Life cycle assessment of electricity generation from combustion and gasification of biomass in Mexico

One measure to mitigate some of the nowadays environmental problems is the generation of products from renewable resources. In this context, this study's objective is to evaluate the environmental impacts associated with the use of sugarcane and agave bagasse from Mexico as a raw material for the generation of bioenergy, applying a life cycle assessment approach. Four scenarios were compared to determine the optimal feedstock (sugarcane or agave) and processing routes (combustion or gasification) from an environmental perspective. Life cycle assessment is performed according to the cradle-to-gate approach. In the case of the two-feedstocks studied, it was observed that the feedstock processing stage has high impact values in almost all impact categories. In this sense, it was observed that the combustion scenarios have high impact values in terms of ozone depletion potential (4.73 × 10−6 and 7.59 × 10−7 kg CFC11 eq), terrestrial acidification potential (1.41 × 10−2 and 7.82 × 10−3 kg SO2 eq), and fossil fuel potential (9.30 × 10−2 and 0.12 kg oil eq) for sugar extraction and bacanora production, respectively). For the gasification scenarios, the highest impact values ​​were observed for the terrestrial acidification potential (1.27 × 10−2 kg SO2 eq) and fossil fuel potential (8.41 × 10−2 kg oil eq) for sugar production and the ozone depletion potential (6.85 × 10−7 kg CFC11 eq), human toxicity potential - non-cancer (2.05 × 10−2 kg1,4-DCB) and fossil fuel potential (0.11kg oil eq) for bacanora production. Furthermore, it was observed that the sugarcane cultivation stage generates between 2 and 6 times more impact than the agave cultivation stage for almost all impact categories. Regarding the stages related to thermochemical processes, the impact values were relatively low, except for the following categories global warming potential, photochemical oxidation formation potential - humans, photochemical oxidation formation potential - ecosystems, terrestrial acidification potential, and water consumption potential, between 21 % and 88 % for the combustion process and between 32 % and 63 % for the gasification process. The main results of the comparisons between the four scenarios showed that the best scenario from an environmental perspective is agave bagasse combustion, followed by agave bagasse gasification, sugarcane bagasse gasification, and sugarcane bagasse combustion.Una medida para mitigar algunos de los problemas ambientales actuales es la generación de productos a partir de recursos renovables. En este contexto, el objetivo de este estudio es evaluar los impactos ambientales asociados al uso del bagazo de caña de azúcar y agave de México como materia prima para la generación de bioenergía, aplicando un enfoque de evaluación del ciclo de vida. Se compararon cuatro escenarios para determinar la materia prima óptima (caña de azúcar o agave) y las rutas de procesamiento (combustión o gasificación) desde una perspectiva ambiental. La evaluación del ciclo de vida se realiza de acuerdo con el enfoque de la cuna a la puerta. En el caso de las dos materias primas estudiadas, se observó que la etapa de procesamiento de la materia prima tiene altos valores de impacto en casi todas las categorías de impacto. En este sentido,−6 y 7,59 × 10 −7 kg CFC11 eq), potencial de acidificación terrestre (1,41 × 10 −2 y 7,82 × 10 −3 kg SO 2 eq) y potencial de combustibles fósiles (9,30 × 10 −2 y 0,12 kg eq de petróleo) para la extracción de azúcar y la producción de bacanora, respectivamente). Para los escenarios de gasificación, los valores de impacto más altos se observaron para el potencial de acidificación terrestre (1,27 × 10 −2 kg SO 2 eq) y el potencial de combustibles fósiles (8,41 × 10 −2 kg eq de petróleo) para la producción de azúcar y el agotamiento de la capa de ozono. (6,85 × 10 −7 kg CFC11 eq), potencial de toxicidad humana - no cancerígeno (2,05 × 10 −2kg1,4-DCB) y potencial de combustible fósil (0.11kg eq de petróleo) para la producción de bacanora. Además, se observó que la etapa de cultivo de caña de azúcar genera entre 2 y 6 veces más impacto que la etapa de cultivo de agave para casi todas las categorías de impacto. En cuanto a las etapas relacionadas con los procesos termoquímicos, los valores de impacto fueron relativamente bajos, a excepción de las siguientes categorías potencial de calentamiento global, potencial de formación de oxidación fotoquímica - humanos, potencial de formación de oxidación fotoquímica - ecosistemas, potencial de acidificación terrestre y potencial de consumo de agua, entre 21 % y 88 % para el proceso de combustión y entre 32 % y 63 % para el proceso de gasificación. Los principales resultados de las comparaciones entre los cuatro escenarios mostraron que el mejor escenario desde una perspectiva ambiental es la combustión del bagazo de agave

