Search results for: waste products

Authors: Stephen Bahooshy

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Our understanding of gender inequality has advanced in recent years. Differences in pay and societal gendered behaviour expectations have been emphasized. It is acknowledged globally that gender shapes everyone’s experiences of health and social care, including access to care, use of services and products, and the interaction with care providers. NHS Digital in England collects data from local authorities on the number of carers and people with support needs and the services they access. This data does not provide a gender breakdown. Caring can have many positive and negative impacts on carers’ health and wellbeing. For example, caring can improve physical health, provide a sense of pride and purpose, and reduced stress levels for those who undertake a caring role by choice. Negatives of caring include financial concerns, social isolation, a reduction in earnings, and not being recognized as a carer or involved and consulted by health and social care professionals. Treating male and female carers differently is by definition unequitable and precludes one gender from receiving the benefits of caring whilst potentially overburdening the other with the negatives of caring. In order to explore the issue on a preliminary basis, five local authorities who provide statutory adult social care services in England were sent Freedom of Information requests in 2019. The authorities were selected to include county councils and London boroughs. The authorities were asked to provide data on the amount of money spent on care at home packages to people over 65 years, broken down by gender and carer gender for each financial year between 2013 and 2019. Results indicated that in each financial year, female carers supporting someone over 65 years received less financial support for care at home support packages than male carers. Over the six-year period, this difference equated to a £9.5k deficit in financial support received on average per female carer when compared to male carers. An example of a London borough with the highest disparity presented an average weekly spend on care at home for people over 65 with a carer of £261.35 for male carers and £165.46 for female carers. Consequently, female carers in this borough received on average £95.89 less per week in care at home support than male carers. This highlights a real and potentially detrimental disparity in the care support received to female carers in order to support them to continue to care in parts of England. More research should be undertaken in this area to better explore this issue and to understand if these findings are unique to these social care providers or part of a wider phenomenon. NHS Digital should request local authorities collect data on gender in the same way that large employers in the United Kingdom are required by law to provide data on staff salaries by gender. People who allocate social care packages of support should consider the impact of gender when allocating support packages to people with support needs and who have carers to reduce any potential impact of gender bias on their decision-making.

Keywords: caregivers, carers, gender equality, social care

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Authors: Chandan Kundu, Sankar Bhattacharya

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A significant disadvantage of fossil fuel energy production is the considerable amount of carbon dioxide (CO₂) released, which is one of the contributors to climate change. Apart from environmental concerns, changing fossil fuel prices have pushed society gradually towards renewable energy sources in recent years. Biomass is a plentiful and renewable resource and a source of carbon. Recent years have seen increased research interest in generating fuels and chemicals from biomass. Unlike fossil-based resources, biomass is composed of lignocellulosic material, which does not contribute to the increase in atmospheric CO₂ over a longer term. These considerations contribute to the current move of the chemical industry from non-renewable feedstock to renewable biomass. This presentation focuses on generating bio-oil and two major platform chemicals that can potentially improve the environment. Thermochemical processes such as pyrolysis are considered viable methods for producing bio-oil and biomass-based platform chemicals. Fluidized bed reactors, on the other hand, are known to boost bio-oil yields during pyrolysis due to their superior mixing and heat transfer features, as well as their scalability. This review and the associated experimental work are focused on the thermochemical conversion of biomass to bio-oil and two high-value platform chemicals, Levoglucosenone (LGO) and 5-Chloromethyl furfural (5-CMF), in a fluidized bed reactor. These two active molecules with distinct features can potentially be useful monomers in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries since they are well adapted to the manufacture of biologically active products. This process took several meticulous steps. To begin, the biomass was delignified using a peracetic acid pretreatment to remove lignin. Because of its complicated structure, biomass must be pretreated to remove the lignin, increasing access to the carbohydrate components and converting them to platform chemicals. The biomass was then characterized by Thermogravimetric analysis, Synchrotron-based THz spectroscopy, and in-situ DRIFTS in the laboratory. Based on the results, a continuous-feeding fluidized bed reactor system was constructed to generate platform chemicals from pretreated biomass using hydrogen chloride acid-gas as a catalyst. The procedure also yields biochar, which has a number of potential applications, including soil remediation, wastewater treatment, electrode production, and energy resource utilization. Consequently, this research also includes a preliminary experimental evaluation of the biochar's prospective applications. The biochar obtained was evaluated for its CO₂ and steam reactivity. The outline of the presentation will comprise the following: Biomass pretreatment for effective delignification Mechanistic study of the thermal and thermochemical conversion of biomass Thermochemical conversion of untreated and pretreated biomass in the presence of an acid catalyst to produce LGO and CMF A thermo-catalytic process for the production of LGO and 5-CMF in a continuously-fed fluidized bed reactor and efficient separation of chemicals Use of biochar generated from the platform chemicals production through gasification

Keywords: biomass, pretreatment, pyrolysis, levoglucosenone

Procedia PDF Downloads 141

Authors: Afif J. Arabi

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On April 15, 2024, Iran announced its unprecedented military attack by sending waves of more than 300 drones and ballistic missiles toward Israel. The Attack lasted approximately five hours and was a widely covered, distributed, and followed media event. Iran’s military action against Israel was a long-awaited action across the Middle East since the early days of the October 7th war on Gaza and after a long history of verbal threats. While people in many Arab countries stayed up past midnight in anticipation of watching the disastrous results of this unprecedented attack, voices on traditional and social media alike started to question the timed public announcement of the attack, which gave Israel at least a two-hour notice to prepare its defenses. When live news coverage started showing that nearly all the drones and missiles were intercepted by Israel – with help from the U.S. and other countries – and no deaths were reported, the social media response to this media event turned toward sarcasm, mockery, irony, and humor. Social media users posted sarcastic pictures, jokes, and comments mocking the Iranian offensive. This research examines this unique media event and the sarcastic response it generated on social media. The study aims to investigate the causes leading to media sarcasm in militarized political conflict, the social function of such generated sarcasm, and the role of social media as a platform for consuming frustration, dissatisfaction, and outrage passively through various media products. The study compares the serious traditional media coverage of the event with the humorous social media response among Arab countries. The research uses an eclectic theoretical approach using framing theory as a paradigm for understanding and investigating communication social functionalism theory in media studies to examine sarcasm. Social functionalism theory is a sociological perspective that views society as a complex system whose parts work together to promote solidarity and stability. In the context of media and sarcasm, this theory would suggest that sarcasm serves specific functions within society, such as reinforcing social norms, providing a means for social critique, or functioning as a safety valve for expressing social tension.; and a qualitative analysis of specific examples including responses of SM commentators to such manifestations of political criticism. The preliminary findings of this study point to a heightened dramatization of the televised event and a widespread belief that this attack was a staged show incongruent with Iran’s official enmity and death threats toward Israel. The social media sarcasm reinforces Arab’s view of Iran and Israel as mutual threats. This belief stems from the complex dynamics, historical context, and regional conflict surrounding these three nations: Iran, Israel, and Arabs.

Keywords: social functionalism, social media sarcasm, Television news framing, live militarized conflict coverage, iran, israel, communication theory

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Authors: Vishal Kumar, Soumitra Satapathi

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Föster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) is a powerful technique used to probe close-range molecular interactions. Physically, the FRET phenomenon manifests as a dipole–dipole interaction between closely juxtaposed fluorescent molecules (10–100 Å). Our effort is to employ this FRET technique to make a prototype device for highly sensitive detection of environment pollutant. Among the most common environmental pollutants, nitroaromatic compounds (NACs) are of particular interest because of their durability and toxicity. That’s why, sensitive and selective detection of small amounts of nitroaromatic explosives, in particular, 2,4,6-trinitrophenol (TNP), 2,4-dinitrotoluene (DNT) and 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) has been a critical challenge due to the increasing threat of explosive-based terrorism and the need of environmental monitoring of drinking and waste water. In addition, the excessive utilization of TNP in several other areas such as burn ointment, pesticides, glass and the leather industry resulted in environmental accumulation, and is eventually contaminating the soil and aquatic systems. To the date, high number of elegant methods, including fluorimetry, gas chromatography, mass, ion-mobility and Raman spectrometry have been successfully applied for explosive detection. Among these efforts, fluorescence-quenching methods based on the mechanism of FRET show good assembly flexibility, high selectivity and sensitivity. Here, we report a FRET-based sensor system for the highly selective detection of NACs, such as TNP, DNT and TNT. The sensor system is composed of a copolymer Poly [(N,N-dimethylacrylamide)-co-(Boc-Trp-EMA)] (RP) bearing tryptophan derivative in the side chain as donor and dansyl tagged copolymer P(MMA-co-Dansyl-Ala-HEMA) (DCP) as an acceptor. Initially, the inherent fluorescence of RP copolymer is quenched by non-radiative energy transfer to DCP which only happens once the two molecules are within Förster critical distance (R0). The excellent spectral overlap (Jλ= 6.08×10¹⁴ nm⁴M⁻¹cm⁻¹) between donors’ (RP) emission profile and acceptors’ (DCP) absorption profile makes them an exciting and efficient FRET pair i.e. further confirmed by the high rate of energy transfer from RP to DCP i.e. 0.87 ns⁻¹ and lifetime measurement by time correlated single photon counting (TCSPC) to validate the 64% FRET efficiency. This FRET pair exhibited a specific fluorescence response to NACs such as DNT, TNT and TNP with 5.4, 2.3 and 0.4 µM LODs, respectively. The detection of NACs occurs with high sensitivity by photoluminescence quenching of FRET signal induced by photo-induced electron transfer (PET) from electron-rich FRET pair to electron-deficient NAC molecules. The estimated stern-volmer constant (KSV) values for DNT, TNT and TNP are 6.9 × 10³, 7.0 × 10³ and 1.6 × 104 M⁻¹, respectively. The mechanistic details of molecular interactions are established by time-resolved fluorescence, steady-state fluorescence and absorption spectroscopy confirmed that the sensing process is of mixed type, i.e. both dynamic and static quenching as lifetime of FRET system (0.73 ns) is reduced to 0.55, 0.57 and 0.61 ns DNT, TNT and TNP, respectively. In summary, the simplicity and sensitivity of this novel FRET sensor opens up the possibility of designing optical sensor of various NACs in one single platform for developing multimodal sensor for environmental monitoring and future field based study.

