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Energy saving is a global priority, as it is helping both energy and environmental sustainability by reducing CO2 emissions. The search for new energy solutions is therefore necessary. In the Mediterranean climate, resources are generally scarce, and all energy sources need to be explored, including biomass from agricultural or industrial waste. There is a clear upward trend in date worldwide production, having doubled its world production in the last 10 years, and this trend is particularly relevant for Mediterranean climate countries, especially in North Africa and nearby countries. This study analyzes the properties associated with the date seed (Phoenix dactylifera L.) to evaluate its suitability and viability as a new biofuel. Specifically, the viability of replacing the existing gas boiler in a university building in the south of Spain with a system of biomass boilers using this biomass was analyzed as a case study. The results reveal that this biomass has HHV values very similar to those of other biomass sources, 19.121 MJ/kg. With the replacement of the gas boiler by a biomass that uses the date seed, a reduction of 95 tons of CO2 per year is obtained and an economic saving of more than 66% is achieved. In short, this work opens new perspectives for the use of this biomass of date seed in boilers and it is an efficient solution for large public buildings such as the buildings of Mediterranean climate universities.

El desarrollo de las tecnologías de la información y la comunicación (TIC) ha permitido el surgimiento de herramientas didácticas en el campo de la educación, proporcionando herramientas prácticas para apoyar a las clases presenciales. En este contexto, los sistemas electrónicos de respuesta estudiantil pueden ser útiles para introducir un elemento tecnológico motivador en las lecciones, así como una nueva metodología. En este estudio, además del uso de los sistemas de respuesta interactiva o clickers, se ha introducido la tecnología de aprendizaje móvil mediante la elaboración de una metodología de uso de las herramientas Kahoot y Telegram en la asignatura "Fundamentos Físicos en la Ingeniería II" del Grado en Ingeniería Electrónica Industrial. El Departamento de Física Aplicada de la Universidad de Córdoba tiene una amplia experiencia en el uso de Clickers en clases teóricas con grupos grandes para diferentes grados universitarios, pero ahora el uso de tecnologías móviles de aprendizaje se ha introducido en grupos de tamaño medio para clases prácticas. Usando esta nueva metodología, los estudiantes de grupos medianos realizan un cuestionario durante la lección de resolución de problemas, donde utilizaron sus conocimientos adquiridos durante la clase. La realización del cuestionario permite a los profesores evaluar en tiempo real el nivel del estudiante y utilizar la retroalimentación para abordar los problemas iniciales y los malentendidos. Los resultados muestran que los sistemas de respuesta interactiva son altamente valorados por los estudiantes, que lo perciben como una herramienta para mejorar el aprendizaje y aumentar la competencia en el aula. The development of information and communication technologies (ICT) has enabled the emergence of teaching tools in the education field, providing practical tools to support face-to-face classes. In this context, electronic student response systems can be useful for introducing a motivating technological element into the lessons, as well as a new methodology. In this study, in addition to the use of interactive response systems or clickers, mobile learning technology has been introduced by developing a methodology for using the Kahoot and Telegram tools in the subject “Physical Foundations of Engineering II” of Electronic Engineering Degree. Department of Applied Physics of University of Cordoba has a broad experience using Clickers in theory classes with large groups for different university degrees, but now the use of mobile learning technologies has been introduced in medium-sized groups for practical classes. Using this new methodology, students of medium-sized groups perform a quiz during the problem solving lesson, where they utilized their knowledge gained during the class. The completion of the quiz allows teachers to assess the student’s level in real time, and to use the feedback to address initial problems and misunderstandings. Results show the interactive response systems are highly valued by students, who perceive it as a tool to improve learning and increase competition in the classroom.

Concern about everything related to energy is increasingly latent in the world and therefore the use of energy saving concepts has been increasing over the past several years. The interest in the subject has allowed a conceptual evolution in the scientific community regarding the understanding of the adequate use of energy. The objective of this work is to determine the contribution made by international institutions to the specialized publications in the area of energy-saving from 1939 to 2018, using Scopus Database API Interface. The methodology followed in this research was to perform a bibliometric analysis of the whole scientific production indexed in Scopus. The world’s scientific production has been analysed in the following domains: First the trend over time, types of publications and countries, second, the main subjects and keywords, third, main institutions and their main topics, and fourth, the main journals and proceedings that publish on this topic. Then, these data are presented using community detection algorithms and graph visualization software. With these techniques, it is possible to determine the main areas of research activity as well as to identify the structures of the collaboration network in the field of renewable energy. The results of the work show that the literature in this field have substantially increased during the last 10 years

The present study details the significant contribution that different international institutions have made to the field of sustainability and energy efficiency, with a focus on public buildings. This has been achieved by making use of the database Scopus, by applying bibliometric techniques and by analyzing the contents of articles published from 1976 to 2016. All the materials included in the analysis have been reported from Scopus. Several key aspects of the publications have been considered such as document type, language, subject area, journal type and keywords. Sustainable Development, Sustainability, Energy Conservation, Energy Efficiency and Buildings have been verified as the most used keywords. The obtained contributions have been classified geographically and by institution, with the United States, the United Kingdom, China, Australia and Italy being the leading research countries and Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Delft University of Technology and Tsinghua University the top contributing institutions. The most active categories in those fields are engineering, social sciences and environmental issues in that order. It can be assumed that the study of sustainability and energy efficiency across all its dimensions is of great interest for the scientific community. The global environmental issue has led many countries to incorporate a wide range of Energy Efficiency (EE) strategies in order to reduce energy consumption in public buildings, a highly valued aspect by European Union energy labelling.