Evaluation of Net Energy Obtainable from Combustion of Stabilised Olive Mill By-Products

This work is aimed at calculating the energy content of the residues from olive oil production. Olive pulp, olive husk and sludge (a mixture of olive pulp and husk) have been analyzed separately. Olive Mill Effluents (OME) are normally a problem for olive mill farms, yet they may be used as feedstock for biomass-fuelled power plants. Nonetheless, OMEs are characterized by a relatively high humidity content and are produced only during the olive season. Thus, OME need a stabilization process to be employed as a solid biofuel throughout the year. The analyses conducted attempt an evaluation of the energy consumption of a three-stage stabilization process: drying, milling and pelletising. The net electrical energy available from OME is then calculated as a difference between gross energy available and energy consumed for stabilization. The gross available electrical energy was calculated based on direct energy conversion of the stabilized feedstock on a small scale direct combustion and Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) turbine. Results show that OME are suitable for energy production. Approximately 4500 kJ/kg of net electrical energy may be obtained out of olive sludge or olive pulp, while olive husk shows a potential gross energy of 3400 kJ/kg

Does fake news affect voting behaviour?

We study the impact of fake news on votes for populist parties in the Italian elections of 2018. Our empirical strategy exploits the presence of Italian- and German-speaking voters in the Italian region of Trentino Alto-Adige/Südtirol as an exogenous source of assignment to fake news exposure. Using municipal data, we compare the effect of exposure to fake news on the vote for populist parties in the 2013 and 2018 elections. To do so, we introduce a novel indicator of populism using text mining on the Facebook posts of Italian parties before the elections. We find that exposure to fake news is positively correlated with vote for populist parties, but that less than half of this correlation is causal. Our findings support the view that exposure to fake news (i) favours populist parties, but also that (ii) it is positively correlated with prior support for populist parties, suggesting a self-selection mechanism

A particle classification system for the PAMELA calorimeter

Abstract In this paper we propose a particle classification system for the imaging calorimeter of the PAMELA satellite-borne experiment. The system consist of three main processing phases. First, a segmentation of the whole signal detected by the calorimeter is performed to select a Region of Interest (RoI); this step allows to retain bounded and space invariant portions of data for the following analysis. In the next step, the RoIs are characterized by means of nine discriminating variables, which measure event properties useful for the classification. The third phase (the classification step) relies on two different supervised algorithms, Artificial Neural Networks and Support Vector Machines. The system was tested with a large simulated data set, composed by 40 GeV/c momentum electrons and protons. Moreover, in order to study the classification power of the calorimeter for experimental data, we have also used biased simulated data. A proton contamination in the range 10 −4 –10 −5 at an electron efficiency greater than 95% was obtained. The results are adequate for the PAMELA imaging calorimeter and show that the approach to the classification based on soft computing techniques is complementary to the traditional analysis performed using optimized cascade cuts on different variables

Use of Medicinal Cannabis and Synthetic Cannabinoids in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): a systematic review

Background and Objectives: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a common psychiatric disorder resulting from a traumatic event, is manifested through hyperarousal, anxiety, depressive symptoms, and sleep disturbances. Despite several therapeutic approaches being available, both pharmacological and psychological, recently a growing interest has developed in using cannabis and synthetic cannabinoids stems from their consideration as more efficient and better tolerated alternatives for the treatment of this condition. The present paper aims to evaluate the clinical and therapeutic potentials of medical cannabis and synthetic cannabinoids in treating PTSD patients. Methods: A systematic electronic search was performed, including all papers published up to May 2019, using the following keywords (((cannabis[Title/Abstract]) OR (synthetic cannabinoids [Title/Abstract])) AND ((PTSD[Title/Abstract]) OR (Posttraumatic stress disorder[Title/Abstract]))) for the topics ‘Cannabis’, ‘Synthetic Cannabinoids’, ‘PTSD’, and MESH terms, on the PubMed, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science online databases. For data gathering purposes, PRISMA guidelines were followed. Results were organized into two groups, considering cannabis and synthetic cannabinoids as different therapeutic approaches for PTSD. Results: Present data show that cannabis and synthetic cannabinoids, both acting on the endocannabinoids system, may have a potential therapeutic use for improving PTSD symptoms, e.g., reducing anxiety, modulating memory-related processes, and improving sleep. Conclusions: Even though the current literature suggests that cannabis and synthetic cannabinoids may have a role in the treatment of PTSD, there is currently limited evidence regarding their safety and efficacy. Therefore, additional research is needed in order to better understand the effectiveness and therapeutic usage of these drug classes and monitor their safety.Peer reviewe