Keywords: FRET, nitroaromatic, stern-Volmer constant, tryptophan and dansyl tagged copolymer

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Authors: Szymon Kuczynski, Krystian Liszka, Mariusz Laciak, Andrii Oliinyk, Adam Szurlej

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Currently, in automotive transport to power vehicles, almost exclusively hydrocarbon based fuels are used. Due to increase of hydrocarbon fuels consumption, quality parameters are tightend for clean environment. At the same time efforts are undertaken for development of alternative fuels. The reasons why looking for alternative fuels for petroleum and diesel are: to increase vehicle efficiency and to reduce the environmental impact, reduction of greenhouse gases emissions and savings in consumption of limited oil resources. Significant progress was performed on development of alternative fuels such as methanol, ethanol, natural gas (CNG / LNG), LPG, dimethyl ether (DME) and biodiesel. In addition, biggest vehicle manufacturers work on fuel cell vehicles and its introduction to the market. Alcohols such as methanol and ethanol create the perfect fuel for spark-ignition engines. Their advantages are high-value antiknock which determines their application as additive (10%) to unleaded petrol and relative purity of produced exhaust gasses. Ethanol is produced in distillation process of plant products, which value as a food can be irrational. Ethanol production can be costly also for the entire economy of the country, because it requires a large complex distillation plants, large amounts of biomass and finally a significant amount of fuel to sustain the process. At the same time, the fermentation process of plants releases into the atmosphere large quantities of carbon dioxide. Natural gas cannot be directly converted into liquid fuels, although such arrangements have been proposed in the literature. Going through stage of intermediates is inevitable yet. Most popular one is conversion to methanol, which can be processed further to dimethyl ether (DME) or olefin (ethylene and propylene) for the petrochemical sector. Methanol uses natural gas as a raw material, however, requires expensive and advanced production processes. In relation to pollution emissions, the optimal vehicle fuel is LPG which is used in many countries as an engine fuel. Production of LPG is inextricably linked with production and processing of oil and gas, and which represents a small percentage. Its potential as an alternative for traditional fuels is therefore proportionately reduced. Excellent engine fuel may be biogas, however, follows to the same limitations as ethanol - the same production process is used and raw materials. Most essential fuel in the campaign of environment protection against pollution is natural gas. Natural gas as fuel may be either compressed (CNG) or liquefied (LNG). Natural gas can also be used for hydrogen production in steam reforming. Hydrogen can be used as a basic starting material for the chemical industry, an important raw material in the refinery processes, as well as a fuel vehicle transportation. Natural gas can be used as CNG which represents an excellent compromise between the availability of the technology that is proven and relatively cheap to use in many areas of the automotive industry. Natural gas can also be seen as an important bridge to other alternative sources of energy derived from fuel and harmless to the environment. For these reasons CNG as a fuel stimulates considerable interest in the worldwide.

Keywords: alternative fuels, CNG (Compressed Natural Gas), LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas), NGVs (Natural Gas Vehicles)

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Authors: Victor Mantilla, Romeu Vicente, António Figueiredo, Victor Ferreira, Sandra Sorte

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Integrating dynamic facades into contemporary building design is shaping a new era of energy efficiency and user comfort. These innovative facades, often constructed using lightweight construction systems and materials, offer an opportunity to have a responsive and adaptive nature to the dynamic behavior of the outdoor climate. Therefore, in regions characterized by high fluctuations in daily temperatures, the ability to adapt to environmental changes is of paramount importance and a challenge. This paper presents a thorough review of the state of the art on double-skin facades (DSF), focusing on lightweight solutions for the external envelope. Dynamic facades featuring elements like movable shading devices, phase change materials, and advanced control systems have revolutionized the built environment. They offer a promising path for reducing energy consumption while enhancing occupant well-being. Lightweight construction systems are increasingly becoming the choice for the constitution of these facade solutions, offering benefits such as reduced structural loads and reduced construction waste, improving overall sustainability. However, the performance of dynamic facades based on low thermal inertia solutions in climatic contexts with high thermal amplitude is still in need of research since their ability to adapt is traduced in variability/manipulation of the thermal transmittance coefficient (U-value). Emerging technologies can enable such a dynamic thermal behavior through innovative materials, changes in geometry and control to optimize the facade performance. These innovations will allow a facade system to respond to shifting outdoor temperature, relative humidity, wind, and solar radiation conditions, ensuring that energy efficiency and occupant comfort are both met/coupled. This review addresses the potential configuration of double-skin facades, particularly concerning their responsiveness to seasonal variations in temperature, with a specific focus on addressing the challenges posed by winter and summer conditions. Notably, the design of a dynamic facade is significantly shaped by several pivotal factors, including the choice of materials, geometric considerations, and the implementation of effective monitoring systems. Within the realm of double skin facades, various configurations are explored, encompassing exhaust air, supply air, and thermal buffering mechanisms. According to the review places a specific emphasis on the thermal dynamics at play, closely examining the impact of factors such as the color of the facade, the slat angle's dimensions, and the positioning and type of shading devices employed in these innovative architectural structures.This paper will synthesize the current research trends in this field, with the presentation of case studies and technological innovations with a comprehensive understanding of the cutting-edge solutions propelling the evolution of building envelopes in the face of climate change, namely focusing on double-skin lightweight solutions to create sustainable, adaptable, and responsive building envelopes. As indicated in the review, flexible and lightweight systems have broad applicability across all building sectors, and there is a growing recognition that retrofitting existing buildings may emerge as the predominant approach.

Keywords: adaptive, control systems, dynamic facades, energy efficiency, responsive, thermal comfort, thermal transmittance

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Authors: M. Kazou, A. Gavriil, O. Kalagkatsi, T. Paschos, E. Tsakalidou

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Kopanisti cheese is a Greek soft Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) cheese made of raw cow, sheep or goat milk, or mixtures of them, with similar organoleptic characteristics to that of Roquefort cheese. Traditional manufacturing of Kopanisti cheese is limited in small-scale dairies, without the addition of starter cultures. Instead, an amount of over-mature Kopanisti cheese, called Mana Kopanisti, is used to initiate ripening. Therefore, the selection of proper starter cultures and the understanding of the contribution of various microbial groups to its overall quality is crucial for the production of a high-quality final product with standardized organoleptic and physicochemical characteristics. Taking the above into account, the aim of the present study was the investigation of Kopanisti cheese microbiota and its role in cheese quality. For this purpose, four different types of Kopanisti were produced in triplicates, all with pasteurized cow milk, with the addition of (A) the typical mesophilic species Lactococcus lactis and Lactobacillus paracasei used as starters in the production of soft spread cheeses, (B) strains of Lactobacillus acidipiscis and Lactobacillus rennini previously isolated from Kopanisti and Mana Kopanisti, (C) all the species from (A) and (B) as inoculum, and finally (D) the species from (A) and Mana Kopanisti. Physicochemical and microbiological analysis was performed for milk and cheese samples during ripening. Enumeration was performed for major groups of lactic acid bacteria (LAB), total mesophilic bacteria, yeasts as well as hygiene indicator microorganisms. Bacterial isolates from all the different LAB groups, apart from enterococci, alongside yeasts isolates, were initially grouped using repetitive sequence-based polymerase chain reaction (rep-PCR) and then identified at the species level using 16S rRNA gene and internal transcribed spacer (ITS) DNA region sequencing, respectively. Sensory evaluation was also performed for final cheese samples at the end of the ripening period (35 days). Based on the results of the classical microbiological analysis, the average counts of the total mesophilic bacteria and LAB, apart from enterococci, ranged between 7 and 10 log colony forming unit (CFU) g⁻¹, phychrotrophic bacteria, and yeast extract glucose chloramphenicol (YGC) isolates between 4 and 8 log CFU g⁻¹, while coliforms and enterococci up to 2 log CFU g⁻¹ throughout ripening in cheese samples A, C and D. In contrast, in cheese sample B, the average counts of the total mesophilic bacteria and LAB, apart from enterococci, phychrotrophic bacteria, and YGC isolates ranged between 0 and 10 log CFU g⁻¹ and coliforms and enterococci up to 2 log CFU g⁻¹. Although the microbial counts were not that different among samples, identification of the bacterial and yeasts isolates revealed the complex microbial community structure present in each cheese sample. Differences in the physicochemical characteristics among the cheese samples were also observed, with pH ranging from 4.3 to 5.3 and moisture from 49.6 to 58.0 % in the final cheese products. Interestingly, the sensory evaluation also revealed differences among samples, with cheese sample B ranking first based on the total score. Overall, the combination of these analyses highlighted the impact of different starter cultures on the Kopanisti microbiota as well as on the physicochemical and sensory characteristics of the final product.

Keywords: Kopanisti cheese, microbiota, classical microbiological analysis, physicochemical analysis

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Authors: Jone Ibarruri, Mikel Manso, Marta Cebrián

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A high amount of food is lost or discarded in the World every year. In addition, in the last decades, an increasing demand of new alternative and sustainable sources of proteins and other valuable compounds is being observed in the food and feeding sectors and, therefore, the use of food by-products as nutrients for these purposes sounds very interesting from the environmental and economical point of view. However, the direct use of discarded fruit and vegetables that present, in general, a low protein content is not interesting as feeding ingredient except if they are used as a source of fiber for ruminants. Especially in the case of aquaculture, several alternatives to the use of fish meal and other vegetable protein sources have been extensively explored due to the scarcity of fish stocks and the unsustainability of fishing for these purposes. Fish mortality is also of great concern in this sector as this problem highly reduces their economic feasibility. So, the development of new functional and natural ingredients that could reduce the need for vaccination is also of great interest. In this work, several fermentation tests were developed at lab scale using a selected mixture of fruit and vegetable discards from a wholesale market located in the Basque Country to increase their protein content and also to produce some bioactive extracts that could be used as additives in aquaculture. Fruit and vegetable mixtures (60/40 ww) were centrifugated for humidity reduction and crushed to 2-5 mm particle size. Samples were inoculated with a selected Rhizopus oryzae strain and fermented for 7 days in controlled conditions (humidity between 65 and 75% and 28ºC) in Petri plates (120 mm) by triplicate. Obtained results indicated that the final fermented product presented a twofold protein content (from 13 to 28% d.w). Fermented product was further processed to determine their possible functionality as a feed additive. Extraction tests were carried out to obtain an ethanolic extract (60:40 ethanol: water, v.v) and remaining biomass that also could present applications in food or feed sectors. The extract presented a polyphenol content of about 27 mg GAE/gr d.w with antioxidant activity of 8.4 mg TEAC/g d.w. Remining biomass is mainly composed of fiber (51%), protein (24%) and fat (10%). Extracts also presented antibacterial activity according to the results obtained in Agar Diffusion and to the Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) tests determined against several food and fish pathogen strains. In vitro, digestibility was also assessed to obtain preliminary information about the expected effect of extraction procedure on fermented product digestibility. First results indicated that remaining biomass after extraction doesn´t seem to improve digestibility in comparison to the initial fermented product. These preliminary results show that fermented fruit and vegetables can be a useful source of functional ingredients for aquaculture applications and a substitute of other protein sources in the feeding sector. Further validation will be also carried out through “in vivo” tests with trout and bass.

