Pervaporation of the low ethanol content extracting stream generated from the dealcoholization of red wine by membrane osmotic distillation

This paper presents as main contribution the combination of membrane osmotic distillation (OD) to dealcoholize red wine with hydrophobic-hydrophilic pervaporation (PV) carried out to add value to the wastewater (extracting water) produced in OD, recycling water and generating bioethanol. Membrane OD with a commercial polypropylene hollow fiber module was applied to partially dealcoholize red wine from 14.0 to 11.0 v/v% ethanol. The OD extracting water, containing only ca. 5.3 wt% ethanol, was treated by sequential PV with both hydrophobic (PDMS or zeolite silicalite-1) and hydrophilic (zeolites mordenite or faujasite) membranes. This hydrophobic-hydrophilic PV produced two main products: bioethanol (recovering 88% of the ethanol removed from the wine) and a 99.4 wt% water-rich product. This water-rich product, with a very low ethanol content, was used as extracting water in the OD, giving rise to an analogous partially dealcoholized wine, in terms of aroma contents (as determined by gas chromatography for 25 compounds), to that achieved when using fresh water

Effect of Patient Sex on the Severity of Coronary Artery Disease in Patients with Newly Diagnosis of Obstructive Sleep Apnoea Admitted by an Acute Coronary Syndrome

Background: The cardiovascular consequences of obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) differ by sex. We hypothesized that sex influences the severity of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) in patients with OSA. OSA was defined as an apnoea–hypopnoea index (AHI)>15 events·h-1. We evaluated the severity of ACS according to the ejection fraction, Killip class, number of diseased vessels, number of stents implanted and plasma peak troponin level. Methods: We included 663 men (mean±SD, AHI 37±18 events·h-1) and 133 women (AHI 35±18 events·h-1) with OSA. Results: The men were younger than the women (59±11 versus 66±11 years, p<0.0001), exhibited a higher neck circumference (p<0.0001), and were more likely to be smokers and alcohol users than women (p<0.0001, p = 0.0005, respectively). Body mass index and percentage of hypertensive patients or diabetics were similar between sexes. We observed a slight tendency for a higher Killip classification in women, although it was not statistically significant (p = 0.055). For men, we observed that the number of diseased vessels and the number of stents implanted were higher (p = 0.02, p = 0.001, respectively), and a decrease in the ejection fraction (p = 0.002). Conclusions: This study shows that sex in OSA influences the severity of ACS. Men show a lower ejection fraction and an increased number of diseased vessels and number of stents implanted

Points and areas prone to earthquake-induced landslides in the CARM. Base information for Civil Protection

Se presenta un trabajo de aplicación para la definición de posibles escenarios de catástrofe sísmica, donde deben de incorporarse los movimientos de ladera, como información de base para la última revisión del Plan Especial de Protección Civil ante el Riesgo Sísmico en la Región de Murcia (SISMIMUR). Para ello se ha confeccionado un inventario adecuado y un mapa a escala 1:200.000 que contiene los puntos y zonas más susceptibles a este tipo de fenómenos inducidos por los terremotos en la CARM que pueden afectar a núcleos urbanos, infraestructuras lineales (carreteras y ferrocarriles), balsas mineras, cursos de agua y cuerpos de agua (embalses y lagos). En el análisis solo se han seleccionado los puntos definidos como desprendimientos s.l., tipología predominante en la zona de estudio y de mayores efectos de cara al escenario de la catástrofe sísmica posible. Aunque en la mayoría de las infraestructuras evaluadas están alejadas de movimientos de ladera inventariados, hay núcleos de población importantes como Lorca, Águilas o Caravaca de la Cruz, entre otras, así como algunos tramos del creciente entramado urbano del litoral murciano con zonas de susceptibilidad alta. El tramo más susceptible sería el situado en la carretera RM-520, entre Archena y Abarán.In this work, we present a methodology to define potential seismic scenarios including seismic-induced landslides as background information for the latest revision of the “Plan Especial de Protección Civil ante el Riesgo Sísmico en la Región de Murcia (SISMIMUR)”. We first made an adequate inventory and a map at 1:200,000 scale containing the points and areas more susceptible to this type of seismic-induced effects in the CARM which may affect urban areas, lifelines(roads and railways), tailing dams, waterways and bodies of water (reservoirs and lakes). For this analysis, only points defined as rockfalls s.l. have been selected, since they are the predominant type of landslide in the area and it is associated to the greatest effects regarding a potential seismic scenario. Although most of the infrastructures evaluated are far from the inventoried landslides, some areas with high susceptibility have been identified near major population centers, such as Lorca, Águilas, Caravaca de la Cruz, etc., and near of some growing urban fabric areas located along the Murcia province coast. According to this study, the most vulnerable section would be located in the RM-520 road between Archena and Abarán