Plasma lipid profiles discriminate bacterial from viral infection in febrile children

Fever is the most common reason that children present to Emergency Departments. Clinical signs and symptoms suggestive of bacterial infection are often non-specific, and there is no definitive test for the accurate diagnosis of infection. The 'omics' approaches to identifying biomarkers from the host-response to bacterial infection are promising. In this study, lipidomic analysis was carried out with plasma samples obtained from febrile children with confirmed bacterial infection (n = 20) and confirmed viral infection (n = 20). We show for the first time that bacterial and viral infection produces distinct profile in the host lipidome. Some species of glycerophosphoinositol, sphingomyelin, lysophosphatidylcholine and cholesterol sulfate were higher in the confirmed virus infected group, while some species of fatty acids, glycerophosphocholine, glycerophosphoserine, lactosylceramide and bilirubin were lower in the confirmed virus infected group when compared with confirmed bacterial infected group. A combination of three lipids achieved an area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve of 0.911 (95% CI 0.81 to 0.98). This pilot study demonstrates the potential of metabolic biomarkers to assist clinicians in distinguishing bacterial from viral infection in febrile children, to facilitate effective clinical management and to the limit inappropriate use of antibiotics

Relationship between molecular pathogen detection and clinical disease in febrile children across Europe: a multicentre, prospective observational study

BackgroundThe PERFORM study aimed to understand causes of febrile childhood illness by comparing molecular pathogen detection with current clinical practice.MethodsFebrile children and controls were recruited on presentation to hospital in 9 European countries 2016-2020. Each child was assigned a standardized diagnostic category based on retrospective review of local clinical and microbiological data. Subsequently, centralised molecular tests (CMTs) for 19 respiratory and 27 blood pathogens were performed.FindingsOf 4611 febrile children, 643 (14%) were classified as definite bacterial infection (DB), 491 (11%) as definite viral infection (DV), and 3477 (75%) had uncertain aetiology. 1061 controls without infection were recruited. CMTs detected blood bacteria more frequently in DB than DV cases for N. meningitidis (OR: 3.37, 95% CI: 1.92-5.99), S. pneumoniae (OR: 3.89, 95% CI: 2.07-7.59), Group A streptococcus (OR 2.73, 95% CI 1.13-6.09) and E. coli (OR 2.7, 95% CI 1.02-6.71). Respiratory viruses were more common in febrile children than controls, but only influenza A (OR 0.24, 95% CI 0.11-0.46), influenza B (OR 0.12, 95% CI 0.02-0.37) and RSV (OR 0.16, 95% CI: 0.06-0.36) were less common in DB than DV cases. Of 16 blood viruses, enterovirus (OR 0.43, 95% CI 0.23-0.72) and EBV (OR 0.71, 95% CI 0.56-0.90) were detected less often in DB than DV cases. Combined local diagnostics and CMTs respectively detected blood viruses and respiratory viruses in 360 (56%) and 161 (25%) of DB cases, and virus detection ruled-out bacterial infection poorly, with predictive values of 0.64 and 0.68 respectively.InterpretationMost febrile children cannot be conclusively defined as having bacterial or viral infection when molecular tests supplement conventional approaches. Viruses are detected in most patients with bacterial infections, and the clinical value of individual pathogen detection in determining treatment is low. New approaches are needed to help determine which febrile children require antibiotics.FundingEU Horizon 2020 grant 668303

Impact of infection on proteome-wide glycosylation revealed by distinct signatures for bacterial and viral pathogens

