El doctorat com a etapa formativa : una aproximació a l'ètica en la recerca i a la bona pràctica

L'Escola de Doctorat, el rol dels tutors i els directors, i el codi de bones pràctiques. Presentació realitzada dins de la Jornada de benvinguda als nous doctorands del curs 2015-16: "El doctorat com a etapa formativa. Una aproximació a l'ètica en la recerca i a la bona pràctica", organitzada per la UAB

Avaluació ambiental de l'extracció del suro a Catalunya

Sense cap mena de dubte, el suro és un material natural i renovable. Tanmateix cal realitzar balanços materials i energètics per a determinar els impactes ambientals associats a l'extracció del material en els boscos. L'interès actual per a disposar de materials sostenibles o de baix impacte ambiental, és un motiu que justifica la realització d'estudis d'Anàlisi de Cicle de Vida (ACV) del suro per tal de disposar de dades que permetin la presa de decisions a tots els actors implicats en la cadena d'extracció. El Grup d'investigadors que ha fet aquesta anàlisi s'anomena Sostenipra i, dirigit pels professors Jesús Rives, Xavier Gabarrell i Joan Rieradevall, fa anys que es dedica a l'estudi, desenvolupament i aplicació d'eines per a la sostenibilitat i la prevenció ambiental. Dins el marc de l'Ecologia Industrial (EI), treballa en els àmbits de l'anàlisi de ACV, l'ecodisseny, l'eco-eficiència, l'anàlisi de fluxos materials i energètics, aplicat als sistemes industrials, urbans i agrícoles, ja sigui a escala de producte, procés, local, regional i nacional.Sin lugar a dudas, el corcho es un material natural y renovable. Sin embargo hay que realizar balances materiales y energéticos para determinar los impactos ambientales asociados a la extracción del material en los bosques. El interés actual por disponer de materiales sostenibles o de bajo impacto ambiental, es un motivo que justifica la realización de estudios de Análisis de Ciclo de Vida (ACV) del corcho para disponer de datos que permitan la toma de decisiones a todos los actores implicados en la cadena de extracción. El Grupo de investigadores que ha hecho este análisis llamado Sostenipra y dirigido por los profesores Jesús Rives, Xavier Gabarrell y Joan Rieradevall, hace años que se dedica al estudio, desarrollo y aplicación de herramientas para la sostenibilidad y la prevención ambiental. En el marco de la Ecología Industrial (EI), trabaja en los ámbitos del análisis de ACV, el ecodiseño, la eco-eficiencia, el análisis de flujos materiales y energéticos, aplicado a los sistemas industriales, urbanos y agrícolas , ya sea a escala de producto, proceso, local, regional y nacional

Predicting food waste in households with children : socio-economic and food-related behavior factors

Unidad de excelencia María de Maeztu CEX2019-000940-MIntroduction: The consumption phase accounts for approximately half of the food waste generated within the food system. Numerous studies have identified families with children as the primary contributors to food waste. The aims of this paper is to enhance the comprehension of food waste behaviors in households with children by characterizing it and studying how socioeconomic characteristics and food-related behaviors can predict it. Methods: A survey was conducted among 806 families with children, categorized by the child's age and family structure. The study utilized descriptive statistics to summarize the food waste behaviors and binary regression to evaluate the predictive abilities of 12 variable related to the socio-economic characteristic, purchase, and preparation behaviors and diet quality factors. Results: Perishable food items, such as fruits, vegetables, cereal-based product, and dairy products, were the primary items wasted in households with children. Two patterns of food waste were identified: inadequate food management leading to small amounts of waste in families with young and middle-aged children, and over-purchasing perishable items leading to waste in other households with children. Household type and purchasing habits were significant predictors, while the purchaser's age and buying channel showed lower predictive capacity. Discussion: Policies to reduce food waste should prioritize raising awareness among children, promoting good practices at the household level, and creating favorable conditions during purchases. Strategies include enlisting children's participation in meal planning and food preparation as well as limiting the promotion of ultra-processed products and incentivizing the sale of bulk products at supermarket

Investigating a repair workshop: the reuse of washing machines in Barcelona

Altres ajuts: Acord transformatiu CRUE-CSICUnidad de excelencia María de Maeztu CEX2019-000940-MThe reuse and repair of products are often good strategies from a holistic resource conservation perspective. Many organizations active in reuse concentrate in cities where a greater share of wasted electrical and electronic equipment is generated. The number of companies active in the reuse of these products is still limited, and information about the procedures and, more importantly, about the equipment effectively reused is not publicly available yet in many cases. This leads to imprecise knowledge about reuse in these organizations and unreliable data about the progress to a circular economy in cities and regions. The release of new standards on material efficiency represents a big step towards the harmonization of methods and indicators to monitor reuse and repair of products, but its use is challenging for existing workshops. This study examines the reuse of washing machines (WMs) at a local workshop with the objective of understanding the internal procedures for repair and reuse and defining indicators suitable to monitor these activities. The assessment at the company level shows that in 2018, approximately 77% of the WMs collected were recycled, 10% were repaired (80% of these needed multiple parts) and 2% were refurbished. At the product level, the proportion of reused components varies greatly from 4% to 14% when calculated by number on products to 60% when considering number balance. An economic analysis shows that using spare parts from wasted WMs increases the economic benefits up to 3-fold. In conclusion, the indicators proposed are useful to understand the performance of these workshops and potentially useful to quantify reuse at the city and regional scales