Characterization of fluidized bed pyrolysis of sewage sludge by time-resolved pressure measurements

The management of sewage sludge in an economically and environmentally acceptable manner is one of the critical issues facing society today. Due to industrialization and urbanisation, production of wastewater sludge has dramatically increased in the last years and this is expected to continue in the future. The environmental legislation is becoming more and more restrictive as regards landfilling of this biodegradable waste and the use of sewage sludge in agriculture is often hindered due to the possible presence of heavy metals and pathogens. The disposal of wastewater sewage sludge by means of thermochemical conversion appears to be a potentially useful strategy to avoid landfill disposal and, at the same time, to exploit sludge as a source of energy and valuable chemicals. Fluidization technology applied to thermochemical processes, like combustion, gasification and pyrolysis, is an attractive option, due to its favorable characteristics: inherent operational flexibility, high efficiency, low pollutant emissions, ability to effectively accomplish destruction of micro-pollutants and pathogens (Werther and Ogada, 1999). Devolatilization of sewage sludge granules during thermochemical processing in fluidized beds plays a crucial role in the design and performance of fluidized bed converters. Uneven axial and radial distribution of volatile matter in the fluidized-bed combustor/gasifier is commonly experienced in industrial units and is determined by in-bed emission of volatile matter which is responsible for the enhancement of axial fuel particle segregation. On the other hand, the competition between fuel devolatilization and radial solids mixing crucially affects the radial distribution of volatile matter across the reactor and emphasizes the relevance of the devolatilization kinetics to volatile matter segregation. Short devolatilization times promote the release of volatile matter above the bed and close to the fuel feeding points. Please click Additional Files below to see the full abstract

SHEAR-INDUCED NUCLEATION AND GROWTH IN ISOTACTIC POLYPROPYLENE

The possibility of controlling the final morphology, and thus the resulting mechanical and functional properties, of semicrystalline polymers based on the study of polymer crystallization stimulated by flow is highly intriguing. Recent advances in experimental techniques that allow in situ measurements of material morphology under deformation have escalated research in this subject area. However, despite of the huge efforts spent, the description of the evolution of morphology under shear conditions is still challenging and even the basic principles of the phenomenon are not well understood yet. In this work, experiments of nucleation density and growth rate of spherulites were carried out under continuous shear in a range of temperature (138-144 degrees C) and shear rate (0-0.30 s(-1)) which, although narrow in absolute, can be considered quite wide taking into account the experimental difficulties presented by this kind of tests. Collected data were analyzed with the aim of determining scaling rules which can describe the effect of flow on crystallization kinetics. It was found that a proportionality exists between nucleation rate and spherulitic growth rate under flow, suggesting that whatever the controlling mechanism for the enhancement of nucleation rate is, it has a similar effect also on growth rate. The effect of flow on nucleation and growth rates was attributed to the increase of the melting temperature due to flow. In turn, the melting temperature estimated for the tests conducted in the whole range of temperatures and shear rates was found to be dependent on the Weissenberg number

Energy Saving in Water Distribution Network through Pump as Turbine Generators: Economic and Environmental Analysis

Complex systems of water distribution networks (WDS) are used to supply water to users. WDSs are systems where a lot of distributed energy is available. Historically, this energy is artificially dissipated by pressure reduction valves (PRVs), thanks to which water utilities manage the pressure level in selected nodes of the network. The present study explores the use of economic hydraulic machines, pumps as turbines (PATs) to produce energy in a small network located in a town close to Palermo (Italy). The main idea is to avoid dissipation in favor of renewable energy production. The proposed study is applied to a WDN typical of the Mediterranean countries, where the users, to collect water during the period of water scarcity conditions, install private tanks. The presence of private tanks deeply modifies the network from its designed condition. In the proposed analysis, the economic benefit of PATs application in water distribution networks has been investigated, accounting for the presence of users' private tanks. The analysis, carried out by mean of a mathematical model able to dynamically simulate the water distribution network with PATs, shows the advantage of their installation in terms of renewable energy recovery, even though the energy production of PATs is strictly conditioned by their installation position