very easy to understand and provides a straightforward set of decision rules expressed in the form of elementary “if … then …” conditions. Dedicated software is available for all the approaches with a medium to wide range of results capability representation. DRSA emerges as the easiest method, followed by AHP, PROMETHEE and MAUT, while ELECTRE is regarded as fairly difficult. Overall, the analysis has shown that most of the requirements are satisfied by the MCDA methods (although to different extents) with the exclusion of management of mixed data types and adoption of life cycle perspective which are covered by all the considered approaches.

Full cost accounting has been applied in many industrial settings that include the oil and gas, energy, chemical and waste management industries. Presently, it is not known how it can be applied in an automotive industry context. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to review existing full cost accounting methods and identify an appropriate approach for the automotive sector. This literature review of 4381 papers extracted ten full cost accounting methods with a diverse level of development and consistency in application. Based on a careful examination and critical analysis of each approach and existing automotive sustainability measures, the Sustainability Assessment Model developed by British Petroleum and Aberdeen University has been proposed as a well-developed and potentially practical tool for automotive applications. The Sustainability Assessment Model can be used by both academics and practitioners to translate a range of conflicting sustainability information into a monetary unit score. This is an effective way of communicating trade-offs and outcomes for complex and multi-disciplinary sustainable decisions in the automotive sector. It measures a broad range of economic, environmental, resource and social effects (internal and external), which is currently lacking in existing automotive systems. Its other strengths are the ability to provide both monetary and physical metrics for sustainability assessment, its flexibility and the ability to combine multiple sustainability dimensions. Furthermore, this paper provides helpful clues for researchers interested in exploring full cost accounting in the future by reviewing, analysing and synthesising the broad range of relevant sources from diverse fields in this topic area.

This paper proposes a robustness analysis based on Multiple Criteria Decision Aiding (MCDA). The ensuing model was used to assess the implementation of green chemistry principles in the synthesis of silver nanoparticles. Its recommendations were also compared to an earlier developed model for the same purpose to investigate concordance between the models and potential decision support synergies. A three-phase procedure was adopted to achieve the research objectives. Firstly, an ordinal ranking of the evaluation criteria used to characterize the implementation of green chemistry principles was identified through relative ranking analysis. Secondly, a structured selection process for an MCDA classification method was conducted, which ensued in the identification of Stochastic Multi-Criteria Acceptability Analysis (SMAA). Lastly, the agreement of the classifications by the two MCDA models and the resulting synergistic role of decision recommendations were studied. This comparison showed that the results of the two models agree between 76% and 93% of the simulation set-ups and it confirmed that different MCDA models provide a more inclusive and transparent set of recommendations. This integrative research confirmed the beneficial complementary use of MCDA methods to aid responsible development of nanosynthesis, by accounting for multiple objectives and helping communication of complex information in a comprehensive and traceable format, suitable for stakeholders and/or decision-makers with diverse backgrounds., Journal of Cleaner Production, 162, ISSN:0959-6526

The first approach utilises a thin film of acrylic that is moulded onto the outside of a polycarbonate substrate. It was found that the gate of the injection mould cavity must be of uniform cross section otherwise local shear heating can occur and melt the acrylic film. The injection gate must also be located entirely on one side of the mould cavity otherwise the film is punctured by the molten polycarbonate and free to float within the cavity. Any mixing of the two materials will lead to opaque components due the difference in the refractive indices. The film was found to improve the UV resistance of any component, acting as a protective buffer for the polycarbonate.\ud \ud A new variety of hardcoat was applied to film-backed samples to impart abrasion resistance and samples were found to outperform commercially available alternatives under recognised laboratory conditions. The film-backed samples also exhibited excellent impact resistance when impacted upon the film-face. However, similar components failed at extremely low energy levels when impacted from the non-film face because flaws in the acrylic film caused cracks to be initiated when the film was placed into tension. The level of adhesion between the film and the polycarbonate has been found to be critical and if the failure mechanism could be guaranteed, then intruder resistant glazing that could be broken from the inside in an emergency becomes a possibility. Such a product would address the identified consumer concern of being trapped in a vehicle.\ud \ud The second approach utilises simultaneous dual injection moulding (2K), which has previously only been used to manufacture coloured components. A successful feasibility study was undertaken to demonstrate the concept of producing transparent components via such a process. This showed that much greater control is required for transparent applications otherwise the skin and core materials mix and opaque components are produced. The generally accepted academic principles associated with the process have been shown to be too simplistic and cannot be relied upon to guarantee good results. The ratio of viscosities of the skin and core materials appear to be more dominant than previously thought and the relative injection speeds of the two materials has a direct influence upon interfacial mixing and haze generation. It was also found that haze could be avoided if the refractive indices of the skin and core material were matched to within ±0.002, but this is impractical.\ud \ud A third area of research examined the feasibility of introducing structured glass fibres weaves into transparent components to improve rigidity. The study resulted in the construction of a transparent glass fibre pre-preg that could be moulded onto the outer surface of polycarbonate components. Flexural tests revealed that a single layer of glass fibre increased the flexural modulus of test samples by a factor of 3, whilst transparency and clarity were retained. Two patents have been filed as a direct result of this work.

During the last few decades, phytoremediation process has attracted much attention because of the growing concerns about the deteriorating quality of soil caused by anthropogenic activities. Here, a tandem phytoremediation/biorefinery process was proposed as a way to turn phytoremediation into a viable commercial method by producing valuable chemicals in addition to cleaned soil. Two agricultural plants (Sinapis alba and Helianthus annuus) were grown in moderately contaminated soil with ca. 100 ppm of Ni and further degraded by a fungal lignin degrader - Phanerochaete chrysosporium. Several parameters have been studied: the viability of plants, biomass yield and their accumulating and remediating potentials. Further down-stream processing showed that up to 80% of Ni can be easily extracted from contaminated biomass by aqueous extraction at mild conditions. Finally, it was demonstrated that the grown onto contaminated soil plants can be degraded by Phanerochaete chrysosporium and the effect of nickel and biomass pre-treatment on the solid state fermentation was studied. The proposed and studied in this work methodology can pave the way to successful commercialization of the phytoremediation process in the near future