Regional subsidence modelling in Murcia city (SE Spain) using 1-D vertical finite element analysis and 2-D interpolation of ground surface displacements

Subsidence is a hazard that may have natural or anthropogenic origin causing important economic losses. The area of Murcia city (SE Spain) has been affected by subsidence due to groundwater overexploitation since the year 1992. The main observed historical piezometric level declines occurred in the periods 1982–1984, 1992–1995 and 2004–2008 and showed a close correlation with the temporal evolution of ground displacements. Since 2008, the pressure recovery in the aquifer has led to an uplift of the ground surface that has been detected by the extensometers. In the present work an elastic hydro-mechanical finite element code has been used to compute the subsidence time series for 24 geotechnical boreholes, prescribing the measured groundwater table evolution. The achieved results have been compared with the displacements estimated through an advanced DInSAR technique and measured by the extensometers. These spatio-temporal comparisons have showed that, in spite of the limited geomechanical data available, the model has turned out to satisfactorily reproduce the subsidence phenomenon affecting Murcia City. The model will allow the prediction of future induced deformations and the consequences of any piezometric level variation in the study area.This work has been supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness and EU FEDER funds under projects ESP2013-47780-C2-2-R and TEC2011-28201-C02-02 and by the project 15224/PI/10 from the Regional Agency of Science and Technology in Murcia. The European Space Agency (ESA) Terrafirma project funded all the SAR data processing with the SPN technique

OGC SWE-based Data Acquisition System Development for EGIM on EMSODEV EU Project

The EMSODEV[1] (European Multidisciplinary Seafloor and water column Observatory DEVelopment) is an EU project whose general objective is to set up the full implementation and operation of the EMSO distributed Research Infrastructure (RI), through the development, testing and deployment of an EMSO Generic Instrument Module (EGIM). This research infrastructure will provide accurate records on marine environmental changes from distributed local nodes around Europe. These observations are critical to respond accurately to the social and scientific challenges such as climate change, changes in marine ecosystems, and marine hazards. In this paper we present the design and development of the EGIM data acquisition system. EGIM is able to operate on any EMSO node, mooring line, sea bed station, cabled or non-cabled and surface buoy. In fact a central function of EGIM within the EMSO infrastructure is to have a number of ocean locations where the same set of core variables are measured homogeneously: using the same hardware, same sensor references, same qualification methods, same calibration methods, same data format and access, and same maintenance procedures.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Data acquisition system development for EGIM on EMSODEV EU Project

The EMSODEV1 (European Multidisciplinary Seafloor and water-- column Observatory DEVelopment) is a UE project whose general objective is to set up the full implementation and operation of the EMSO distributed Research Infrastructure (RI), through the development, testing and deployment of an EMSO Generic Instrument Module (EGIM). The EGIM module will measure various ocean parameters in a long-term consistent, accurate and comparable manner. These measurements are critical to respond accurately to the social and scientific challenges such as climate change, changes in marine ecosystems, and marine hazards. Here we present the current status of the EGIM data acquisition system development.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Diseño de una máquina de rotomoldeo basada en el principio de giróscopo

