Technological, economic, and emission analysis of the oxy-combustion process

The high concentration of polluting emissions, and in particular of CO2 in the atmosphere, determines the greenhouse effect, therefore it is necessary to reduce its quantity as much as possible. For this reason, a strong commitment is underway to obtain effective technological improvements and to study adequate operational measures. One measure among these may be the oxy-combustion process. Many researchers have studied this process, its characteristics, and operating conditions but what is not known in the literature is the economic feasibility of a plant employing this technology and its environmental impact. There are few plants powered by oxy-combustion and many of these are still pilot plants, for this reason using Retscreen it was possible to evaluate and optimize the technical and financial feasibility of an oxy-fuel cogeneration plant for a university campus in such a way as to demonstrate the cost-effectiveness and lower environmental impact that an oxy-fuel system causes compared to a traditional system. It was evaluated the return on investment for the cogeneration plant as the economic parameters varied: in almost all cases analyzed the investment turned out to be convenient and the minimum calculated payback time was 2.5 years. With this software, it was also possible to determine the environmental impact of this technology which corresponds to a reduction of approximately 3700 tons/year of carbon dioxide compared to a traditional type of system. This work will encourage the investors and corporate sector to embrace this alternative technology for decreasing polluting emissions from the process

Individual and community catalysts for Renewable Energy Communities (RECs) development

This review examines factors catalyzing citizens' participation in Renewable Energy Communities (RECs), crucial for sustainable energy transitions. We analyze the interplay of individual and community elements promoting involvement in these collective projects. Individual drivers include pro-environmental values, economic incentives, desire for energy autonomy, and technical knowledge. Community factors encompass social cohesion, local identity, effective leadership, inclusive governance, and supportive policies. The synergy between these factors drives REC development. Challenges remain in ensuring accessibility, sustaining participation, and scaling successful models. Further research is needed on participation dynamics over time, cross-cultural comparisons, innovative financing, and digital technologies' role. Understanding and enhancing these catalyzing factors can unlock the potential of community-driven energy solutions to address climate change while promoting sustainable and equitable energy future

Unveiling the role of polypropylene interactions with lithium fluoride solutions: Insights into crystallization dynamics and membrane behaviour

The escalating demand for lithium, driven by its pivotal role in electronic devices and lithium-ion batteries, underscores the urgent need for sustainable lithium recovery methods. Recycling lithium from spent batteries represents a promising strategy to meet this demand; however, a detailed understanding of crystallization processes in the presence of functional interfaces remains largely unexplored. In this study, we present a novel investigation into the role of polypropylene (PP) membranes in controlling the crystallization dynamics of lithium fluoride (LiF) from ionic solutions. Using a combined computational and experimental approach, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are performed to compare bulk crystallization with crystallization occurring at the membrane interface. Our results reveal that the membrane deeply influences the crystallization process, increasing induction times and reducing nucleation and growth rates, which indicates a more controlled and structured crystal formation. Notably, the presence of the membrane enhances the crystallinity of the formed crystals, likely due to its structuring effect on the surrounding ionic environment. To assess the impact of the ionic solution on the membrane, we further analyzed morphological parameters and conducted experimental validation. The polypropylene membrane demonstrated exceptional robustness, retaining its structural stability and hydrophobicity, as confirmed by contact angle measurements, even after prolonged exposure to the solution. Experimental trends in nucleation times, crystal morphology, and membrane behavior align closely with the computational findings, reinforcing the reliability of our results. This study introduces a novel perspective on the interactions between membranes and crystallizing ionic systems, providing fundamental insights into the role of membrane interfaces in influencing crystallization dynamics. The findings pave the way for optimized membrane-based processes, offering valuable knowledge to advance sustainable lithium recovery technologies

Hadronic cross section measurements with the DAMPE space mission using 20 GeV-10 TeV cosmic-ray protons and 4He

