Is the Elephant Stepping on its Trunk? The Problem of India's Unbalanced Growth

It is often assumed that recent success in the high-technology software industry will lead India's development. However, evidence suggest that basic manufacturing industry is stagnant. This paper proposes a mechanism that ties these two trends together. A big-push type of model, featuring linkages between firms, demand spill-over, and technology choice is elaborated. By imposing different cost structures on the manufacturing and high-technology industries the model describes outcome in terms of distribution between sectors. It is found that a policy which promotes a high-technology sector can have negative effects on the manufacturing industry as well as aggregate income. Directing resources towards infrastructure, on the other hand, benefits all sectors and increases aggregate income. The results from the model are found to correspond with the recent development pattern in India.Industrialization; India; Industrial Structure

Future climate impacts of sodium-ion batteries

Sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) have emerged as an alternative to lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) due to their promising performance in terms of battery cycle lifetime, safety, operating in wider temperature range, as well as the abundant and low-cost of sodium resources. This study evaluated the climate impacts of three SIBs, and compared to two LIBs under four scenarios with considering potential changes in battery performance and background productions between 2020 and 2050. To ensure a fair comparison, all batteries were modeled in the 21,700 form, and a battery dimensioning model was developed to calculate the required amount of components for each battery. We found that equal to lower GHG emissions result from the use of SIBs compared to LIBs under optimal performance scenarios. From 2020 to 2050, the climate impacts of SIBs decreased by 43-57 %. The relative contribution of the battery manufacturing process decreases from 18-32 % to 2-4 % due to the increasingly share of clean energy in the electricity grid, while the relative contribution of key battery component materials increases over time, especially for cathode active materials. These results emphasize the significance of decarbonizing the electric grid, and suggest that future investment in SIBs is promising from an environmental point of view

Climate impact and energy efficiency from electricity generation through anaerobic digestion or direct combustion of short rotation coppice willow

Short rotation coppice willow is an energy crop used in Sweden to produce electricity and heat in combined heat and power plants. Recent laboratory-scale experiments have shown that SRC willow can also be used for biogas production in anaerobic digestion processes. Here, life cycle assessment is used to compare the climate impact and energy efficiency of electricity and heat generated by these measures. All energy inputs and greenhouse gas emissions, including soil organic carbon fluxes were included in the life cycle assessment. The climate impact was determined using time-dependent life cycle assessment methodology. Both systems showed a positive net energy balance, but the direct combustion system delivered ninefold more energy than the biogas system. Both systems had a cooling effect on the global mean surface temperature change. The cooling impact per hectare from the biogas system was ninefold higher due to the carbon returned to soil with the digestate. Compensating the lower energy production of the biogas system with external energy sources had a large impact on the result, effectively determining whether the biogas scenario had a net warming or cooling contribution to the global mean temperature change per kWh of electricity. In all cases, the contribution to global warming was lowered by the inclusion of willow in the energy system. The use of time-dependent climate impact methodology shows that extended use of short rotation coppice willow can contribute to counteract global warming

Life cycle assessment of an all-organic battery: Hotspots and opportunities for improvement

Organic batteries are emerging as a potential sustainable power source for future flexible devices. Using life cycle assessment, this study analyzed the environmental impacts from the synthesis process for an all-organic battery with conducting redox polymers as active materials for electrodes. Synthesis steps were modeled and analyzed in detail, based on actual laboratory processes data for electrodes, and industrial data for other battery components. Complete and transparent inventory data are presented and can be used in future environmental assessments. The organic battery studied is still at an early development stage, so environmental hotspots and potential improvements in the synthesis processes were examined. For selected environmental impact categories, the life cycle assessment results showed that synthesis of cathode backbone was the major contributor (47-63%) to the environmental impacts of the all-organic battery cell among different synthesis stages, because of a long synthesis route associated with high solvent usage. Solvents (e.g., dichloromethane), catalysts (e.g., copper oxide, Pd (PPh3)4), zinc, and waste treatment processes were important single contributors to the total impacts. The results reveal significant potential for improvement by optimizing the amount of solvents needed to synthesize battery electrodes. Changing treatment methods for laboratory waste solvents can also strongly influence the results