Keywords: fungal solid state fermentation, protein increase, functional extracts, feed ingredients

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Authors: Lena Payati, Maria Kazou, Effie Tsakalidou

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Table olives are one of the most popular fermented vegetables worldwide, which along with olive oil, have a crucial role in the world economy. They are highly appreciated by the consumers for their characteristic taste and pleasant aromas, while several health and nutritional benefits have been reported as well. Until recently, microbial biogeography, i.e., the study of microbial diversity over time and space, has been mainly associated with wine. However, nowadays, the term 'terroir' has been extended to other crops and food products so as to link the geographical origin and environmental conditions to quality aspects of fermented foods. Taking the above into consideration, the present study focuses on the microbial fingerprinting of the most important olive varieties of Greece with the state-of-the-art amplicon-based metagenomics analysis. Towards this, in 2019, 61 samples from 38 different olive varieties were collected at the final stage of ripening from 13 well spread geographical regions in Greece. For the metagenomics analysis, total DNA was extracted from the olive samples, and the 16S rRNA gene and ITS DNA region were sequenced and analyzed using bioinformatics tools for the identification of bacterial and yeasts/fungal diversity, respectively. Furthermore, principal component analysis (PCA) was also performed for data clustering based on the average microbial composition of all samples from each region of origin. According to the composition, results obtained, when samples were analyzed separately, the majority of both bacteria (such as Pantoea, Enterobacter, Roserbergiella, and Pseudomonas) and yeasts/fungi (such as Aureobasidium, Debaromyces, Candida, and Cladosporium) genera identified were found in all 61 samples. Even though interesting differences were observed at the relative abundance level of the identified genera, the bacterial genus Pantoea and the yeast/fungi genus Aureobasidium were the dominant ones in 35 and 40 samples, respectively. Of note, olive samples collected from the same region had similar fingerprint (genera identified and relative abundance level) regardless of the variety, indicating a potential association between the relative abundance of certain taxa and the geographical region. When samples were grouped by region of origin, distinct bacterial profiles per region were observed, which was also evident from the PCA analysis. This was not the case for the yeast/fungi profiles since 10 out of the 13 regions were grouped together mainly due to the dominance of the genus Aureobasidium. A second cluster was formed for the islands Crete and Rhodes, both of which are located in the Southeast Aegean Sea. These two regions clustered together mainly due to the identification of the genus Toxicocladosporium in relatively high abundances. Finally, the Agrinio region was separated from the others as it showed a completely different microbial fingerprinting. However, due to the limited number of olive samples from some regions, a subsequent PCA analysis with more samples from these regions is expected to yield in a more clear clustering. The present study is part of a bigger project, the first of its kind in Greece, with the ultimate goal to analyze a larger set of olive samples of different varieties and from different regions in Greece in order to have a reliable olives’ microbial biogeography.

Keywords: amplicon-based metagenomics analysis, bacteria, microbial biogeography, olive microbiota, yeasts/fungi

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Authors: Stephanie Wall, Guido Wimmers

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The construction and operation of buildings greatly contribute to environmental degradation through resource and energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. The design of the envelope system affects the environmental impact of a building in two major ways; 1) high thermal performance and air tightness can significantly reduce the operational energy of the building and 2) the material selection for the envelope largely impacts the embodied energy of the building. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a scientific methodology that is used to systematically analyze the environmental load of processes or products, such as buildings, over their life. The paper will discuss the results of a comparative LCA of different envelope designs and the long-term monitoring of the Wood Innovation Research Lab (WIRL); a Passive House (PH), industrial building under construction in Prince George, Canada. The WIRL has a footprint of 30m x 30m on a concrete raft slab foundation and consists of shop space as well as a portion of the building that includes a two-story office/classroom space. The lab building goes beyond what was previously thought possible in regards to energy efficiency of industrial buildings in cold climates due to their large volume to surface ratio, small floor area, and high air change rate, and will be the first PH certified industrial building in Canada. These challenges were mitigated through the envelope design which utilizes solar gains while minimizing overheating, reduces thermal bridges with thick (570mm) prefabricated truss walls filled with blown in mineral wool insulation and a concrete slab and roof insulated with EPS rigid insulation. The envelope design results in lower operational and embodied energy when compared to buildings built to local codes or with steel. The LCA conducted using Athena Impact Estimator for Buildings identifies project specific hot spots as well illustrates that for high-efficiency buildings where the operational energy is relatively low; the embodied energy of the material selection becomes a significant design decision as it greatly impacts the overall environmental footprint of the building. The results of the LCA will be reinforced by long-term monitoring of the buildings envelope performance through the installation of temperature and humidity sensors throughout the floor slab, wall and roof panels and through detailed metering of the energy consumption. The data collected from the sensors will also be used to reinforce the results of hygrothermal analysis using WUFI®, a program used to verify the durability of the wall and roof panels. The WIRL provides an opportunity to showcase the use of wood in a high performance envelope of an industrial building and to emphasize the importance of considering the embodied energy of a material in the early stages of design. The results of the LCA will be of interest to leading researchers and scientists committed to finding sustainable solutions for new construction and high-performance buildings.

Keywords: high performance envelope, life cycle assessment, long term monitoring, passive house, prefabricated panels

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Authors: Jung-Il Suh, Hong-Gun Park, Jae-Eun Oh

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Recently, the use of long-span precast concrete (PC) construction has increased in modular construction such as storage buildings and parking facilities. When applying long span PC member, reducing weight of long span PC member should be conducted considering lifting capacity of crane and self-weight of PC member and use of structural lightweight concrete made by lightweight aggregate (LWA) can be considered. In the process of lightweight concrete production, segregation and bleeding could occur due to difference of specific gravity between cement (3.3) and lightweight aggregate (1.2~1.8) and reducing weight of binder is needed to prevent the segregation between binder and aggregate. Also, lightweight precast concrete made by cementitious materials such as fly ash and ground granulated blast furnace (GGBFS) which is lower than specific gravity of cement as a substitute for cement has been studied. When only using fly ash for cementless binder alkali-activation of fly ash is most important chemical process in which the original fly ash is dissolved by a strong alkaline medium in steam curing with high-temperature condition. Because curing condition is similar with environment of precast member production, additional process is not needed. Na-based chloride generally used as a strong alkali activator has a practical problem such as high pH toxicity and high manufacturing cost. Instead of Na-based alkali activator calcium hydroxide [Ca(OH)2] and sodium hydroxide [Na2CO3] might be used because it has a lower pH and less expensive than Na-based alkali activator. This study explored the influences on Ca(OH)2-Na2CO3-activated fly ash system in its microstructural aspects and strength and permeability using powder X-ray analysis (XRD), thermogravimetry (TGA), mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP). On the basis of microstructural analysis, the conclusions are made as follows. Increase of Ca(OH)2/FA wt.% did not affect improvement of compressive strength. Also, Ca(OH)2/FA wt.% and Na2CO3/FA wt.% had little effect on specific gravity of saturated surface dry (SSD) and absolute dry (AD) condition to calculate water absorption. Especially, the binder is appropriate for structural lightweight concrete because specific gravity of the hardened paste has no difference with that of lightweight aggregate. The XRD and TGA/DTG results did not present considerable difference for the types and quantities of hydration products depending on w/b ratio, Ca(OH)2 wt.%, and Na2CO3 wt.%. In the case of higher molar quantity of Ca(OH)2 to Na2CO3, XRD peak indicated unreacted Ca(OH)2 while DTG peak was not presented because of small quantity. Thus, presence of unreacted Ca(OH)2 is too small quantity to effect on mechanical performance. As a result of MIP, the porosity volume related to capillary pore depends on the w/b ratio. In the same condition of w/b ratio, quantities of Ca(OH)2 and Na2CO3 have more influence on pore size distribution rather than total porosity. While average pore size decreased as Na2CO3/FA w.t% increased, the average pore size increased over 20 nm as Ca(OH)2/FA wt.% increased which has inverse proportional relationship between pore size and mechanical properties such as compressive strength and water permeability.