Precise direct cosmic-ray (CR) measurements provide an important probe to study the energetic particle sources in our Galaxy, and the interstellar environment through which these particles propagate. Uncertainties on hadronic models, ion-nucleon cross sections in particular, are currently the limiting factor toward obtaining more accurate CR ion flux measurements with calorimetric space-based experiments. We present an energy-dependent measurement of the inelastic cross section of protons and helium-4 nuclei (alpha particles) on a Bi4Ge3O12 target, using 88 months of data collected by the DAMPE space mission. The kinetic energy range per nucleon of the measurement points ranges from 18 GeV to 9 TeV for protons, and from 5 GeV/n to 3 TeV/n for helium-4 nuclei. Our results lead to a significant improvement of the CR flux normalization. In the case of helium-4, these results correspond to the first cross section measurements on a heavy target material at energies above 10 GeV/n

An Innovative IoT and Edge Intelligence Framework for Monitoring Elderly People Using Anomaly Detection on Data from Non-Wearable Sensors

The aging global population requires innovative remote monitoring systems to assist doctors and caregivers in assessing the health of elderly patients. Doctors often lack access to continuous behavioral data, making it difficult to detect deviations from normal patterns when elderly patients arrive for a consultation. Without historical insights into common behaviors and potential anomalies detected with unobtrusive techniques (e.g., non-wearable devices), timely and informed medical interventions become challenging. To address this, we propose an edge-based Internet of Things (IoT) framework that enables real-time monitoring and anomaly detection using non-wearable sensors to assist doctors and caregivers in assessing the health of elderly patients. By processing data locally, the system minimizes privacy concerns and ensures immediate data availability, allowing healthcare professionals to detect unusual behavioral patterns early. The system employs advanced machine learning (ML) models to identify deviations that may indicate potential health risks. A prototype of our system has been developed to test its feasibility and demonstrate, through the application of two of the most frequently used ML models, i.e., isolation forest and Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) networks, that it can provide scalability, efficiency, and reliability in the context of elderly care. Further, the provided dashboard enables caregivers and healthcare professionals to access real-time alerts and longitudinal trends, facilitating proactive interventions. The proposed approach improves healthcare responsiveness by providing instant insights into patient behavior, facilitating more accurate diagnoses and interventions. This study lays the groundwork for future advancements in the field and offers valuable insights for the research community to harness the full potential of combining edge computing, artificial intelligence (AI), and the IoT in elderly care

Review of shock-turbulence interaction with a focus on hypersonic flow

Hypersonic flight involves a variety of complex flow phenomena that directly impact the aerothermodynamic loading of high-speed vehicles. The turbulence encountered during a typical flight trajectory influences and interacts with the shock waves on and around the surface of a vehicle and its propulsion system, affecting both aerodynamic and power plant performance. These interactions can be studied by isolating a turbulent flow convected through a normal shock, commonly referred to as the canonical shock-turbulence interaction (STI) problem. Scale-resolving computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and linear interaction analysis (LIA) have been crucial in studying this problem and formulating scaling laws that explain the observed behavior. In this work, an extensive review of the theoretical (LIA) and numerical (CFD) work on the canonical STI is presented. The majority of the work conducted to date has focused on calorically perfect gases with constant heat capacities. However, in hypersonic flows, chemical and thermal non-equilibrium effects may alter the nature of the interaction. As a result, relevant LIA and CFD studies addressing high-enthalpy phenomena are also succinctly discussed

Exploration of billiards with Keplerian potential

We study a class of elliptic billiards with a Keplerian potential inside, considering two cases: a reflective one, where the particle reflects elastically on the boundary, and a refractive one, where the particle can cross the billiard’s boundary entering a region with a harmonic potential. In the latter case the dynamics is given by concatenations of inner and outer arcs, connected by a refraction law. In recent papers (e.g. Barutello et al 2023 Nonlinearity 36 4209; De Blasi and Terracini 2022 Nonlinear Anal. 218 112766; De Blasi and Terracini 2022 Discrete Contin. Dyn. Syst. 43 1269–318; Takeuchi and Zhao 2024 Adv. Math. 436 109411) these billiards have been extensively studied in order to identify which conditions give rise to either regular or chaotic dynamics. In this paper we complete the study by analysing the non focused reflective case, thus complementing the results obtained in Takeuchi and Zhao (2024 Adv. Math. 436 109411) in the focused one. We then analyse the focused and non focused refractive case, where no results on integrability are known except for the centred circular case, by providing an extensive numerical analysis. We present also a theoretical result regarding the linear stability of homothetic equilibrium orbits in the reflective case for general ellipses, highlighting the possible presence of bifurcations already in the integrable framework