Valorisation of Agricultural Residues

[EN] The aim of the present PhD Thesis is to define, develop and evaluate a methodology for an improved and more sustainable management of waste, in particular agricultural residues, turning them into a new source of energy and into added value products. Particular attention is paid to the use of rice straw as an energy vector and as a precursor of silica-based compounds. The recovery of energy was carried through the gasification of biomass within a Spouted Bed Reactor. An initial definition of the main physico-chemical and thermal properties of the feed was performed. The design and operational parameters of the reactor were set according to the characteristics of the biomass. Due to the particular configuration of the reactor, its fluid dynamic properties were analysed in detail in a lab scale unit. The conditions of stability of the reactor and the prevention of segregation phenomena were studied. A scaled-up unit was used for the evaluation of the reactions of gasification of the different residues. The behaviour of the system was modelled at both fluid dynamic and thermo-chemical levels with the aid of different commercial softwares. Finally, a material valorisation was performed. The extraction of silica from the ashes resulting from the thermo-chemical process was studied. Their application as adsorbent materials for the removal of nitrates in water was discussed.[ES] El objetivo de la presente tesis doctoral es definir, desarrollar y evaluar una metodología eficiente de gestión de residuos, en particular agrícolas, para convertirlos en una nueva fuente de energía y en productos de valor añadido. Se estudia con especial atención el uso de la paja de arroz como vector energético y como precursor de productos basados en sílice. Las reacciones de recuperación energética se han llevado a cabo a través de la gasificación de la biomasa en reactores de tipo Spouted Bed. Para ello, se han definido las propiedades físico-químicas y de comportamiento térmico de los residuos estudiados. Los parámetros de diseño y operación del reactor han sido definidos de acuerdo a las características del material tratado. Debido a la particular configuración del reactor, las propiedades fluido- dinámicas del sistema se han analizado en detalle en una unidad a escala de laboratorio. En ella se han estudiado las condiciones de estabilidad del reactor y aquellas que previenen los procesos de segregación. Se ha utilizado una unidad escalada a dimensiones de planta piloto para llevar a cabo las pruebas de gasificacion de los residuos. El comportamiento del reactor se ha modelado tanto a nivel fluido dinámico como a nivel térmico mediante el uso de diversos códigos comerciales de simulación. Finalmente, se ha realizado una valorización material basada en la extracción de sílice de las cenizas resultantes del proceso de valorización térmica. Por último, se han realizado pruebas preliminares de la posible aplicación de dicha sílice en procesos de adsorción de nitratos presentes en agua.[CA] L'objectiu de la present tesi doctoral és definir, desenvolupar i evaluar una metodologia eficient de gestió de residus, en particular agrícoles, per convertir-los en una nova font d'energia i en productes de valor afegit. S'estudia amb especial atenció l'ús de la palla d'arròs com a vector energètic i com a precursor de productes basats en sílice. Les reaccions de recuperació energètica s'han dut a terme a través de la gasificació de la biomassa en uns reactors de tipus Spouted Bed . Per això, s'han definit les propietats físico-químiques i de comportament tèrmic dels residus estudiats. Els paràmetres de disseny i operació del reactor han estat definits d'acord a les característiques del material tractat. A causa de la particular configuració del reactor, les propietats fluid - dinàmiques del sistema s'han analitzat amb detall en una unitat a escala de laboratori. S'hi han estudiat les condicions d'estabilitat del reactor i aquelles que prevenen els processos de segregació. S'ha utilitzat una unitat escalada a dimensions de planta pilot per dur a terme les proves de gasificació dels residus. El comportament del reactor s'ha modelat tant a nivell fluid dinàmic com a nivell tèrmic mitjançant l'ús de diversos codis comercials de simulació. Finalment, s'ha realitzat una valorització material basada en l'extracció de sílice de les cendres resultants del procés de valorització tèrmica. Per ùltim, s'han realitzat proves preliminars de la possible aplicació d'aquesta sílice en processos d'adsorció de nitrats presents en aigua.Moliner Estopiñán, CE. (2016). Valorisation of Agricultural Residues [Tesis doctoral]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/68495Premios Extraordinarios de tesis doctorale

El paciente geriátrico y su relación con la farmacoterapia

En nuestro país los mayores de 65 años suponen un 17% de la población, porcentaje que va en aumento. Consecuencia de esto es la prevalencia de enfermedades crónicas que suponen un incremento del gasto sanitario y un desafío para el Sistema Nacional de Salud. En el presente trabajo se analizarán los principales cambios fisiológicos, farmacocinéticos y farmacodinámicos, de este colectivo, así como los principales problemas relacionados con los medicamentos (PRM), entre los que se incluyen las reacciones adversas e interacciones. Por último, se expondrán las principales herramientas que tenemos a nuestro alcance para atajar los problemas de prescripción inadecuada y omisión de fármacos. Se hace difícil abarcar este problema, debido a la heterogeneidad de este grupo y a la falta de inclusión en ensayos clínicos. Se ha demostrado que trabajar de manera coordinada para disminuir la aparición de estos problemas, que además supone una reducción considerable del gasto y, por lo tanto, un beneficio para la comunidad