En este artículo, se presenta el diseño de una máquina tipo giróscopo de dos ejes utilizada en el rotomoldeo para la fabricación de piezas ornamentales con mármol sintético. La característica principal del diseño es el movimiento independiente de cada uno de los ejes de rotación, que es suministrado por motores independientes. Las velocidades de rotación sugeridas para cada uno de los ejes se establecieron a partir de experimentos, documentados en publicaciones previas. Se usaron las ecuaciones dinámicas para establecer las expresiones del torque en cada eje, de acuerdo con la masa y forma (inercia) de los elementos rotatorios. El establecimiento del algoritmo y su respectiva programación en Matlab fueron posibles gracias a un diseño conceptual y detallado, sumado a las ecuaciones dinámicas que rigen el movimiento. El programa Matlab calcula factores de seguridad de componentes disponibles en el mercado local y arroja el dimensionamiento inicial, que sirve para crear un modelo CAD mediante la herramienta paramétrica DriveWorkXpress de SolidWorks. Este modelo es posteriormente usado para simulaciones de elemento finito y para generar planos de fabricación. El procedimiento se ilustró para el caso de un ornamento de tamaño 0.9x0.9x0.6m.The design of a gyroscope-based machine for imitation marble rotomolding is presented. The main feature of the proposed model is the capability of independent rotational motion for each axis. The rotational speeds were set from documented experimental reports. Dynamic equations were used to establish the torque expressions according to the mass and shape (inertia) on the rotatory elements. A Matlab program was created to evaluate the safety factors of the main components that are commercially available in the local market. Parametric design capability of DriveWorkXpress was used to create a CAD model in SolidWorks to perform finite element analysis to verify results and generate the machine blueprints. The proposed methodology was illustrated with an ornamental imitation marble piece of 0.9x0.9x0.6m dimensions

Carbon–GO Composites with Preferential Water versus Ethanol Uptake

The elimination of small amounts of water from alcohols is by no means a trivial issue in many practical applications like, for instance, the dehumidification of biocombustibles. The use of carbonaceous materials as sorbents has been far less explored than that of other materials because their hydrophobic character has typically limited their water uptake. Herein, we designed a synthetic process based on the use of eutectic mixtures that allowed the homogeneous dispersion of graphene oxide (GO) in the liquid containing the carbon precursor, e.g., furfuryl alcohol. Thus, after polymerization and a subsequent carbonization process, we were able to obtain porous carbon–GO composites where the combination of pore diameter and surface hydrophilicity provided a remarkable capacity for water uptake but extremely low methanol and ethanol uptake along the entire range of relative pressures evaluated in this work. Both the neat water uptake and the uptake difference between water and either methanol or ethanol of our carbon–GO composites were similar or eventually better than the uptake previously reported for other materials, also exhibiting preferential water-to-alcohol adsorption, e.g., porous coordination polymers, metal–organic frameworks, polyoxometalates, and covalent two-dimensional nanosheets embedded in a polymer matrix. Moreover, water versus alcohol uptake was particularly remarkable at low partial pressures in our carbon–GO composites.This work was supported by MINECO/FEDER (Project Numbers MAT2015-68639-R, MAT2016-80285-P, and RTI2018-097728-B-I00). L.Z.G. acknowledges the Chinese Scholarship Council for a PhD research fellowship (CSC No. 201608330266). C.C.-C. acknowledges UA for a research contract

The module for ocean observatory data analysis of EMSO

The European Multidisciplinary Seafloor and water-column Observatory (EMSO) is a large-scale, distributed, Marine Research Infrastructure (RI). EMSO consists of ocean observation systems for long-term, high-resolution, (near) real-time monitoring of environmental processes including natural hazards, climate change, and marine ecosystems. EMSO observatory nodes are at key sites around Europe, from the Arctic to the Atlantic, through the Mediterranean, to the Black Sea. To analyse the EMSO data, we develop the Module for Ocean Observatory Data Analysis (MOODA). MOODA is a software with a Graphical User Interface (GUI) developed for scientists. The software helps to facilitate data access (mainly off-line) for further analysis by the scientific community. Some of the features the MOODA offers are: (1) Direct data access with complex query capabilities; (2) Data filtering methods based on metadata information; (3) Complex visualization tools; (4) Summary reports of the validated data generated from a specific query, including event annotations; (5) Specific data analysis tools for different scientific disciplines; (6) The system will be designed to be open, adaptable and scalable allowing future contributions from researchers and developers from all the disciplines associated to the EMSO observatories. The code is written in Python, and it is available on GitHub. MOODA aims to make informative plots as a central part of exploring and understanding data.Postprint (published version