Algunas reflexiones sobre Las Tecnologías de la Información y la Comunicación y la Docencia Universitaria

La autora, Margarita, nos hace en este artículo una serie de reflexiones que van desde lo que en la actualidad se hace en temas delas tecnologías de la información y la comunicación inmersas en la sociedad del conocimiento, hasta lo que "debería hacerse" a la hora de aplicarlas en la docencia universitaria. Los parámetros que baraja son: Situar lo que se está haciendo relacionado con las buenas prácticas docentes mostrando experiencias como la del grupo DIM,recursos e innovaciones docentes, proyectos tipo XTEC, SINERA y ESPIRAL, así como la dimensión de algunas líneas de investigación donde el intercambio de experiencias, los soportes y equipamientos utilizados, y las nuevas aplicaciones experimentadas en el aula, reflejan el avance conseguido en ciertos niveles educativos: primaria, secundaria y FP. Interrogarse sobre el grado de visibilidad de esas buenas prácticasen los niveles universitarios, donde el esfuerzo por impulsar las TIC en la docencia es menor, aunque ciertos planes de convergencia europea así lo requieran (créditos ECTS),y la autoformación del profesorado que quiera estar al día en lo que a su alumnado le rodea y preocupa.También se pregunta cual es el papel de la Universidad con respecto a la sociedad, su liderazgo como motor de avance en las nuevas sociedades de creación y gestión del conocimiento

Scalable processing concepts for microwave pyrolysis

Microwave pyrolysis of biomass has long been recognised to provide potential opportunities for producing a range of bio-based products. Unlike conventional heating, microwave heating occurs through the interaction of biomass with electromagnetic energy, with the biomass heated volumetrically by energy conversion instead of conventional heat transfer mechanisms. With microwave heating pyrolysis can be achieved within a cold surrounding environment, a feat that is not possible with conventional heating processes. This unique phenomenon presents a number of opportunities for processing of biomass feedstocks, which include enhanced product quality and a significantly simplified process flowsheet, both of which improve the economic viability of industrial biomass processing. Examples of the benefits of microwave heating include the elimination of size-reduction and particulate removal steps, and simplification of inert-gas preparation and recycling systems. These are discussed within the paper, along with the enhanced product quality that can be produced as a result. Please click Additional Files below to see the full abstract

The application of microwave heating in bioenergy: A review on the microwave pre-treatment and upgrading technologies for biomass

Bioenergy, derived from biomass and/or biological (or biomass-derived) waste residues, has been acknowledged as a sustainable and clean burning source of renewable energy with the potential to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels (such as oil and natural gas). However, many bioenergy processes require some form of pre-treatment and/or upgrading procedure for biomass to generate a modified residue with more suitable properties and render it more compatible with the specific energy conversion route chosen. Many of these pre-treatments (or upgrading procedures) involve some form of substantive heating of the biomass to achieve this modification. Microwave (MW) heating has attracted much attention in recent years due to the advantages associated with dielectric heating effects. These advantages include rapid and efficient heating in a controlled environment, increasing processing rates and substantially shortening reaction times by up to 80%. However, despite this interest, the growth of industrial MW heating applications for bioenergy production has been hindered by a lack of understanding of the fundamentals of the MW heating mechanism when applied to biomass and waste residues. This article presents a review of the current scientific literature associated with the application of microwave heating for both the pre-treatment and upgrading of various biomass feedstocks across different bioenergy conversion pathways including thermal and biochemical processes. The fundamentals behind microwave heating will be explained, as well as discussion of the imperative areas which require further research and development to bridge the gap between fundamental science in the laboratory and the successful application of this technology at a commercial scale

Cultural intelligence of chemical engineering students: A demographics study

An empirical investigation into the influence of demographic characteristics as foundations of cultural intelligence of chemical engineering students is addressed for the first time in this study. Following a validated cultural intelligence methodology, 108 UK final-year BEng students responded to questions spanning the four dimensions of cultural intelligence: metacognitive, cognitive, motivational and behavioural cultural intelligences. Overseas students reported a wider understanding of cross-cultural situations (cognitive intelligence), whereas UK students were more confident of their capabilities to perform and adjust themselves in cross-cultural scenarios (motivational intelligence). Ethnicity also played a key role; Asian students showed the highest cognitive cultural intelligence but also the lowest motivational intelligence, whereas black minority ethnic (BME) students reported the highest motivational cultural intelligence.A fundamental understanding of the relationships between demographic characteristics and the four dimensions of cultural intelligence is needed to drive the transition towards a more global engineering educational strategy, where students can receive an enhanced support to efficiently deal with decision making, adaptive and task performance and adjustment in cross-cultural academic environments