Teachers’ judgement, learning materials and curriculum: Navigating in a changing educational landscape

Teachers’ choices of learning materials are made under conditions of a changing educational landscape. This small-scale qualitative study investigates how teachers reflect on their choice and use of learning materials in light of changes in the curriculum in Norway and the development of digital and analogue learning materials. It is based on focus group interviews with two groups of experienced teachers. The focus is on the subjects L1 (Norwegian), English and social studies. Our hypothesis is that there is often a tension between the teachers’ professional judgement, the demands of the curriculum, and the available learning materials. The analysis of the interviews shows that the changes in the Norwegian curriculum pose challenges for the teachers, but also that the interviewed teachers are ready for these challenges. With the development of digital learning materials, the teachers do not see the analogue textbook as obsolete, but they have an intention to be able to combine analogue and digital learning materials. The study shows the need for supporting the teachers’ professional judgement in light of the changes in the curriculum and the development of learning materials, both digital and analogue

Energy performance of compressed biomethane gas production from co-digestion of Salix and dairy manure: factoring differences between Salix varieties

Biogas from anaerobic digestion is a versatile energy carrier that can be upgraded to compressed biomethane gas (CBG) as a renewable and sustainable alternative to natural gas. Organic residues and energy crops are predicted to be major sources of bioenergy production in the future. Pre-treatment can reduce the recalcitrance of lignocellulosic energy crops such as Salix to anaerobic digestion, making it a potential biogas feedstock. This lignocellulosic material can be co-digested with animal manure, which has the complementary effect of increasing volumetric biogas yield. Salix varieties exhibit variations in yield, composition and biomethane potential values, which can have a significant effect on the overall biogas production system. This study assessed the impact of Salix varietal differences on the overall mass and energy balance of a co-digestion system using steam pre-treated Salix biomass and dairy manure (DaM) to produce CBG as the final product. Six commercial Salix varieties cultivated under unfertilised and fertilised conditions were compared. Energy and mass flows along this total process chain, comprising Salix cultivation, steam pre-treatment, biogas production and biogas upgrading to CBG, were evaluated. Two scenarios were considered: a base scenario without heat recovery and a scenario with heat recovery. The results showed that Salix variety had a significant effect on energy output-input ratio (R), with R values in the base scenario of 1.57-1.88 and in the heat recovery scenario of 2.36-2.94. In both scenarios, unfertilised var. Tordis was the best energy performer, while the fertilised var. Jorr was the worst. Based on this energy performance, Salix could be a feasible feedstock for co-digestion with DaM, although its R value was at the lower end of the range reported previously for energy crops

Prospective life cycle assessment of a flexible all-organic battery

Strong interest from researchers and industry is accelerating development of flexible energy storage technologies for future flexible devices. It is critical to consider the environmental perspective in early development of new emerging technologies. In this study, cradle-to-factory gate prospective life cycle assessment (LCA) was performed on production of an all-organic battery with conductive redox polymers as electrode material. To gain a better understanding of the environmental performance of the all-organic battery, a flexible lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery with lithium titanate oxide and lithium cobalt oxide as electrode active materials was modeled as reference. Main environmental impacts of the all-organic battery were attributable to anode and cathode production, with electrode backbones being the main contributors. Solvents, catalysts, waste treatment, energy, and bromine were key individual contributors. Comparison with the flexible Li-ion battery indicated inferior environmental performance of the all-organic battery due to its relatively low specific energy (Wh/kg) and large amount of materials needed for production of its electrode backbones. Sensitivity analysis showed that changing scaling-up parameters and the production route of 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene (a precursor of electrode backbones) strongly influenced the results. In order to lower the environmental impacts of the all-organic battery, future research should focus on designing a short production chain with lower material inputs of electrode backbones, increasing battery cycle life, and improving the specific energy of the battery. In addition, relevant recommendations were provided for prospective LCAs of upscaled systems