Keywords: Ca(OH)2, compressive strength, microstructure, fly ash, Na2CO3, water absorption

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Authors: Pedram Saadati, Zahra Nazari

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Anticipating and identifying future opportunities and challenges facing industry activists for the emergence and entry of new knowledge and technologies of personal financial planning, and providing practical solutions is one of the goals of this research. For this purpose, a future research tool based on receiving opinions from the main players of the insurance industry has been used. The research method in this study was in 4 stages; including 1- a survey of the specialist salesforce of life insurance in order to identify the variables 2- the ranking of the variables by experts selected by a researcher-made questionnaire 3- holding a panel of experts with the aim of understanding the mutual effects of the variables and 4- statistical analyzes of the mutual effects matrix in Mick Mac software is done. The integrated analysis of influencing variables in the future has been done with the method of Structural Analysis, which is one of the efficient and innovative methods of future research. A list of opportunities and challenges was identified through a survey of best-selling life insurance representatives who were selected by snowball sampling. In order to prioritize and identify the most important issues, all the issues raised were sent to selected experts who were selected theoretically through a researcher-made questionnaire. The respondents determined the importance of 36 variables through scoring, so that the prioritization of opportunity and challenge variables can be determined. 8 of the variables identified in the first stage were removed by selected experts, and finally, the number of variables that could be examined in the third stage became 28 variables, which, in order to facilitate the examination, were divided into 6 categories, respectively, 11 variables of organization and management. Marketing and sales 7 cases, social and cultural 6 cases, technological 2 cases, rebranding 1 case and insurance 1 case were divided. The reliability of the researcher-made questionnaire was confirmed with the Cronbach's alpha test value of 0.96. In the third stage, by forming a panel consisting of 5 insurance industry experts, the consensus of their opinions about the influence of factors on each other and the ranking of variables was entered into the matrix. The matrix included the interrelationships of 28 variables, which were investigated using the structural analysis method. By analyzing the data obtained from the matrix by Mic Mac software, the findings of the research indicate that the categories of "correct training in the use of the software, the weakness of the technology of insurance companies in personalizing products, using the approach of equipping the customer, and honesty in declaring no need Customer to Insurance", the most important challenges of the influencer and the categories of "salesforce equipping approach, product personalization based on customer needs assessment, customer's pleasant experience of being consulted with consulting robots, business improvement of the insurance company due to the use of these tools, increasing the efficiency of the issuance process and optimal customer purchase" were identified as the most important opportunities for influence.

Keywords: personal financial planning, wealth management, advisor robots, life insurance, digital transformation

Procedia PDF Downloads 46

Authors: Chiun-C. R. Wang, I-Yu Chiu

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Drying is the most difficult and critical step to control in the dried salted noodles production. Microwave drying has the specific advantage of rapid and uniform heating due to the penetration of microwaves into the body of the product. Microwave-assisted facility offers a quick and energy saving method during food dehydration as compares to the conventional air-dried method for the noodle preparation. Recently, numerous studies in the rheological characteristics of pasta or spaghetti were carried out with microwave–assisted and conventional air driers and many agricultural products were dried successfully. There is very few research associated with the evaluation of physicochemical characteristics and cooking quality of microwave-assisted air dried salted noodles. The purposes of this study were to compare the difference between conventional air and microwave-assisted air drying method on the physicochemical properties and eating quality of rice bran noodles. Three different microwave power including 0.5 KW, 0.75 KW and 1.0 KW installing with 50℃ hot air were applied for dehydration of rice bran noodles in this study. Three proportion of rice bran ranging in 0-20% were incorporated into salted noodles processing. The appearance, optimum cooking time, cooking yield and losses, textural profiles analysis, and sensory evaluation of rice bran noodles were measured in this study. The results indicated that high power (1.0 KW) microwave facility caused partially burnt and porous on the surface of rice bran noodles. However, no significant difference of noodle was appeared on the surface of noodles between low power (0.5 KW) microwave-assisted salted noodles and control set. The optimum cooking time of noodles was decreased as higher power microwave was applied or higher proportion of rice bran was incorporated in the preparation of salted noodles. The higher proportion of rice bran (20%) or higher power of microwave-assisted dried noodles obtained the higher color intensity and the higher cooking losses as compared with conventional air dried noodles. Meanwhile, the higher power of microwave-assisted air dried noodles indicated the larger air cell inside the noodles and appeared little burnt stripe on the surface of noodles. The firmness of cooked rice bran noodles slightly decreased in the cooked noodles which were dried by high power microwave-assisted method. The shearing force, tensile strength, elasticity and texture profiles of cooked rice noodles decreased with the progress of the proportion of rice bran. The results of sensory evaluation indicated conventional dried noodles obtained the higher springiness, cohesiveness and overall acceptability of cooked noodles than high power (1.0 KW) microwave-assisted dried noodles. However, low power (0.5 KW) microwave-assisted dried noodles showed the comparable sensory attributes and acceptability with conventional dried noodles. Moreover, the sensory attributes including firmness, springiness, cohesiveness decreased, but stickiness increased with the increases of rice bran proportion in the salted noodles. These results inferred that incorporation of lower proportion of rice bran and lower power microwave-assisted dried noodles processing could produce faster cooking time and more acceptable quality of cooked noodles as compared to conventional dried noodles.

Keywords: white salted noodles, microwave-assisted air drying processing, cooking yield, appearance, texture profiles, scanning electrical microscopy, sensory evaluation

Procedia PDF Downloads 494

Authors: Suphitcha Charoen-Amornkitt, Chokeanand Bussracumpakorn

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The tendency of the Karen backstrap weaving succession has gradually decreased due to the difficulty of weaving techniques and the relocation of the young generation. The Yang Nam Klat Nuea community, Nong Ya Plong District, Phetchaburi, is a Pwo Karen community that is seriously confronted with a lack of cultural heritage. Thus, a group of weavers was formed to revive the knowledge of weaving. However, they have been gradually confronted with culture assimilation to mainstream culture from the desire for marketing acceptance and imperative and forced the extinction of culture due to the disappearance of weaving details and techniques. Although there are practical solutions, i.e., product development, community improvement, knowledge improvement, and knowledge transfer, to inherit the Karen weaving culture, people in the community cannot fulfill their deep intention about the weaving inheritance as most solutions have focused on developing the commercial products and making the income instead of inheriting their knowledge. This research employed qualitative user research with an in-depth user interview to study communal knowledge transfer succession based on the internal involved parties, i.e., four expert weavers, three young weavers, and three 4th generation villagers. The purpose is to explore the correlation and mindset of villagers towards the culture with specific issues, including the psychology of culture, core knowledge and learning methods, cultural inheritance, and cultural engagement. As a result, the existing models of knowledge management mostly focused on tangible strategies, which can notice progress in short terms, such as direct teaching and consistent practicing. At the same time, the motivation and passion of inheritors were abolished while the research found that the young generation who profoundly connected with the textile culture will have a more significant intention to continue the culture. Therefore, this research suggests both internal and external solutions to treat the community. Regarding the internal solutions, family, weaving group, and school have an important role to participate with young villagers by encouraging activities to support the cultivating of Karen’s history, understanding their identities, and adapting the culture as a part of daily life. At the same time, collecting all of the knowledge in the archives, e.g., recorded video, instruction, and books, can crucially prevent the culture from extinction. Regarding the external solutions, this study suggests that working with social media will enhance the intimacy of textile culture, while the community should relieve the roles in marketing competition and start to drive cultural experiences to create a new market position. In conclusion, this research intends to explore the causes and motivation to support the transfer of the culture to the 4th generation villagers and to raise awareness of the diversity of culture in society. With these suggestions and the desire to improve pride and confidence in culture, the community agrees that strengthening the relationships between the young villagers and the weaving culture can bring attention and interest back to the weaving culture.

Keywords: Pwo Karen textile culture, backstrap weaving succession, cultural inheritance, knowledge transfer, knowledge management

Procedia PDF Downloads 93

Authors: A. M. Plante, F. O’Halloran, A. L. McCarthy

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By 2050 it is projected that 2 billion of the global population will be more than 60 years old. Older adults have unique dietary requirements and aging is associated with physiological changes that affect appetite, sensory perception, metabolism, and digestion. Therefore, it is essential that foods recommended and designed for older adults promote healthy aging. To assess cheese as a functional food for the elderly, a range of commercial cheese products were selected and compared for their antioxidant properties. Cheese from various milk sources (bovine, goats, sheep) with different textures and fat content, including cheddar, feta, goats, brie, roquefort, halloumi, wensleydale and gouda, were initially digested with two different simulated in vitro gastrointestinal digestion (SGID) models. One SGID model represented a validated in vitro adult digestion system and the second model, an elderly SGID, was designed to consider the physiological changes associated with aging. The antioxidant potential of all cheese digestates was investigated using in vitro chemical-based antioxidant assays, (2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging, ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and total phenolic content (TPC)). All adult model digestates had high antioxidant activity across both DPPH ( > 70%) and FRAP ( > 700 µM Fe²⁺/kg.fw) assays. Following in vitro digestion using the elderly SGID model, full-fat red cheddar, low-fat white cheddar, roquefort, halloumi, wensleydale, and gouda digestates had significantly lower (p ≤ 0.05) DPPH radical scavenging properties compared to the adult model digestates. Full-fat white cheddar had higher DPPH radical scavenging activity following elderly SGID digestion compared to the adult model digestate, but the difference was not significant. All other cheese digestates from the elderly model were comparable to the digestates from the adult model in terms of radical scavenging activity. The FRAP of all elderly digestates were significantly lower (p ≤ 0.05) compared to the adult digestates. Goats cheese was significantly higher (p ≤ 0.05) in FRAP (718 µM Fe²/kg.fw) compared to all other digestates in the elderly model. TPC levels in the soft cheeses (feta, goats) and low-fat cheeses (red cheddar, white cheddar) were significantly lower (p ≤ 0.05) in the elderly digestates compared to the adult digestates. There was no significant difference in TPC levels, between the elderly and adult model for full-fat cheddar (red, white), roquefort, wensleydale, gouda, and brie digestates. Halloumi cheese was the only cheese that was significantly higher in TPC levels following elderly digestion compared to adult digestates. Low fat red cheddar had significantly higher (p ≤ 0.05) TPC levels compared to all other digestates for both adult and elderly digestive systems. Findings from this study demonstrate that aging has an impact on the bioactivity of cheese, as antioxidant activity and TPC levels were lower, following in vitro elderly digestion compared to the adult model. For older adults, soft cheese, particularly goats cheese, was associated with high radical scavenging and reducing power, while roquefort cheese had low antioxidant activity. Also, elderly digestates of halloumi and low-fat red cheddar were associated with high TPC levels. Cheese has potential as a functional food for the elderly, however, bioactivity can vary depending on the cheese matrix. Funding for this research was provided by the RISAM Scholarship Scheme, Cork Institute of Technology, Ireland.