Team-based learning: an ethnicity-focused study on the perceptions of teamwork abilities of engineering students

A study into the influence of the team-based learning (TBL) model upon the perception of White, Asian and Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) students about their peers’ teamwork abilities is addressed herein. A large cohort of final-year engineering students grouped into 24 diverse teams assessed their team’s peers after completing a 10-credit TBL module by means of a peer-assessment survey instrument that spanned the areas of individual performance, adjustment and support, and decision-making. No significant differences were found in perceived student adjustment and support across the different ethnicity groups. Nevertheless, despite TBL having been reported to promote innovative outcomes stemming from the social diversity characterising the teams, our findings suggest that the implementation of TBL per se may not be enough to enhance the significantly poorer perceived performance and decision-making skills of BME students when they work in teams

Microwave pyrolysis of biomass for bio-oil production: Scalable processing concepts

The pursuit of sustainable hydrocarbon alternatives to fossil fuels has prompted an acceleration in the development of new technologies for biomass processing. Microwave pyrolysis of biomass has long been recognised to provide better quality bio-products in shorter timescales compared to conventional pyrolysis. Although this topic has been widely assessed and many investigations are currently ongoing, this article gives an overview beyond the physico-chemical pyrolysis process and covers engineering aspects and the limitations of microwave heating technology. Herein, we provide innovative scalable concepts to perform the microwave pyrolysis of biomass on a large scale, including essential energy and material handling requirements. Furthermore, some of the possible socio-economic and environmental implications derived from the use of this technology in our society are discussed. Such potential concepts are expected to assist the needs of the industrial bioenergy community to move this largely studied process upwards in scale

Energy consumption estimation in the scaling-up of microwave heating processes

The specific energy consumption of six different microwave-driven processes and equipments has been studied and it was found that the scale used dramatically affects it. Increasing the amount of sample employed from 5 to 100 g leads to a reduction in the specific energy consumption of 90–95%. When the amount of sample is 200 g or higher, the specific energy consumption remains practically constant. This means that to assess the real energy efficiency of a microwave-driven process a minimum mass of about 200 g needs to be used. The energy results can then be easily extrapolated to larger scales. Otherwise, a correlation should be used to avoid overestimated energy values and inaccurate energy efficiencies.The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Union Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement no. 311815 (SYNPOL project). D.B. and N.R.R. are also grateful to FICYT of the Government of Principado de Asturias (Spain) and the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness of Spain (under Project MAT2011-23733), respectively, for their predoctoral research grants. The help of Xerolutions S.L. in providing experimental data is also acknowledged.Peer reviewe

Syngas obtained by microwave pyrolysis of household wastes as feedstock for polyhydroxyalkanoate production in Rhodospirillum rubrum

The massive production of urban and agricultural wastes has promoted a clear need for alternative processes of disposal and waste management. The potential use of municipal solid wastes (MSW) as feedstock for the production of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) by a process known as syngas fermentation is considered herein as an attractive bio-economic strategy to reduce these wastes. In this work, we have evaluated the potential of Rhodospirillum rubrum as microbial cell factory for the synthesis of PHA from syngas produced by microwave pyrolysis of the MSW organic fraction from a European city (Seville). Growth rate, uptake rate, biomass yield and PHA production from syngas in R. rubrum have been analysed. The results revealed the strong robustness of this syngas fermentation where the purity of the syngas is not a critical constraint for PHA production. Microwave-induced pyrolysis is a tangible alternative to standard pyrolysis, because it can reduce cost in terms of energy and time as well as increase syngas production, providing a satisfactory PHA yield.Research leading to these results has received funding from the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme for Research, Technological Development and Demonstration under grant agreement no. 311815 (SYNPOL), and from the Comunidad de Madrid (P2013/MIT2807). D. B. also acknowledges the financial support received from PCTI and FICYT of the Government of the Principado de Asturias.Peer reviewe

Analysis of microalgae pellets combustion in a circulating fluidized-bed

Microalgae are expected to become an important source of highvalue products with several applications in a large number of areas of biotechnology and, especially, in biofuels production. The increasing interest in microalgae as a source of biofuel (so-called third generation biofuel) is due to the several advantages. The objective of this study was to investigate combustion characteristics of microalgae (Oscillatoria sp.) pellets burnt in a circulating fluidized-bed (CFB) in terms of sample temperature profiles, ignition time, ignition temperature, devolatilization time and the burnout time. Spherical 10-mm microalgae pellets were tested at temperature of 850°C in a 12-kW bench-scale CFB combustor