Aglycone specificity of Thermotoga neapolitana β-glucosidase 1A modified by mutagenesis, leading to increased catalytic efficiency in quercetin-3-glucoside hydrolysis

Background: The thermostable beta-glucosidase (TnBgl1A) from Thermotoga neapolitana is a promising biocatalyst for hydrolysis of glucosylated flavonoids and can be coupled to extraction methods using pressurized hot water. Hydrolysis has however been shown to be dependent on the position of the glucosylation on the flavonoid, and e. g. quercetin-3-glucoside (Q3) was hydrolysed slowly. A set of mutants of TnBgl1A were thus created to analyse the influence on the kinetic parameters using the model substrate para-nitrophenyl-beta-D-glucopyranoside (pNPGlc), and screened for hydrolysis of Q3. Results: Structural analysis pinpointed an area in the active site pocket with non-conserved residues between specificity groups in glycoside hydrolase family 1 (GH1). Three residues in this area located on beta-strand 5 (F219, N221, and G222) close to sugar binding sub-site +2 were selected for mutagenesis and amplified in a protocol that introduced a few spontaneous mutations. Eight mutants (four triple: F219L/P165L/M278I, N221S/P165L/M278I, G222Q/P165L/M278I, G222Q/V203M/K214R, two double: F219L/K214R, N221S/P342L and two single: G222M and N221S) were produced in E. coli, and purified to apparent homogeneity. Thermostability, measured as T-m by differential scanning calorimetry (101.9 degrees C for wt), was kept in the mutated variants and significant decrease (Delta T of 5 -10 degrees C) was only observed for the triple mutants. The exchanged residue(s) in the respective mutant resulted in variations in K-M and turnover. The K-M-value was only changed in variants mutated at position 221 (N221S) and was in all cases monitored as a 2-3 x increase for pNPGlc, while the K-M decreased a corresponding extent for Q3. Turnover was only significantly changed using pNPGlc, and was decreased 2-3 x in variants mutated at position 222, while the single, double and triple mutated variants carrying a mutation at position 221 (N221S) increased turnover up to 3.5 x compared to the wild type. Modelling showed that the mutation at position 221, may alter the position of N291 resulting in increased hydrogen bonding of Q3 (at a position corresponding to the +1 subsite) which may explain the decrease in K-M for this substrate. Conclusion: These results show that residues at the +2 subsite are interesting targets for mutagenesis and mutations at these positions can directly or indirectly affect both K-M and turnover. An affinity change, leading to a decreased K-M, can be explained by an altered position of N291, while the changes in turnover are more difficult to explain and may be the result of smaller conformational changes in the active site

An evaluation of nest predator impacts and the efficacy of plastic meshing on marine turtle nests on the western Cape York Peninsula, Australia

Nest predation is considered to be one of the most significant biotic threats to marine turtle populations globally. The introduction of feral predators to nesting beaches has dramatically increased nest predation, reaching near total egg loss in some regions. We monitored a 48 km stretch of beach along western Cape York Peninsula, Australia, from June – November 2018. We recorded a total of 360 nests comprising 117 flatback and 243 olive ridley nests. We installed plastic meshing (90 cm × 100 cm) on 110 olive ridley nests (45.2% of total olive ridley clutches laid) within the study area. We classified all nest predation attempts into three categories: complete, partial, or failed predation events. In total, 109 (30.2%) of all marine turtle nests were depredated by a variety of predators, including feral pigs, dingoes, goannas, and humans. The addition of plastic meshing reduced the likelihood of dingoes gaining access to eggs, but not goannas or feral pigs. Further, we found no difference in the proportion of hatchling emergence between meshed and un-meshed nests. Additionally, while hatchling emergence was reduced in nests that had been partially depredated, these nests still produced live hatchlings and contributed to recruitment. The success of particular predator control methods is often predator, and/or regionally, specific. Our findings highlight a thorough understanding of predator guilds and their relative impacts is required to deploy targeted and predator-specific strategies to maximize conservation results. We present a strong case for data-driven adaptive management that has implications for designing optimal predator management plans