Keywords: antioxidants, cheese, in-vitro digestion, older adults

Procedia PDF Downloads 228

Authors: Md Tanvir Rahman, Mahbube Subhani, Mahmud Ashraf, Paul Kremer

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Cross-laminated timber (CLT) is made from layers of timber boards orthogonally oriented in the thickness direction, and due to this, CLT can withstand bi-axial bending in contrast with most other engineered wood products such as laminated veneer lumber (LVL) and glued laminated timber (GLT). Wood is cylindrically anisotropic in nature and is characterized by significantly lower elastic modulus and shear modulus in the planes perpendicular to the fibre direction, and is therefore classified as orthotropic material and is thus characterized by 9 elastic constants which are three elastic modulus in longitudinal direction, tangential direction and radial direction, three shear modulus in longitudinal tangential plane, longitudinal radial plane and radial tangential plane and three Poisson’s ratio. For simplification, timber materials are generally assumed to be transversely isotropic, reducing the number of elastic properties characterizing it to 5, where the longitudinal plane and radial planes are assumed to be planes of symmetry. The validity of this assumption was investigated through numerical modelling of CLT with both orthotropic mechanical properties and transversely isotropic material properties for three softwood species, which are Norway spruce, Douglas fir, Radiata pine, and three hardwood species, namely Victorian ash, Beech wood, and Aspen subjected to uniformly distributed loading under simply supported boundary condition. It was concluded that assuming the timber to be transversely isotropic results in a negligible error in the order of 1 percent. It was also observed that along with longitudinal elastic modulus, ratio of longitudinal shear modulus (GL) and rolling shear modulus (GR) has a significant effect on a deflection for CLT panels of lower span to depth ratio. For softwoods such as Norway spruce and Radiata pine, the ratio of longitudinal shear modulus, GL to rolling shear modulus GR is reported to be in the order of 12 to 15 times in literature. This results in shear flexibility in transverse layers leading to increased deflection under out-of-plane loading. The rolling shear modulus of hardwoods has been found to be significantly higher than those of softwoods, where the ratio between longitudinal shear modulus to rolling shear modulus as low as 4. This has resulted in a significant rise in research into the manufacturing of CLT from entirely from hardwood, as well as from a combination of softwood and hardwoods. The commonly used beam theory to analyze the performance of CLT panels under out-of-plane loads are the Shear analogy method, Gamma method, and k-method. The shear analogy method has been found to be the most effective method where shear deformation is significant. The effect of the ratio of longitudinal shear modulus and rolling shear modulus of cross-layer on the deflection of CLT under uniformly distributed load with respect to its length to depth ratio was investigated using shear analogy method. It was observed that shear deflection is reduced significantly as the ratio of the shear modulus of the longitudinal layer and rolling shear modulus of cross-layer decreases. This indicates that there is significant room for improvement of the bending performance of CLT through developing hybrid CLT from a mix of softwood and hardwood.

Keywords: rolling shear modulus, shear deflection, ratio of shear modulus and rolling shear modulus, timber

Procedia PDF Downloads 127

Authors: Robin Anderson, David Nisbet

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Nitrate, 3-nitro-1-propionic acid (NPA) and 3-nitro-1-propanol (NPOH) are biologically active chemicals that can accumulate naturally in rangeland grasses forages consumed by grazing cattle, sheep and goats. While toxic to livestock if accumulations and amounts consumed are high enough, particularly in animals having no recent exposure to the forages, these chemicals are known to be potent inhibitors of methane-producing bacteria inhabiting the rumen. Consequently, there is interest in examining their potential use as anti-methanogenic compounds to decrease methane emissions by grazing ruminants. Presently, rumen microbes, collected freshly from a cannulated Holstein cow maintained on 50:50 corn based concentrate:alfalfa diet were mixed (10 mL fluid) in 18 x 150 mm crimp top tubes with 0.5 of high nitrate-containing barley (Hordeum vulgare; containing 272 µmol nitrate per g forage dry matter), and NPA- or NPOH- containing milkvetch forages (Astragalus canadensis and Astragalus miser containing 80 and 174 soluble µmol NPA or NPOH/g forage dry matter respectively). Incubations containing 0.5 g alfalfa (Medicago sativa) were used as controls. Tubes (3 per each respective forage) were capped and incubated anaerobically (using oxygen free carbon dioxide) for 24 h at 39oC after which time amounts of total gas produced were measured via volume displacement and headspace samples were analyzed by gas chromatography to determine concentrations of hydrogen and methane. Fluid samples were analyzed by gas chromatography to measure accumulations of fermentation acids. A completely randomized analysis of variance revealed that the nitrate-containing barley and both the NPA- and the NPOH-containing milkvetches significantly decreased methane production, by > 50%, when compared to methane produced by populations incubated similarly with alfalfa (70.4 ± 3.6 µmol/ml incubation fluid). Accumulations of hydrogen, which are typically increased when methane production is inhibited, by incubations with the nitrate-containing barley and the NPA- and NPOH-containing milkvetches did not differ from accumulations observed in the alfalfa controls (0.09 ± 0.04 µmol/mL incubation fluid). Accumulations of fermentation acids produced in the incubations containing the high-nitrate barley and the NPA- and NPOH-containing milkvetches likewise did not differ from accumulations observed in incubations containing alfalfa (123.5 ± 10.8, 36.0 ± 3.0, 17.1 ± 1.5, 3.5 ± 0.3, 2.3 ± 0.2, 2.2 ± 0.2 µmol/mL incubation fluid for acetate, propionate, butyrate, valerate, isobutyrate, and isovalerate, respectively). This finding indicates the microbial populations did not compensate for the decreased methane production via compensatory changes in production of fermentative acids. Stoichiometric estimation of fermentation balance revealed that > 77% of reducing equivalents generated during fermentation of the forages were recovered in fermentation products and the recoveries did not differ between the alfalfa incubations and those with the high-nitrate barley or the NPA- or NPOH-containing milkvetches. Stoichiometric estimates of amounts of hexose fermented similarly did not differ between the nitrate-, NPA and NPOH-containing incubations and those with the alfalfa, averaging 99.6 ± 37.2 µmol hexose consumed/mL of incubation fluid. These results suggest that forages containing nitrate, NPA or NPOH may be useful to reduce methane emissions of grazing ruminants provided risks of toxicity can be effectively managed.

Keywords: nitrate, nitropropanol, nitropropionic acid, rumen methane emissions

Procedia PDF Downloads 128

Authors: Amrei Voelkner, Nils Peters, Thomas Mannheim

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The worldwide exponential growth of the population and the simultaneous increasing food production requires the strategic realization of sustainable and improved cultivation systems to ensure the fertility of arable land and to guarantee the food supply for the whole world. To fulfill this target, large quantities of fertilizers have to be applied to the field, but the long-term environmental impacts remain uncertain. Thus, a combined system would be necessary to increase the nutrient availability for plants while reducing nutrient losses (e.g. NO3- by leaching) to the environment. To enhance the nutrient efficiency, polymer coated fertilizer with a controlled release behavior have been developed. This kind of fertilizer ensures a delayed release of nutrients to synchronize the nutrient supply with the demand of different crops. In the last decades, research focused primarily on semi-permeable polyurethane coatings, which remain in the soil for a long period after the complete solvation of the fertilizer core. Within the implementation of the new European Regulation Directive the replacement of non-degradable synthetic polymers by degradable coatings is necessary. It was, therefore, the objective of this study to develop a total biodegradable polymer (to CO2 and H2O) coating according to ISO 17556 and to compare the retarding effect of the biodegradable coatings with commercially available non-degradable products. To investigate the effect of ten selected coated urea fertilizer on the yield of annual ryegrass and maize, the fresh and dry mass, the percentage of total nitrogen and main nutrients were analyzed in greenhouse experiments in sixfold replications using near-infrared spectroscopy. For the experiments, a homogenized and air-dried loamy sand (Cambic Luvisol) was equipped with a basic fertilization of P, K, Mg and S. To investigate the effect of nitrogen level increase, three levels (80%, 100%, 120%) were established, whereas the impact of CRF granules was determined using a N-level of 100%. Additionally, leaching of NO3- from pots planted with annual ryegrass was examined to evaluate the retention capacity of urea by the polymer coating. For this, leachate from Kick-Brauckmann-Pots was collected daily and analyzed for total nitrogen, NO3- and NH4+ in twofold repetition once a week using near-infrared spectroscopy. We summarize from the results that the coated fertilizer have a clear impact on the yield of annual ryegrass and maize. Compared to the control, an increase of fresh and dry mass could be recognized. Partially, the non-degradable coatings showed a retarding effect for a longer period, which was however reflected by a lower fresh and dry mass. It was ascertained that the percentage of leached-out nitrate could be reduced markedly. As a conclusion, it could be pointed out that the impact of coated fertilizer of all polymer types might contribute to a reduction of negative environmental impacts in addition to their fertilizing effect.

Keywords: biodegradable polymers, coating, enhanced efficiency fertilizers, nitrate leaching

Procedia PDF Downloads 270

Authors: Niamh Higgins, Dawn Howard

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The Irish agri-food sector is of major importance to Ireland’s manufacturing sector and to the Irish economy through employment and the exporting of animal products worldwide. Infectious diseases and parasites have an impact on farm animal health causing profitability and productivity to be affected. For the sustainability of Irish dairy farming, there must be the highest standard of animal health. There can be a lack of information in accounting for > 1% of complete microbial diversity in an environment. There is the tendency of culture-based methods of microbial identification to overestimate the prevalence of species which grow easily on an agar surface. There is a need for new technologies to address these issues to assist with animal health. Metagenomic approaches provide information on both the whole genome and transcriptome present through DNA sequencing of total DNA from environmental samples producing high determination of functional and taxonomic information. Nanopore Next Generation Technologies have the ability to be powerful sequencing technologies. They provide high throughput, low material requirements and produce ultra-long reads, simplifying the experimental process. The aim of this study is to use a metagenomics approach to analyze dairy cattle faecal samples using the Oxford Nanopore MinION Next Generation Sequencer and to establish an in-house pipeline for metagenomic characterization of complex samples. Faecal samples will be obtained from Irish dairy farms, DNA extracted and the MinION will be used for sequencing, followed by bioinformatics analysis. Of particular interest, will be the parasite Buxtonella sulcata, which there has been little research on and which there is no research on its presence on Irish dairy farms. Preliminary results have shown the ability of the MinION to produce hundreds of reads in a relatively short time frame of eight hours. The faecal samples were obtained from 90 dairy cows on a Galway farm. The results from Oxford Nanopore ‘What’s in my pot’ (WIMP) using the Epi2me workflow, show that from a total of 926 classified reads, 87% were from the Kingdom Bacteria, 10% were from the Kingdom Eukaryota, 3% were from the Kingdom Archaea and < 1% were from the Kingdom Viruses. The most prevalent bacteria were those from the Genus Acholeplasma (71 reads), Bacteroides (35 reads), Clostridium (33 reads), Acinetobacter (20 reads). The most prevalent species present were those from the Genus Acholeplasma and included Acholeplasma laidlawii (39 reads) and Acholeplasma brassicae (26 reads). The preliminary results show the ability of the MinION for the identification of microorganisms to species level coming from a complex sample. With ongoing optimization of the pipe-line, the number of classified reads are likely to increase. Metagenomics has the potential in animal health for diagnostics of microorganisms present on farms. This would support wprevention rather than a cure approach as is outlined in the DAFMs National Farmed Animal Health Strategy 2017-2022.