Mechanisms of infection and pathogenesis have predominantly been studied based on differential gene or protein expression. Less is known about posttranslational modifications, which are essential for protein functional diversity. We applied an innovative glycoproteomics method to study the systemic proteome-wide glycosylation in response to infection. The protein site-specific glycosylation was characterized in plasma derived from well-defined controls and patients. We found 3862 unique features, of which we identified 463 distinct intact glycopeptides, that could be mapped to more than 30 different proteins. Statistical analyses were used to derive a glycopeptide signature that enabled significant differentiation between patients with a bacterial or viral infection. Furthermore, supported by a machine learning algorithm, we demonstrated the ability to identify the causative pathogens based on the distinctive host blood plasma glycopeptide signatures. These results illustrate that glycoproteomics holds enormous potential as an innovative approach to improve the interpretation of relevant biological changes in response to infection

Plasma lipid profiles discriminate bacterial from viral infection in febrile children

Fever is the most common reason that children present to Emergency Departments. Clinical signs and symptoms suggestive of bacterial infection ar

Genomic investigations of unexplained acute hepatitis in children

Since its first identification in Scotland, over 1,000 cases of unexplained paediatric hepatitis in children have been reported worldwide, including 278 cases in the UK1. Here we report an investigation of 38 cases, 66 age-matched immunocompetent controls and 21 immunocompromised comparator participants, using a combination of genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic and immunohistochemical methods. We detected high levels of adeno-associated virus 2 (AAV2) DNA in the liver, blood, plasma or stool from 27 of 28 cases. We found low levels of adenovirus (HAdV) and human herpesvirus 6B (HHV-6B) in 23 of 31 and 16 of 23, respectively, of the cases tested. By contrast, AAV2 was infrequently detected and at low titre in the blood or the liver from control children with HAdV, even when profoundly immunosuppressed. AAV2, HAdV and HHV-6 phylogeny excluded the emergence of novel strains in cases. Histological analyses of explanted livers showed enrichment for T cells and B lineage cells. Proteomic comparison of liver tissue from cases and healthy controls identified increased expression of HLA class 2, immunoglobulin variable regions and complement proteins. HAdV and AAV2 proteins were not detected in the livers. Instead, we identified AAV2 DNA complexes reflecting both HAdV-mediated and HHV-6B-mediated replication. We hypothesize that high levels of abnormal AAV2 replication products aided by HAdV and, in severe cases, HHV-6B may have triggered immune-mediated hepatic disease in genetically and immunologically predisposed children

Análisis técnico y ambiental de la producción de energía a partir de biomasa residual utilizando hidrógeno como vector energético

15 páginasDecarbonization of energy by using renewable sources is a global need to tackle climate change. Herein, we report on the techno-environmental analysis of the use of sugarcane press-mud, a residual biomass, as feedstock to produce power in a fuel cell by using hydrogen (H2) as energy vector. Technical analysis was performed by using experimental and Aspen plus simulation results whereas environmental analysis was assessed through life cycle assessment. Raw bioethanol was used as H2 source, which was purified by three different technologies, i.e., flash, mash, and rectification columns. Mash column was selected as the suitable process to purify bioethanol for producing H2 and power, mainly ascribed to the reduction of bioethanol impurities that increases H2 yield, reduces energy demand, and mitigates the environmental impact in terms of global warming potential and acidification potential. This technology presented an energy efficiency of 56 %, a renewability factor of 1.24 and a carbon footprint of 1.21 kg CO2 kWh−1. Additionally, the use of residual biomass showed environmental benefits in comparison with the use of first-generation bioethanol from sugarcane molasses. Therefore, using sugarcane press-mud as power source in rural areas can diversify the energy sources to move towards a decarbonized economy.La descarbonización de la energía mediante el uso de fuentes renovables es una necesidad mundial para hacer frente al cambio climático. En este documento, informamos sobre el análisis tecnoambiental del uso de lodo de prensa de caña de azúcar, una biomasa residual, como materia prima para producir energía en una celda de combustible utilizando hidrógeno (H2) como vector de energía. El análisis técnico se realizó mediante el uso de resultados experimentales y de simulación de Aspen plus, mientras que el análisis ambiental se evaluó mediante la evaluación del ciclo de vida. Se usó bioetanol crudo como fuente de H2, que se purificó mediante tres tecnologías diferentes, es decir, columnas flash, macerado y de rectificación. La columna de puré fue seleccionada como el proceso adecuado para purificar bioetanol para producir H2 y energía, principalmente atribuido a la reducción de impurezas de bioetanol que aumenta el rendimiento de H2, reduce la demanda de energía y mitiga el impacto ambiental en términos de potencial de calentamiento global y potencial de acidificación. Esta tecnología presentó una eficiencia energética del 56 %, un factor de renovabilidad de 1,24 y una huella de carbono de 1,21 kg CO2 kWh−1. Además, el uso de biomasa residual mostró beneficios ambientales en comparación con el uso de bioetanol de primera generación a partir de melaza de caña de azúcar. Por lo tanto, el uso de lodo prensado de caña de azúcar como fuente de energía en áreas rurales puede diversificar las fuentes de energía para avanzar hacia una economía descarbonizada

