Integration of hydrothermal liquefaction and carbon capture and storage for the production of advanced liquid biofuels with negative CO2 emissions

The technical and economic feasibility to deliver sustainable liquid biocrude through hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) while enabling negative carbon dioxide emissions is evaluated in this paper, looking into the potential of the process in the context of negative emission technologies (NETs) for climate change mitigation. In the HTL process, a gas phase consisting mainly of carbon dioxide is obtained as a side product driving a potential for the implementation of carbon capture and storage in the process (BECCS) that has not been explored yet in the existing literature and is undertaken in this study. To this end, the process is divided in a standard HTL base and a carbon capture add-on, having forestry residues as feedstock. The Selexol technology is adapted in a novel scheme to simultaneously separate the CO2 from the HTL gas and recover the excess hydrogen for biocrude upgrading. The cost evaluation indicates that the additional cost of the carbon capture can be compensated by revenues from the excess process heat and the European carbon allowance market. The impact in the MFSP of the HTL base case ranges from -7% to 3%, with -15% in the most favorable scenario, with a GHG emissions reduction potential of 102-113% compared to the fossil baseline. These results show that the implementation of CCS in the HTL process is a promising alternative from technical, economic and environmental perspective in future scenarios in which advanced liquid biofuels and NETs are expected to play a role in the decarbonization of the energy system

When is Sustainability a Liability, and When Is It an Asset? Quality Inferences for Core and Peripheral Attributes

Sustainable products ofered in today’s marketplace are labelled with product-related green attributes (i.e. green core attributes) or non-product-related green attributes (i.e. green peripheral attributes). The current research investigates consumers’ inferences about a product’s functional quality when its core attributes are green (e.g. the ingredients) and when its peripheral attributes are green (e.g. the product packaging). Four experimental studies and an internal meta-analysis show that there is a sustainability liability efect in strength-dependent categories (for both core and peripheral attributes), and a sustainability asset efect in gentleness-dependent categories (for core attributes only). Our research contributes to the current understanding of how consumers make inferences about product quality when contemplating diferent types of green attributes. The fndings have implications for how strength-dependent and gentleness-dependent products should be labelled as green.publishedVersio

Design and analytical evaluation of an impact-based four-point bending configuration for piezoelectric energy harvesting

Aiming toward improved energy conversion in piezoelectric energy harvesters, this study investigates four-point bending (FPB) energy harvesters (FPB-EH) to explore their prominent features and characteristics. The FPB configuration innovatively extends energy harvesting capabilities relative to conventional cantilever beams. The FPB-EH comprises a composite piezoelectric beam that rests on two supports of a fixed clamp, excited by contact force applied at two contact lines on a moving clamp. A comprehensive analytical electromechanical model for the vibrating energy harvester is presented with unique modeling features, including multi-beam sections and multi-mode-shape functions. Solutions of the analytical model are presented for a wide range of contact force types, including steady-state solutions for harmonic forces, impact forces, periodic and non-periodic arbitrary forces. This comprehensive model progresses the state-of-the-art piezoelectric modeling knowledge and is readily applicable to various energy harvesting configurations. The model is validated against experimental results and finite element analysis. Next, a parametric study was performed to evaluate the effects of various FPB characteristics, including the fixed and moving clamp spans, the waveform, and the period-time of contact force. The results indicate that the FPB configuration can enhance energy conversion efficiency and normalized output energy by factors of over 3 and 6, respectively. Finally, guidance is given for selecting between cantilever and four-point bending configurations

Acquired perforating dermatosis: A clinical and dermatoscopic correlation

Acquired Perforating Dermatosis (APD) is a perforating disease characterized by transepidermal elimination of dermal material [1,2]. This disease usually develops in adulthood. APD has been reported to occur in association with various diseases, but is most commonly associated with dialysis-dependent chronic renal failure (CRF) or diabetes mellitus (DM) [1,2,3,4]. Morton et al found that APD occurs in up to 10% of patients undergoing hemodialysis [5]. Additionally, Saray et al found that sixteen of twenty-two cases with APD were associated with CRF [3]

From stone masonry to emigrant’s mansions. Changes in vernacular architecture in central Portugal

The research made for this purpose was realized to study the connection between the way of life, the climate, the geology and the vernacular architecture in the parish of Cernache do Bonjardim, municipality of Sertã, central region of Portugal, where various styles of rural houses can be found. The traditional rural home of this territory is constituted by stone walls, mostly made of shales or granite and has two floors: a lower floor with a place for animals or food storage, and an upper floor with the kitchen/living-room and bedrooms. Usually, both floors are joined by outside stairs. Each available space, for instance under these stairs, is used to keep animals like swine or hens, goats or rabbits, and to store food. Usually there is a piece of ground around the house used for the plantation of vegetables and fruit trees. This kind of home is adapted to the people's way of living and the climate, using local materials like stone or wood. In the 19th century there was an emigration wave to Brazil. When the people returned they wanted to show their acquired richness and (sometimes) culture to the neighbours in the village and constructed large houses of mansion-type, which didn't show the strong adaption to the environment anymore, but had other functionalities and a better comfort. As the transportation means improved, the building material was no more limited to the local offer. The emigration from the sixties of the 20th century until today brought new kinds of buildings. Their style was influenced from the country of emigration. There is no more relation to the local style of building. For the construction, modern materials like concrete, tile walls and roof tiles are used. The major conclusions of the research are that the vernacular architecture of the studied region has changed from houses adapted to the climate and the rural way of life, to larger and no more "typical" buildings. The main reasons for this change are the return of emigrants from abroad and its influence, the availability of new materials, the better education and income of the people, the wish to life more comfortably, and the change of the people´s way of life from farming to employment.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Bone marrow-derived and peritoneal macrophages have different inflammatory response to oxLDL and M1/M2 marker expression:implications for atherosclerosis research