Environmental Valorization of Rice Waste as Adsorbent Material for the Removal of Nitrates from Water

An innovative water-treatment process consisting in reducing the nitrate concentration by using an active silica filter obtained from ashes produced during rice-straw thermal treatment has been developed by the LIFE LIBERNITRATE project. A life-cycle assessment (LCA) was carried out to evaluate the environmental impacts of this innovative process, from the production of ashes and extraction and activation of silica to the water treatment. These results were compared to the environmental impact derived from the use of bottled water, instead of tap water, where traditional water treatments (i.e., reverse osmosis) may not be available due to the high installation and operating costs. The comparison showed that the proposed innovative process could contribute to reducing the environmental impact in almost all analyzed impact categories (from 20% for photochemical oxidation to 90% for abiotic depletion) with respect to the use of bottled water. In addition, if conveniently optimized (for example reducing the amount of active silica used per day), the innovative process could further reduce the ecological footprint and be more eco-friendly than the use of bottled water and could be applied to treating water in small towns where reverse osmosis may not be installed. The LCA proved that the innovative process could contribute to reducing the environmental impact of water-treatment technologies resulting in lower environmental indicators with respect to the use of bottled water

La videovigilancia en lugares públicos.

Treball Final de Grau en Criminologia i Seguretat. Codi: CS1044. Curs: 2014/2015El presente trabajo trata sobre la medida de seguridad utilizada por las Fuerzas y Cuerpos de Seguridad del Estado en los lugares públicos, la videovigilancia. Tras conocer el concepto y características de esta medida veremos su papel como elemento contra la delincuencia, en el que ahondaremos sobre su efectividad en cuanto a prevención y reducción de delitos. A continuación pasaremos a tratar los aspectos principales de la videovigilancia, principios de utilización, ámbito de aplicación, límites, efectos y garantías que presenta frente a los derechos fundamentales que se ven afectados por la misma, motivo del cual proviene la problemática del uso de las videocámaras. Por último, realizaremos un análisis sobre varias sentencias en las que concurren alegaciones sobre las videocámaras.This essay talks about the security measures used by security forces used in public places the camera surveillance. After studying the concept and its features, we will see its roles as element against the crimes, and we will focus on the effectiveness in preventing the crimes. Then we will talk about principal aspects of the surveillance, about their use, área of application, boundaries, effects, and guaranties which this has against the basic right which can be affected by the cameras. This is one of the problems which present to the cameras. Finally we will analyze different sentences which appear different allegations about the video cameras

Uses and perceptions of music in times of COVID-19: a spanish population survey

Since March 14, 2020, Spanish citizens have been confined to their homes due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Participating in musical activities has been associated with reduced anxiety and increased subjective wellbeing. The aim of this study is to analyze how Spanish citizens used music during the lockdown period. We also study perceptions of the impact music has in everyday life, in particular examining the respondents’ insights into the effects of listening to music in situations of isolation. The study was conducted using the MUSIVID19 questionnaire administered to a total of 1868 Spanish citizens. The results indicate that during lockdown, respondents perceived an increase in the time they devoted to musical activities such as listening, singing, dancing or playing an instrument. The participants also reported using music to cope with the lockdown, finding that it helped them to relax, escape, raise their mood or keep them company. The findings suggest an improvement in their perception of the value of music in personal and social wellbeing during the lockdown. However, the study reveals significant differences in the use and perceptions of music according to respondents’ personal situations. Age and feelings of vulnerability may lead to more conservative uses of musical practice and to more moderate perceptions of the positive values of music

Dealing with delays does not transfer across sensorimotor tasks.

It is known that people can learn to deal with delays between their actions and the consequences of such actions. We wondered whether they do so by adjusting their anticipations about the sensory consequences of their actions or whether they simply learn to move in certain ways when performing specific tasks. To find out, we examined details of how people learn to intercept a moving target with a cursor that follows the hand with a delay and examined the transfer of learning between this task and various other tasks that require temporal precision. Subjects readily learned to intercept the moving target with the delayed cursor. The compensation for the delay generalized across modifications of the task, so subjects did not simply learn to move in a certain way in specific circumstances. The compensation did not generalize to completely different timing tasks, so subjects did not generally expect the consequences of their motor commands to be delayed. We conclude that people specifically learn to control the delayed visual consequences of their actions to perform certain tasks

Análisis de coyuntura y predicción económica: El Sector de la Construcción en España.