Life cycle inventory data for power production from sugarcane press-mud

This data article is associated with the research article “Technical and environmental analysis on the power production from residual biomass using hydrogen as energy vector”. This paper shows the procedure to calculate the Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) of the foreground system to perform the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of the power production from sugarcane press-mud. Said process encompasses four main stages: i) bioethanol production; ii) bioethanol purification; iii) syngas production and purification; and iv) power production. Additionally, other processes such as biomethane production and manufacturing of catalyst were included. Foreground data related to bioethanol production was gathered from experimental procedures at lab-scale. While foreground data, concerning the other processes such as bioethanol purification, syngas production and purification, power production, and biomethane production, was built by using material and energy flows obtained from Aspen Plus®. Lastly, LCI of the catalyst manufacturing was built based on literature review and the approach stated by Ecoinvent. All the inventories are meaningful to carry out future environmental assessments involving sustainable energy systems based on bioethanol, biomethane, or hydrogen

Stakeholder Participation in the Planning and Design of Nature-Based Solutions. Insights from CLEVER Cities Project in Hamburg

Cities are essential players in responding to the present complex environmental and social challenges, such as climate change. The nature-based solution (NbS) concept is identified in the scientific discourse and further recognized by the European Commission as a part of the solution to address such challenges. Deploying NbS in urban contexts requires the cooperation of different public and private stakeholders to manage those processes. In this paper, the experiences of establishing and managing NbS-related processes following a co-creation approach in the city of Hamburg within the framework of an EU-funded research project (CLEVER Cities) are described and analyzed. The paper identifies and discusses the main emerging factors and challenges from (1) a procedural and methodological perspective and (2) concerning the different roles of the diverse stakeholders involved. This discussion is grounded in the context of existing regulations and novel concepts for citizens’ participation in urban decision-making processes. As research results, the article defines the leading players involved in the process and their roles and interrelationships, along with recommendations for future policy agendas in cities when dealing with NbS planning

Stakeholder Participation in the Planning and Design of Nature-Based Solutions. Insights from CLEVER Cities Project in Hamburg

Cities are essential players in responding to the present complex environmental and social challenges, such as climate change. The nature-based solution (NbS) concept is identified in the scientific discourse and further recognized by the European Commission as a part of the solution to address such challenges. Deploying NbS in urban contexts requires the cooperation of different public and private stakeholders to manage those processes. In this paper, the experiences of establishing and managing NbS-related processes following a co-creation approach in the city of Hamburg within the framework of an EU-funded research project (CLEVER Cities) are described and analyzed. The paper identifies and discusses the main emerging factors and challenges from (1) a procedural and methodological perspective and (2) concerning the different roles of the diverse stakeholders involved. This discussion is grounded in the context of existing regulations and novel concepts for citizens’ participation in urban decision-making processes. As research results, the article defines the leading players involved in the process and their roles and interrelationships, along with recommendations for future policy agendas in cities when dealing with NbS planning