Macrophages are heterogeneous and can polarize into specific subsets, e.g. pro-inflammatory M1-like and re-modelling M2-like macrophages. To determine if peritoneal macrophages (PEMs) or bone marrow derived macrophages (BMDMs) resembled aortic macrophages from ApoE−/− mice, their M1/M2 phenotype, inflammatory status, and lipid metabolism signatures were compared. oxLDL accumulation was similar in PEMs and BMDMs. On protein expression level, BMDMs showed an M2-like CD206(high)CD11c(low) profile, while cholesterol loading led to enhanced CD11c expression and reduced MCP-1 secretion. In contrast, PEMs expressed low levels of CD206 and CD11c, and responded to cholesterol loading by increasing CD11c expression and MCP-1 secretion. mRNA expression of M1/M2 markers was higher in PEMS than BMDMs, while lipid metabolism genes were similarly expressed. Whole aorta flow cytometry showed an accumulation of M2-like CD206(high)CD11c(low) macrophages in advanced versus early atherosclerotic disease in ApoE−/− mice. In isolated lesions, mRNA levels of the M2 markers Socs2, CD206, Retnla, and IL4 were downregulated with increasing disease severity. Likewise, mRNA expression of lipid metabolism genes (SREBP2, ACSL1, SRB1, DGAT1, and cpt1a) was decreased in advanced versus early lesions. In conclusion, PEMs and BMDMs are phenotypically distinct and differ from macrophages in lesions with respect to expression of M1/M2 markers and lipid metabolism genes

Experiments in vortex avalanches

Avalanche dynamics is found in many phenomena spanning from earthquakes to the evolution of species. It can be also found in vortex matter when a type II superconductor is externally driven, for example, by increasing the magnetic field. Vortex avalanches associated with thermal instabilities can be an undesirable effect for applications, but "dynamically driven" avalanches emerging from the competition between intervortex interactions and quenched disorder constitute an interesting scenario to test theoretical ideas related with non-equilibrium dynamics. However, differently from the equilibrium phases of vortex matter in type II superconductors, the study of the corresponding dynamical phases - in which avalanches can play a role - is still in its infancy. In this paper we critically review relevant experiments performed in the last decade or so, emphasizing the ability of different experimental techniques to establish the nature and statistical properties of the observed avalanche behavior.Comment: To be published in Reviews of Modern Physics April 2004. 17 page

Automatic Inference of Upper Bounds for Recurrence Relations in Cost Analysis

The classical approach to automatic cost analysis consists of two phases. Given a program and some measure of cost, we first produce recurrence relations (RRs) which capture the cost of our program in terms of the size of its input data. Second, we convert such RRs into closed form (i.e., without recurrences). Whereas the first phase has received considerable attention, with a number of cost analyses available for a variety of programming languages, the second phase has received comparatively little attention. In this paper we first study the features of RRs generated by automatic cost analysis and discuss why existing computer algebra systems are not appropriate for automatically obtaining closed form solutions nor upper bounds of them. Then we present, to our knowledge, the first practical framework for the fully automatic generation of reasonably accurate upper bounds of RRs originating from cost analysis of a wide range of programs. It is based on the inference of ranking functions and loop invariants and on partial evaluation

Eksperimentering for bærekraftig forretningsmodellinnovasjon

© Econas Informasjonsservice ASI møte med forventninger om økt bærekraft, rask teknologiutvikling og endrede kundepreferanser utfordres eksisterende forretningsmodeller stadig raskere. Samtidig er disse trendene drivere for nye forretningsmodeller. I denne artikkelen diskuterer vi hvordan dette krever at bedrifter evner å eksperimentere med nye forretningsmodeller, og at det gir store muligheter for de bedriftene som lykkes med det. Med eksperimentering mener vi her utvikling og testing av nye ideer gjennom en kombinasjon av ulike eksperimentelle tilnærminger. Dette omfatter hele prosessen fra å forstå nåværende forretningsmodell, til design og utvikling av nye hypoteser og piloter, og til markedstesting av disse ved hjelp av tilnærminger som dybdeintervjuer, observasjoner og randomiserte AB-tester i felt. Det er fremdeles for lite kunnskap om hvordan dette kan gjøres i praksis. I denne artikkelen diskuterer vi hva slik eksperimentering innebærer, hvorfor det er viktig, og hvordan ledere kan eksperimentere for å designe og iverksette bærekraftige og lønnsomme forretningsmodeller. Vi introduserer en prosessmodell for bærekraftig forretningsmodellinnovasjon og eksperimentering, og illustrerer dette ved å diskutere hvordan vi arbeider med Orkla Home & Personal Care i et pågående forskningsprosjekt. På denne måten illustrerer vi også hvordan ledere kan lede tilsvarende eksperimenterings- og innovasjonsprosesser i sine egne virksomheter.publishedVersio