El objetivo principal de este Trabajo Fin de Grado es el análisis del sector de la construcción en España haciendo una previsión para los ingresos de explotación de este sector hasta finales del año 2021. Primero haremos una pequeña descripción del sector de la construcción en sus líneas más generales, en segundo lugar, realizaremos un análisis individual de cada uno de nuestros indicadores, con el fin de poder estimar un modelo que nos permita predecir nuestra serie objetivo. Finalmente, presentaremos un resumen de los resultados que hemos obtenido y de cuáles serán sus perspectivas, teniendo en cuenta el shock económico que ha producido el COVID-19.<br /

Influence of Preparation Conditions on the Catalytic Performance of Mo/H-ZSM-5 for Methane Dehydroaromatization

[EN] Methane, the main component of natural gas, is an interesting source of chemicals and clean liquid fuels, and a promising alternative raw material to oil. Among the possible direct routes for methane conversion, its aromatization under non-oxidative conditions has received increasing attention, despite the low conversions obtained due to thermodynamic limitations, because of its high selectivity to benzene. Mo/H-ZSM-5, the first bifunctional zeolite-catalyst proposed for this reaction, is still considered as one of the most adequate and has been widely studied. Although the mono- or bifunctional nature of the MDA mechanism is still under debate, it is generally accepted that the Mo species activate the C-H bond in methane, producing the intermediates. These will aromatize on the Bronsted acid sites of the zeolite, whose pore dimensions will provide the shape selectivity needed for converting methane into benzene. An additional role of the zeolite's Bronsted acid sites is to promote the dispersion of the Mo oxide precursor. Here, we show the influence of the different preparation steps-metal incorporation, calcination and activation of the Mo/ZSM-5- on the metal dispersion and, therefore, on the activity and selectivity of the final catalyst. Metal dispersion is enhanced when the samples are calcined under dynamic conditions (DC) and activated in N-2, and the benefits are larger when the metal has been incorporated by solid state reaction (SSR), as observed by FESEM-BSE and H-2-TPR. This leads to catalysts with higher activity, increased aromatic selectivity and improved stability towards deactivation.This work has been supported by the Spanish Government-MICINN through "Severo Ochoa" (SEV-2016-0683, MINECO) and RTI2018-101033-B-I00 (MCIU/AEI/FEDER, UE), and by Generalitat Valenciana (AICO/2019/060). The authors thank B. Esparcia for technical assistance and the electron Microscopy Service of the UPV for their help in sample characterization.Portilla, MT.; Llopis, FJ.; Moliner Marin, M.; Martínez, C. (2021). Influence of Preparation Conditions on the Catalytic Performance of Mo/H-ZSM-5 for Methane Dehydroaromatization. Applied Sciences. 11(12):1-17. https://doi.org/10.3390/app11125465S117111

Looking away from a moving target does not disrupt the way in which the movement toward the target is guided

People usually follow a moving object with their gaze if they intend to interact with it. What would happen if they did not? We recorded eye and finger movements while participants moved a cursor toward a moving target. An unpredictable delay in updating the position of the cursor on the basis of that of the invisible finger made it essential to use visual information to guide the finger's ongoing movement. Decreasing the contrast between the cursor and the background from trial to trial made it difficult to see the cursor without looking at it. In separate experiments, either participants were free to hit the target anywhere along its trajectory or they had to move along a specified path. In the two experiments, participants tracked the cursor rather than the target with their gaze on 13% and 32% of the trials, respectively. They hit fewer targets when the contrast was low or a path was imposed. Not looking at the target did not disrupt the visual guidance that was required to deal with the delays that we imposed. Our results suggest that peripheral vision can be used to guide one item to another, irrespective of which item one is looking at

Supramolecular block copolymers incorporating chiral and achiral chromophores for the bottom-up assembly of nanomaterials

The coordination of the chiral metalloporphyrin ([5,10,15,20-[4-(R,R,R,R)-2-N-octadecylamidoethyloxiphenyl]porphyrin] zinc (II)) and an achiral homologue to an amphiphilic block copolymer of poly(styrene-b-4-vinyl pyridine) (PS-b-P4VP) have been studied in solution and as cast material. The resulting chiral dye-polymer hybrid material has been accomplished via axial coordination between the zinc (II) metal ion in the core of the porphyrin ring and the pyridyl units of the block-copolymer in a non-coordinative solvent. The supramolecular organization and possible chirality transfer to the hybrid material have been studied in solution by UV-visible absorption spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy, Nuclear Magnetic Resonance and Circular Dichroism. The morphology of the chiral and achiral doped polymers has been studied in solid state by Transmission Electron Microscopy and Atomic Force Microscopy. We show that the nanostructures formed depend greatly upon the nature of the side-chains on the porphyrins, where a chiral group leads to a very homogeneous phase-separated material, perhaps indicating that chiral side groups are useful for the preparation of this type of supramolecular hybridPostprint (author's final draft