Examining the feasibility of the urban mining of hard disk drives

Unidad de excelencia María de Maeztu MdM-2015-0552Altres ajuts: Beatriu de Pinós 2016 BP 00132Cities are becoming one of the greatest generators of waste and thus a potential source of secondary materials. One of the most attractive waste streams in cities is waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) as they contain many valuable metals, mainly in the printed circuit board (PCB), with a high risk of a disruption in their supply. Many of the PCBs contained in small WEEE are separated by destructive operations, as the economic feasibility of their separation using non-destructive operations remains unclear. This paper examines the feasibility of separating the PCB and the permanent magnets (PMs) contained in hard disk drives (HDD) using non-destructive operations. The economic cost of separating these parts is evaluated by the disassembly sequences, the disassembly schemes, and using the 'ease of Disassembly Metric' (eDiM). In HDD, the economic cost for the non-destructive separation of the PCB is €0.05 while the cost to harvest the PCB as well as the PMs is €0.39. In both cases, such cost is well below the estimated economic value of the gold, silver, and palladium contained in the PCB (€0.85). As a result, the paper concludes that the separation of the PCB and the PMs of HDDs is economically profitable. Measures for promoting the non-destructive separation of the PCBs and the PM of HDDs should be further promoted, as they could help improve the supply of secondary raw materials

Production and trade analysis in the Iberian cork sector : economic characterization of a forest industry

El títol de la versió pre-print de l'article és World trade analysis of cork products in the Iberian Peninsula: an economic characterization of a forestry industryCork oak forest grows endemically in the coastal regions of the western Mediterranean basin, particularly in the Iberian Peninsula. The cork agro-forestry systems play a key role in ecological processes, and the outer bark, or cork, can be extracted sustainability without damaging the tree or affecting biodiversity. Because of the properties of the cork, an important forestry and industrial structure has been developed around its most valuable goods. This paper describes the current global trade patterns in the Iberian Peninsula, where Portugal and Spain are world leaders. Although these countries bring most of their cork trade flows together with the rest of the world, there are clear differences between these sectors. The aim of this study was to identify these differences and to characterize each analysed sector from an economic perspective. The primary difference between the sectors lies in the characteristics of their supply chain and their capacity to generate wealth from raw cork. Portugal primarily produces and processes raw cork into products with high added value. Spain bases its cork sector on raw material and half-manufactured cork, and it is not able to use the full potential that cork provides. Catalonia is an exception because it is the global leader in the champagne stopper market. To encourage the development of the entire cork sector, every link in the supply chain should be strengthened through the establishment of companies and the generation of employment, and therefore the development of rural areas. Moreover, this industry must establish its own development strategies for the future, thereby increasing its investment in R&D and innovation in relation to the opportunities identified as follows: the potential for diversification beyond the wine market, the improvement potential for forest management and the enhancement of sustainability and eco-efficiency in every link of the cork supply chain

Estudios preliminares de la descolorización del licor negro procedente del pulpeo Organosolv del bagazo de la caña de azúcar por Trametes versicolor

El licor negro generado del proceso Organosolv del bagazo de la caña de azúcar fue tratado con el hongo de podredumbre blanca Trametes versicolor, para la realización de estudios preliminares de evaluación de la disminución del color, compuestos aromáticos y demanda química de oxígeno (DQO). Los estudios se realizaron en erlenmeyers. Se obtuvieron reducciones de color y compuestos aromáticos en el orden de 90 a 95% y 95% de DQO. En el transcurso del experimento fue detectada la actividad de la lacasa pero no de lignina peroxidasa o manganeso peroxidasa, aunque Trametes versicolor es capaz de producir estas enzimas. A partir de los resultados obtenidos, se puede concluir que existe una relación entre la producción de lacasa y la disminución del color. Esta correlación responde a la ecuación Y (reducción de color) = 34,77+ 5,533 (actividad de lacasa).Black liquor from sugar cane bagasse Organosolv process were treated with the with-rot fungus Trametes versicolor, to do preliminary studies of evaluation to reduce of colour, aromatic compounds and chemical oxygen demand (COD). The studies were made in shake flask. Reductions in colour and aromatic compounds of 90 to 95% and in COD of 95% were acheived. During the experiment, lacasse activity was detected but neither lignin peroxidase (LiP) nor manganese peroxidase (MnP) were detected, nevertheless Trametes versicolor is able to produce these enzymes. From the results obtained, it can be concluded that there is a relationship between lacasse production and colour reduction. This correlation responds to the equation Y(colour reduction) = 34,77+ 5.533 (lacasse activity).El licor negre generat pel procés Organosolv del bagàs de la canya de sucre es tracta amb el fong de podridura blanca Trametes versicolor, a efectes de realitzar estudis preliminars d'avaluació de la disminució del color, compostos aromàtics i demanda química d'oxigen (DQO). Els estudis es realitzen en erlenmeyers. S'assoleixen reduccions de color i de compostos aromàtics de l'ordre del 90 al 95%, i del 95% pel que fa a la DQO. En el transcurs de l'experiment es detecta activitat de lacasa, però no de lignina peroxidasa o manganès peroxidasa, tot i que Trametes versicolor es capaç de produir aquests enzims. A partir dels resultats obtinguts, es pot concloure que existeix una relació entre la producció de lacasa i la disminución del color. Aquesta correlació respon a la equació Y (reducció de color) = 34,77+ 5,533 (activitat de lacasa)

