Towards marketing biomethane in France—French consumers’ perception of biomethane

Abstract Background French energy policy calls for ambitious growth in the biogas sector, with the quantity of biomethane fed into the public grid targeted at 8 TWh per year by 2023. Although today biomethane in France serves predominantly as vehicle fuel, the domestic heating market, with its high share of gas heating, should see biogas growth in the future, provided consumer demand can develop and suppliers can emerge savvy enough to respond to that demand. Methods Towards this end, we conducted qualitative interviews with some mixed-methods elements with French consumers in the South of France to explore their knowledge of and attitudes towards biogas as well as their preferences for specific product features of biomethane-based gas products. Results We found that today’s consumers have little knowledge of biogas production and feel uncertain and doubtful about products. They can name reasons, both environmental and financial, for and against biogas. They favor biomethane products from agricultural residues and biodegradable household waste, rejecting energy crops. In principle, they value local production by small suppliers, find ecolabels helpful, and look favorably upon extra environmental benefits accruing from the sale of biogas. However, consumers labor under misconceptions regarding the costs of biomethane production. Conclusion Crafting communication strategies that address widespread consumer doubt and consumer perceived risk is the challenge suppliers face in order to allow consumers to make a well-based decision

Enhancement of the knowledge on the ultrasonic reactor by interdisciplinary approach

International audienceOur work is a step to a better understanding of high frequency ultrasonic reactors behaviour. Using finite elements calculations, it was demonstrated that localization of chemical and physical effects can be well correlated with mechanical behaviour of ultrasound emitter. This complementary approach enables us to propose a full interpretation of the sonochemical reactor behaviour. A major reason of scientific interest on ultrasound is the well-known enhancement of chemical or physical phenomena. This is so important that “Enhancement” is probably the most used word in the title of related publications. To fully understand experimental results, present work demonstrates that ultrasound needs also to significantly enhance a very difficult knowledge transfer operation that might be named interdisciplinary co-working. Hence, ultrasound is now used and studied in many different fields of science such as acoustic, chemistry, medical imaging, disease treatment (lithotripsy), non-destructive testing... Each one has his own vocabulary, approach, and method to describe the phenomenon. In this work four different methodologies were involved to study of the same effect but using a chemical, chemical engineering, physical and mechanical approach respectively. All these viewpoints were then brought together in order to explain new original results

Environmental samples of microplastics induce significant toxic effects in fish larvae.

Microplastics (MPs) are present throughout aquatic ecosystems, and can be ingested by a wide variety of organisms. At present, the physical and chemical effects of environmental MPs on aquatic organisms are poorly documented. This study aims to examine the physiological and behavioral effects caused by fish consuming environmental microplastics at different life stages. MP samples were collected from beaches on three islands (Easter Island, Guam and Hawaii) located near the North and South gyres of the Pacific Ocean. Larvae and juveniles of Japanese Medaka were fed for 30days with three doses of MPs (0.01, 0.1 and 1% w/w in fish food) approximate to the concentrations measured in moderately and heavily contaminated ocean areas. Ingestion of MPs by medaka larvae caused (variously) death, decreased head/body ratios, increased EROD activity and DNA breaks and, alterations to swimming behavior. A diet of 0.1% MPs was the most toxic. Two-month-old juveniles fed with 0.01% MPs did not exhibit any symptoms except an increase in DNA breaks. Our results demonstrate ingestion and mainly sublethal effects of environmental MPs in early life stages of fish at realistic MP concentrations. The toxicity of microplastics varies from one sample to another, depending on polymer composition, weathering and pollutant content. This study examines the ecological consequences microplastic build-up in aquatic ecosystems, more particularly in coastal marine areas, which serve as breeding and growing grounds for a number of aquatic species