Keywords: animal health, buxtonella sulcata, infectious disease, irish dairy cattle, metagenomics, minION, next generation sequencing

Procedia PDF Downloads 150

Authors: Sharmin Sultana, Nicolas Nuns, Pardis Simon, Jean-Marc Giraudon, Jean-Francois Lamonior, Nathalie D. Geyter, Rino Morent

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Environmental issues, especially air pollution, have become a huge concern of environmental legislation as a consequence of growing awareness in our global world. In this regard, control of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emission has become an important issue due to their potential toxicity, carcinogenicity, and mutagenicity. The research of innovative technologies for VOC abatement is stimulated to accommodate the new stringent standards in terms of VOC emission. One emerging strategy is the coupling of 2 existing complementary technologies, namely here non-thermal plasma (NTP) and heterogeneous catalysis, to get a more efficient process for VOC removal in air. The objective of this current work is to investigate the abatement of trichloroethylene (TCE-highly toxic chlorinated VOC) from moist air (RH=15%) as a function of time by combined use of multi-pin-to-plate negative DC corona/glow discharge with Fe-doped cryptomelanes catalyst downstream i.e. post plasma-catalysis (PPC) process. For catalyst alone case, experiments reveal that, initially, Fe doped cryptomelane (regardless the mode of Fe incorporation by co-precipitation (Fe-K-OMS-2)/ impregnation (Fe/K-OMS-2)) exhibits excellent activity to decompose TCE compared to cryptomelane (K-OMS-2) itself. A maximum obtained value of TCE abatement after 6 min is as follows: Fe-KOMS-2 (73.3%) > Fe/KOMS-2 (48.5) > KOMS-2 (22.6%). However, with prolonged operation time, whatever the catalyst under concern, the abatement of TCE decreases. After 111 min time of exposure, the catalysts can be ranked as follows: Fe/KOMS-2 (11%) < K-OMS-2 (12.3%) < Fe-KOMS-2 (14.5%). Clearly, this phenomenon indicates catalyst deactivation either by chlorination or by blocking the active sites. Remarkably, in PPC configuration (energy density = 60 J/L, catalyst temperature = 150°C), experiments reveal an enhanced performance towards TCE removal regardless the type of catalyst. After 6 min time on stream, the TCE removal efficiency amount as follows: K-OMS-2 (60%) < Fe/K-OMS-2 (79%) < Fe-K-OMS-2 (99.3%). The enhanced performances over Fe-K-OMS-2 catalyst are attributed to its high surface oxygen mobility and structural defects leading to high O₃ decomposition efficiency to give active species able to oxidize the plasma processed hazardous\by-products and the possibly remaining VOC into CO₂. Moreover, both undoped and doped catalysts remain strongly capable to abate TCE with time on stream. The TCE removal efficiencies of the PPC processes with Fe/KOMS-2 and KOMS-2 catalysts are not affected by time on stream indicating an excellent catalyst stability. When using the Fe-K-OMS-2 as catalyst, TCE abatement slightly reduces with time on stream. However, it is noteworthy to stress that still a constant abatement of 83% is observed during at least 30 minutes. These results prove that the combination of NTP with catalysts not only increases the catalytic activity but also allows to avoid, to some extent, the poisoning of catalytic sites resulting in an enhanced catalyst stability. In order to better understand the different surface processes occurring in the course of the total TCE oxidation in PPC experiments, a detailed X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) and Time of Flight-Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) study on the fresh and used catalysts is in progress.

Keywords: Fe doped cryptomelane, non-thermal plasma, plasma-catalysis, stability, trichloroethylene

Procedia PDF Downloads 208

Authors: Tatsuya Kasuga, Hidehisa Shimada, Kimio Oguchi

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Recent rapid progress in ICT (Information and Communication Technology) has advanced the penetration of sensor networks (SNs) and their attractive applications. Agriculture is one of the fields well able to benefit from ICT. Plant factories control several parameters related to plant growth in closed areas such as air temperature, humidity, water, culture medium concentration, and artificial lighting by using computers and AI (Artificial Intelligence) is being researched in order to obtain stable and safe production of vegetables and medicinal plants all year anywhere, and attain self-sufficiency in food. By providing isolation from the natural environment, a plant factory can achieve higher productivity and safe products. However, the biggest issue with plant factories is the return on investment. Profits are tenuous because of the large initial investments and running costs, i.e. electric power, incurred. At present, LED (Light Emitting Diode) lights are being adopted because they are more energy-efficient and encourage photosynthesis better than the fluorescent lamps used in the past. However, further cost reduction is essential. This paper introduces experiments that reveal which color of LED lighting best enhances the growth of cultured radish sprouts. Radish sprouts were cultivated in the experimental environment formed by a hydroponics kit with three cultivation shelves (28 samples per shelf) each with an artificial lighting rack. Seven LED arrays of different color (white, blue, yellow green, green, yellow, orange, and red) were compared with a fluorescent lamp as the control. Lighting duration was set to 12 hours a day. Normal water with no fertilizer was circulated. Seven days after germination, the length, weight and area of leaf of each sample were measured. Electrical power consumption for all lighting arrangements was also measured. Results and discussions: As to average sample length, no clear difference was observed in terms of color. As regards weight, orange LED was less effective and the difference was significant (p < 0.05). As to leaf area, blue, yellow and orange LEDs were significantly less effective. However, all LEDs offered higher productivity per W consumed than the fluorescent lamp. Of the LEDs, the blue LED array attained the best results in terms of length, weight and area of leaf per W consumed. Conclusion and future works: An experiment on radish sprout cultivation under 7 different color LED arrays showed no clear difference in terms of sample size. However, if electrical power consumption is considered, LEDs offered about twice the growth rate of the fluorescent lamp. Among them, blue LEDs showed the best performance. Further cost reduction e.g. low power lighting remains a big issue for actual system deployment. An automatic plant monitoring system with sensors is another study target.

Keywords: electric power consumption, LED color, LED lighting, plant factory

Procedia PDF Downloads 188

Authors: Ning Niu

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The study hinges on consumer taste, food industry (wine production) and cultural consumption (vineyard tourism) which are related to the Chinese market, consumers, and visitors traveling to Australian vineyards. The research topic can be summed up as: the economic importance of the Chinese market on Australian wine production; the economic importance of the Chinese market have an impact on how Australian wine is produced or packaged; the impact of mass Chinese wine tourism on Australian vineyards; the gendered and cultured experience of wine tourism for Chines visitors. This study aims to apply the theories of Pierre Bourdieu into the research in food industry and cultural consumption; investigate Chinese experiences with Australian wine products and vineyard tours; to explore the cultural, gendered and class influences on their experiences. The academic background covers the concepts of habitus, taste, capital proposed by Pierre Bourdieu along with long-lasting concepts within China’s cultural context including mianzi (face, dignity/honor/hierarchy) and guanxi (connections/social network), in order to develop new perspectives to study the tastes of Chinese tourists coming to Australia for wine experiences. The documents cited from Australian government or industries will be interpreted, and the analysis of data will constitute the economic background for this current study. The study applies qualitative research and draws from the fieldwork, choosing ethnographic observation, interviews, personal experiences and discursive analysis of government documents and tourism documents. The expected sample size includes three tourism professionals, two or three local Australian wine producers, and 20 to 30 Chinese wine consumers and visitors travelling to Australian vineyards. An embodied ethnography will be used to observe the Chinese participants’ feelings, thoughts, and experiences of their engagement with Australian wine and vineyards. The researcher will interview with Chinese consumers, tourism professionals, and Australian winemakers to collect primary data. Note-taking, picture-taking, and audio-recording will be adopted with informants’ permissions. Personal or group interview will be last for 30 and 60 minutes respectively. Personal experiences of the researcher have been analyzed to respond to some research questions, and have accumulated part of primary data (e.g., photos and stories) to discover how 'mianzi' and 'guanxi' influence Australian wine and tourism industries to meet the demands’ of Chinese consumers. At current stage, the secondary data from analysis of official and industrial documents has proved the economic importance of Chinese market is influencing Australian wine and tourism industries. And my own experiences related to this study, in some sense, has proved the Chinese cultural concepts (mianzi and guanxi) are influencing the Australian wine production and package along with vineyard tours. Future fieldwork will discover more in this research realm, contribute more to knowledge.