Análisis de los flujos de materiales de una región : Cataluña (1996-2000)

En este trabajo se presenta una primera estimación del Análisis de Flujos de Materiales entre los años 1996 y 2000 para el caso de Cataluña, una región situada en el noreste de España. Los resultados muestran un crecimiento de los indicadores de entrada de materiales y de consumo muy superior al crecimiento de la población y del Producto Interior Bruto, descartándose la posible tendencia a la desmaterialización absoluta o relativa, y mostrando un fuerte dominio de consumo de recursos no renovables. Asimismo se observa una gran dependencia del extrior, tanto en la entrada de recursos como en las exportaciones. Las importaciones aumentan a lo largo del período analizado, cpmensando la falta de recursos primarios del sistema. Parte de los materiales importados son exportados, mostrando Cataluña como una región de tránsito de mercancías, sometida al Efecto Rótterdam. A la vez una fracción de las importaciones se revende con beneficio para Cataluña siguiendo el comportamiento propio de la zona alta de la curva del Notario.The paper presents the Material Flow Analysis for Catalonia (NE Spain) in the period 1996 - 2000. The results show no symptom of neither weak nor strong dematerialization, otherwise the increase in material inputs and consumption a long the period is higher than population and GDP growth; with dominance of non-renewable resources. There is a high dependence on foreign trade. On one hand, imports has increased a long the period analyzed to compensate the lack of primary resources in the own system. On the other hand, the price of exports is higher than imports, supposing important economic input for Catalonia

Literature review on the potential of urban waste for the fertilization of urban agriculture : A closer look at the metropolitan area of Barcelona

Unidad de excelencia María de Maeztu CEX2019-000940-MUrban agriculture (UA) activities are increasing in popularity and importance due to greater food demands and reductions in agricultural land, also advocating for greater local food supply and security as well as the social and community cohesion perspective. This activity also has the potential to enhance the circularity of urban flows, repurposing nutrients from waste sources, increasing their self-sufficiency, reducing nutrient loss into the environment, and avoiding environmental cost of nutrient extraction and synthetization. The present work is aimed at defining recovery technologies outlined in the literature to obtain relevant nutrients such as N and P from waste sources in urban areas. Through literature research tools, the waste sources were defined, differentiating two main groups: (1) food, organic, biowaste and (2) wastewater. Up to 7 recovery strategies were identified for food, organic, and biowaste sources, while 11 strategies were defined for wastewater, mainly focusing on the recovery of N and P, which are applicable in UA in different forms. The potential of the recovered nutrients to cover existing and prospective UA sites was further assessed for the metropolitan area of Barcelona. Nutrient recovery from current composting and anaerobic digestion of urban sourced organic matter obtained each year in the area as well as the composting of wastewater sludge, struvite precipitation and ion exchange in wastewater effluent generated yearly in existing WWTPs were assessed. The results show that the requirements for the current and prospective UA in the area can be met 2.7 to 380.2 times for P and 1.7 to 117.5 times for N depending on the recovery strategy. While the present results are promising, current perceptions, legislation and the implementation and production costs compared to existing markets do not facilitate the application of nutrient recovery strategies, although a change is expected in the near future

Introducing eco-ideation and creativity techniques to increase and diversify the applications of eco-materials : the case of cork in the building sector

Unidad de excelencia María de Maeztu MdM-2015-0552Cork is an eco-material that has recently been attracting growing interest due to the expanding strategy of sustainable product design, which aims to replace non-renewable materials in the building market. Until now, the cork sector has not taken advantage of the properties of this material and has been fully oriented towards traditional applications such as stoppers for wines and other beverages. The diversification of the cork market, through developing new products with higher added value, is the reason why eco-ideation (using different creativity techniques) can be helpful in creating new products and solutions.The process of introducing eco-ideation was carried out during two interdisciplinary creative sessions and a product design stage. The results of the process were successful in terms of participation and the quantity and quality of ideas, which were characterised by searching, experimentation, participation and knowledge sharing. The versatility of cork fits perfectly with the creative methods of eco-ideation, as cork's good physical properties allow the diverse generation of new ideas for both applications and markets. The concepts generated in this study are in line with the approach of recognising cork's status as a natural, pure and noble material, taking advantage of the good properties of cork, and giving buildings unique traits due to the singular aesthetic of cork