Keywords: habitus, taste, capital, mianzi, guanxi

Procedia PDF Downloads 130

Authors: Stanislavs Gendelis, Maris Sinka, Andris Jakovics

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Insulation materials made from natural sources have become more popular for the ecologisation of buildings, meaning wide use of such renewable materials. Such natural materials replace synthetic products which consume a large quantity of energy. The most common and the cheapest natural materials in Latvia are cellulose-based (wood and agricultural plants). The ecological aspects of such materials are well known, but experimental data about physical properties remains lacking. In this study, six different samples of wood wool panels and a mixture of hemp shives and lime (hempcrete) are analysed. Thermal conductivity and heat capacity measurements were carried out for wood wool and cement panels using the calibrated hot plate device. Water vapor permeability was tested for hempcrete material by using the gravimetric dry cup method. Studied wood wool panels are eco-friendly and harmless material, which is widely used in the interior design of public and residential buildings, where noise absorption and sound insulation is of importance. They are also suitable for high humidity facilities (e.g., swimming pools). The difference in panels was the width of used wood wool, which is linked to their density. The results of measured thermal conductivity are in a wide range, showing the worsening of properties with the increasing of the wool width (for the least dense 0.066, for the densest 0.091 W/(m·K)). Comparison with mineral insulation materials shows that thermal conductivity for such materials are 2-3 times higher and are comparable to plywood and fibreboard. Measured heat capacity was in a narrower range; here, the dependence on the wool width was not so strong due to the fact that heat capacity value is related to mass, not volume. The resulting heat capacity is a combination of two main components. A comparison of results for different panels allows to select the most suitable sample for a specific application because the dependencies of the thermal insulation and heat capacity properties on the wool width are not the same. Hempcrete is a much denser material compared to conventional thermal insulating materials. Therefore, its use helps to reinforce the structural capacity of the constructional framework, at the same time, it is lightweight. By altering the proportions of the ingredients, hempcrete can be produced as a structural, thermal, or moisture absorbent component. The water absorption and water vapor permeability are the most important properties of these materials. Information about absorption can be found in the literature, but there are no data about water vapor transmission properties. Water vapor permeability was tested for a sample of locally made hempcrete using different air humidity values to evaluate the possible difference. The results show only the slight influence of the air humidity on the water vapor permeability value. The absolute ‘sd value’ measured is similar to mineral wool and wood fiberboard, meaning that due to very low resistance, water vapor passes easily through the material. At the same time, other properties – structural and thermal of the hempcrete is totally different. As a result, an experimentally-based knowledge of thermal and water vapor transmission properties for cellulose-based materials was significantly improved.

Keywords: heat capacity, hemp concrete, thermal conductivity, water vapor transmission, wood wool

Procedia PDF Downloads 221

Authors: Douglas N. Simões, Michele Pittol, Vanda F. Ribeiro, Daiane Tomacheski, Ruth M. C. Santana

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The increasing demand of thermoplastic elastomers is related to the wide range of applications, such as automotive, footwear, wire and cable industries, adhesives and medical devices, cell phones, sporting goods, toys and others. These materials are susceptible to microbial attack. Moisture and organic matter present in some areas (such as shower area and sink), provide favorable conditions for microbial proliferation, which contributes to the spread of diseases and reduces the product life cycle. Compounds based on SEBS copolymers, poly(styrene-b-(ethylene-co-butylene)-b-styrene, are a class of thermoplastic elastomers (TPE), fully recyclable and largely used in domestic appliances like bath mats and tooth brushes (soft touch). Zinc oxide and zinc ions loaded in personal and home care products have become common in the last years due to its biocidal effect. In that sense, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of zinc as antimicrobial agent in compounds based on SEBS/polypropylene/oil/ calcite for use as refrigerator seals (gaskets), bath mats and sink squeegee. Two zinc oxides from different suppliers (ZnO-Pe and ZnO-WR) and one masterbatch of zinc ions (M-Zn-ion) were used in proportions of 0%, 1%, 3% and 5%. The compounds were prepared using a co-rotating double screw extruder (L/D ratio of 40/1 and 16 mm screw diameter). The extrusion parameters were kept constant for all materials. Tests specimens were prepared using the injection molding machine. A compound with no antimicrobial additive (standard) was also tested. Compounds were characterized by physical (density), mechanical (hardness and tensile properties) and rheological properties (melt flow rate - MFR). The Japan Industrial Standard (JIS) Z 2801:2010 was applied to evaluate antibacterial properties against Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Escherichia coli (E. coli). The Brazilian Association of Technical Standards (ABNT) NBR 15275:2014 were used to evaluate antifungal properties against Aspergillus niger (A. niger), Aureobasidium pullulans (A. pullulans), Candida albicans (C. albicans), and Penicillium chrysogenum (P. chrysogenum). The microbiological assay showed a reduction over 42% in E. coli and over 49% in S. aureus population. The tests with fungi showed inconclusive results because the sample without zinc also demonstrated an inhibition of fungal development when tested against A. pullulans, C. albicans and P. chrysogenum. In addition, the zinc loaded samples showed worse results than the standard sample when tested against A. niger. The zinc addition did not show significant variation in mechanical properties. However, the density values increased with the rise in ZnO additives concentration, and had a little decrease in M-Zn-ion samples. Also, there were differences in the MFR results in all compounds compared to the standard.

Keywords: antimicrobial, home device, SEBS, zinc

Procedia PDF Downloads 324

Authors: Rob Schindler

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Industry-standard methods of mitigating erosion of seabed sediments rely on ‘hard engineering’ approaches which have numerous environmental shortcomings: (1) direct loss of habitat by smothering of benthic species, (2) disruption of sediment transport processes, damaging geomorphic and ecosystem functionality (3) generation of secondary erosion problems, (4) introduction of material that may propagate non-local species, and (5) provision of pathways for the spread of invasive species. Recent studies have also revealed the importance of biological cohesion, the result of naturally occurring extra-cellular polymeric substances (EPS), in stabilizing natural sediments. Mimicking the strong bonding kinetics through the deliberate addition of EPS to sediments – henceforth termed ‘biostabilisation’ - offers a means in which to mitigate against erosion induced by structures or episodic increases in hydrodynamic forcing (e.g. storms and floods) whilst avoiding, or reducing, hard engineering. Here we present unique experiments that systematically examine how biostabilisation reduces scour around a monopile in a current, a first step to realizing the potential of this new method of scouring reduction for a wide range of engineering purposes in aquatic substrates. Experiments were performed in Plymouth University’s recirculating sediment flume which includes a recessed scour pit. The model monopile was 0.048 m in diameter, D. Assuming a prototype monopile diameter of 2.0 m yields a geometric ratio of 41.67. When applied to a 10 m prototype water depth this yields a model depth, d, of 0.24 m. The sediment pit containing the monopile was filled with different biostabilised substrata prepared using a mixture of fine sand (D50 = 230 μm) and EPS (Xanthan gum). Nine sand-EPS mixtures were examined spanning EPS contents of 0.0% < b0 < 0.50%. Scour development was measured using a laser point gauge along a 530 mm centreline at 10 mm increments at regular periods over 5 h. Maximum scour depth and excavated area were determined at different time steps and plotted against time to yield equilibrium values. After 5 hours the current was stopped and a detailed scan of the final scour morphology was taken. Results show that increasing EPS content causes a progressive reduction in the equilibrium depth and lateral extent of scour, and hence excavated material. Very small amounts equating to natural communities (< 0.1% by mass) reduce scour rate, depth and extent of scour around monopiles. Furthermore, the strong linear relationships between EPS content, equilibrium scour depth, excavation area and timescales of scouring offer a simple index on which to modify existing scour prediction methods. We conclude that the biostabilisation of sediments with EPS may offer a simple, cost-effective and ecologically sensitive means of reducing scour in a range of contexts including OWFs, bridge piers, pipeline installation, and void filling in rock armour. Biostabilisation may also reduce economic costs through (1) Use of existing site sediments, or waste dredged sediments (2) Reduced fabrication of materials, (3) Lower transport costs, (4) Less dependence on specialist vessels and precise sub-sea assembly. Further, its potential environmental credentials may allow sensitive use of the seabed in marine protection zones across the globe.

Keywords: biostabilisation, EPS, marine, scour

Procedia PDF Downloads 166

Authors: Geremew Geidare Kailo, Igor Gáspár, András Koris, Ivana Pajčin, Flóra Vitális, Vanja Vlajkov

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Three-dimension (3D) printing, a very popular additive manufacturing technology, has recently undergone rapid growth and replaced the use of conventional technology from prototyping to producing end-user parts and products. The 3D Printing technology involves a digital manufacturing machine that produces three-dimensional objects according to designs created by the user via 3D modeling or computer-aided design/manufacturing (CAD/CAM) software. The most popular 3D printing system is Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) or also called Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF). A 3D-printed object is considered food safe if it can have direct contact with the food without any toxic effects, even after cleaning, storing, and reusing the object. This work analyzes the processing timeline of the filament (material for 3D printing) from unboxing to the extrusion through the nozzle. It is an important task to analyze the growth of bacteria on the 3D printed surface and in gaps between the layers. By default, the 3D-printed object is not food safe after longer usage and direct contact with food (even though they use food-safe filaments), but there are solutions for this problem. The aim of this work was to evaluate the 3D-printed object from different perspectives of food safety. Firstly, testing antimicrobial 3D printing filaments from a food safety aspect since the 3D Printed object in the food industry may have direct contact with the food. Therefore, the main purpose of the work is to reduce the microbial load on the surface of a 3D-printed part. Coating with epoxy resin was investigated, too, to see its effect on mechanical strength, thermal resistance, surface smoothness and food safety (cleanability). Another aim of this study was to test new temperature-resistant filaments and the effect of high temperature on 3D printed materials to see if they can be cleaned with boiling or similar hi-temp treatment. This work proved that all three mentioned methods could improve the food safety of the 3D printed object, but the size of this effect variates. The best result we got was with coating with epoxy resin, and the object was cleanable like any other injection molded plastic object with a smooth surface. Very good results we got by boiling the objects, and it is good to see that nowadays, more and more special filaments have a food-safe certificate and can withstand boiling temperatures too. Using antibacterial filaments reduced bacterial colonies to 1/5, but the biggest advantage of this method is that it doesn’t require any post-processing. The object is ready out of the 3D printer. Acknowledgements: The research was supported by the Hungarian and Serbian bilateral scientific and technological cooperation project funded by the Hungarian National Office for Research, Development and Innovation (NKFI, 2019-2.1.11-TÉT-2020-00249) and the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia. The authors acknowledge the Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences’s Doctoral School of Food Science for the support in this study

Keywords: food safety, 3D printing, filaments, microbial, temperature

Procedia PDF Downloads 142

Authors: A. Falenski, A. Kaesbohrer, M. Filter

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Introduction: Risk assessments can be performed in various ways and in different degrees of complexity. In order to assess risks associated with imported foods additional information needs to be taken into account compared to a risk assessment on regional products. The present review is an overview on currently available best practise approaches and data sources used for food import risk assessments (IRAs). Methods: A literature review has been performed. PubMed was searched for articles about food IRAs published in the years 2004 to 2014 (English and German texts only, search string “(English [la] OR German [la]) (2004:2014 [dp]) import [ti] risk”). Titles and abstracts were screened for import risks in the context of IRAs. The finally selected publications were analysed according to a predefined questionnaire extracting the following information: risk assessment guidelines followed, modelling methods used, data and software applied, existence of an analysis of uncertainty and variability. IRAs cited in these publications were also included in the analysis. Results: The PubMed search resulted in 49 publications, 17 of which contained information about import risks and risk assessments. Within these 19 cross references were identified to be of interest for the present study. These included original articles, reviews and guidelines. At least one of the guidelines of the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) and the Codex Alimentarius Commission were referenced in any of the IRAs, either for import of animals or for imports concerning foods, respectively. Interestingly, also a combination of both was used to assess the risk associated with the import of live animals serving as the source of food. Methods ranged from full quantitative IRAs using probabilistic models and dose-response models to qualitative IRA in which decision trees or severity tables were set up using parameter estimations based on expert opinions. Calculations were done using @Risk, R or Excel. Most heterogeneous was the type of data used, ranging from general information on imported goods (food, live animals) to pathogen prevalence in the country of origin. These data were either publicly available in databases or lists (e.g., OIE WAHID and Handystatus II, FAOSTAT, Eurostat, TRACES), accessible on a national level (e.g., herd information) or only open to a small group of people (flight passenger import data at national airport customs office). In the IRAs, an uncertainty analysis has been mentioned in some cases, but calculations have been performed only in a few cases. Conclusion: The current state-of-the-art in the assessment of risks of imported foods is characterized by a great heterogeneity in relation to general methodology and data used. Often information is gathered on a case-by-case basis and reformatted by hand in order to perform the IRA. This analysis therefore illustrates the need for a flexible, modular framework supporting the connection of existing data sources with data analysis and modelling tools. Such an infrastructure could pave the way to IRA workflows applicable ad-hoc, e.g. in case of a crisis situation.

Keywords: import risk assessment, review, tools, food import

Procedia PDF Downloads 302

Authors: Hollie Ashworth, Sarah Heath, Nick Bryan, Liam Abrahamsen, Simon Kellet

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Sellafield has a number of fuel storage ponds, some of which have been open to the air for a number of decades. This has caused corrosion of the fuel resulting in a release of some activity into solution, reduced water clarity, and accumulation of sludge at the bottom of the pond consisting of brucite (Mg(OH)2) and other uranium corrosion products. Both of these phases are also present as colloidal material. 90Sr and 137Cs are known to constitute a small volume of the radionuclides present in the pond, but a large fraction of the activity, thus they are most at risk of challenging effluent discharge limits. Organic molecules are known to be present also, due to the ponds being open to the air, with occasional algal blooms restricting visibility further. The contents of the pond need to be retrieved and safely stored, but dealing with such a complex, undefined inventory poses a unique challenge. This work aims to determine and understand the sorption-desorption interactions of 90Sr and 137Cs to brucite and uranium phases, with and without the presence of organic molecules from chemical degradation and bio-organisms. The influence of organics on these interactions has not been widely studied. Partitioning of these radionuclides and organic molecules has been determined through LSC, ICP-AES/MS, and UV-vis spectrophotometry coupled with ultrafiltration in both binary and ternary systems. Further detailed analysis into the surface and bonding environment of these components is being investigated through XAS techniques and PHREEQC modelling. Experiments were conducted in CO2-free or N2 atmosphere across a high pH range in order to best simulate conditions in the pond. Humic acid used in brucite systems demonstrated strong competition against 90Sr for the brucite surface regardless of the order of addition of components. Variance of pH did have a small effect, however this range (10.5-11.5) is close to the pHpzc of brucite, causing the surface to buffer the solution pH towards that value over the course of the experiment. Sorption of 90Sr to UO2 obeyed Ho’s rate equation and demonstrated a slow second-order reaction with respect to the sharing of valence electrons from the strontium atom, with the initial rate clearly dependent on pH, with the equilibrium concentration calculated at close to 100% sorption. There was no influence of humic acid seen when introduced to these systems. Sorption of 137Cs to UO3 was significant, with more than 95% sorbed in just over 24 hours. Again, humic acid showed no influence when introduced into this system. Both brucite and uranium based systems will be studied with the incorporation of cyanobacterial cultures harvested at different stages of growth. Investigation of these systems provides insight into, and understanding of, the effect of organics on radionuclide partitioning to brucite and uranium phases at high pH. The majority of sorption-desorption work for radionuclides has been conducted at neutral to acidic pH values, and mostly without organics. These studies are particularly important for the characterisation of legacy wastes at Sellafield, with a view to their safe retrieval and storage.

Keywords: caesium, legacy wastes, organics, sorption-desorption, strontium, uranium

Procedia PDF Downloads 282

Authors: Jens Hagman, Jenny Janhager Stier, Ellen Olausson, Anne Y. Faxer, Ana Magazinius

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Sweden has the second highest electric vehicle (plug-in hybrid and battery electric vehicle) sales per capita in Europe but in relation to sales of internal combustion engine electric vehicles sales are still minuscular (< 4%). Much research effort has been placed on various technical and user focused barriers and enablers for adoption of electric vehicles. Less effort has been placed on investigating the retail (dealership-customer) sales process of vehicles in general and electric vehicles in particular. Arguably, no one ought to be better informed about needs and desires of potential electric vehicle buyers than car salesmen, originating from their daily encounters with customers at the dealership. The aim of this paper is to explore the conditions of selling electric vehicle from a car salesmen’s perspective. This includes identifying barriers and enablers for electric vehicle sales originating from internal (dealership and brand) and external (customer, government) sources. In this interview study five car brands (manufacturers) that sell both electric and internal combustion engine vehicles have been investigated. A total of 15 semi-structured interviews have been conducted (three per brand, in rural and urban settings and at different dealerships). Initial analysis reveals several barriers and enablers, experienced by car salesmen, which influence electric vehicle sales. Examples of as reported by car salesmen identified barriers are: -Electric vehicles earn car salesmen less commission on average compared to internal combustion engine vehicles. -It takes more time to sell and deliver an electric vehicle than an internal combustion engine vehicle. -Current leasing contracts entails relatively low second-hand value estimations for electric vehicles and thus a high leasing fee, which negatively affects the attractiveness of electric vehicles for private consumers in particular. -High purchasing price discourages many consumers from considering electric vehicles. -The education and knowledge level of electric vehicles differs between car salesmen, which could affect their self-confidence in meeting well prepared and question prone electric vehicle buyers. Examples of identified enablers are: -Company car tax regulation promotes sales of electric vehicles; in particular, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles are sold extensively to companies (up to 95 % of sales). -Low operating cost of electric vehicles such as fuel and service is an advantage when understood by consumers. -The drive performance of electric vehicles (quick, silent and fun to drive) is attractive to consumers. -Environmental aspects are considered important for certain consumer groups. -Fast technological improvements, such as increased range are opening up a wider market for electric vehicles. -For one of the brands; attractive private lease campaigns have proved effective to promote sales. This paper gives insights of an important but often overlooked aspect for the diffusion of electric vehicles (and durable products in general); the interaction between car salesmen and customers at the critical acquiring moment. Extracted through interviews with multiple car salesmen. The results illuminate untapped potential for sellers (salesmen, dealerships and brands) to mitigating sales barriers and strengthening sales enablers and thus becoming a more important actor in the electric vehicle diffusion process.

Keywords: customer barriers, electric vehicle promotion, sales of electric vehicles, interviews with car salesmen

Procedia PDF Downloads 229

Authors: Nirajan Shrestha

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Karnali is one of the most vulnerable provinces in Nepal, facing challenges from climate change, poverty, and natural calamities across different regions. In recent years, the province has been severely impacted by climate change stress such as temperature rises in glacier lake of mountainous region and spring source water shortages, particularly in hilly areas where settlements are located, and water sources have depleted from their original ground levels. As a result, Karnali could face a future without enough water for all. Deep causes of sustainable safe water supply have always been neglected in rural areas of Nepal, and communities are unfairly burdened with a challenge of keeping water facilities functioning in areas affected by frequent natural disasters where there is a substantial, well-documented funding gap between the revenues from user payments and the full cost of sustained services. The key importance of a permanent system to support communities in service delivery has been always underrated so far. The complexity of water service sustainability as a topic should be simplified to one clear indicator: the functionality rate, which can be expressed as uptime or the percentage of time that the service is delivered over the total time. For example, a functionality rate of 80% means that the water service is operational 80% of the time, while 20% of the time the system is not functioning. This represents 0.2 multiplied by 365, which equals 73 days every year, or roughly two and a half months without water. This percentage should be widely understood and used in Karnali. All local governments should report their targets and performance in improving it, and there should be a broader discussion about what target is acceptable and what can be realistically achieved. In response to these challenges, the Sustainable WASH for All (SUSWA) project has introduced innovative models and policy formulation strategies in various working local government. SUSWA’s approach, which delegates rural water supply and sanitation responsibilities to local governments, has been instrumental in addressing these issues. To keep pace with the growing demand, the province has adopted a service support center model, linking local governments with federal authorities to ensure effective service delivery to the communities By enhancing WASH governance through local governments engagement, capacity building and inclusive WASH policy frameworks, there is potential to address WASH gaps while fostering a circular economy. This strategy emphasizes resource recovery, waste minimization and the creation of local employment generation opportunities. The research highlights key governance mechanisms, innovative practices and policy interventions that can be scaled up across other regions. It also provides recommendations on how to leverage Karnali’s unique socio-economic and environmental context nature-based solutions to inspire innovation and drive sustainable WASH solutions. Key findings suggest that with strong ownership and leadership of local governments, community engagement and appropriate technology, Karnali Province can become a model for integrating WASH governance with circular economy concept, providing broader lessons for other regions in Nepal.

Keywords: vulnerable provinces, natural calamities, climate change stres, spring source depletion, resources recovery, governance mechanisms, appropriate technology, community engagement, innovation

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