Alternative Fuels for Automobiles

Steadily escalating gasoline prices, increased environmental concerns, and poor international politics have sparked new interests for alternatively fueled vehicles. There are numerous alternative fuel technologies including gasoline-hybrids, diesels, full electrics, as well as hydrogen and ethanol. These technologies are changing rapidly and consumers are having difficulty trying to decipher which type of vehicle is the most worthy investment. This study provides a simple breakdown of the pros and cons of the alternative fuel technologies as well as a statistical review of the total ownership costs of the vehicle up to 100,000 miles

Microalgae: The Basis of Mankind Sustainability

Microalgae were the basis of life into the planet, but only recently these microorganisms are exploited at a commercial scale. Thus, the production of pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, feed, and foods from microalgae is today a commercial reality increasing year by year. Additionally, microalgae have been proposed to be used to enhance the sustainability of existing industrial activities, as wastewater treatment and biofuel production. In this way, the utilization of microalgae at a large scale is considered a green revolution in the sustainability of mankind. This chapter is focused on reviewing the real contribution of microalgae to human activities. The last improvements of technologies and its uses, in addition to still existing bottlenecks for the massive exploitation of these microorganisms, are reviewed

Sistema de eliminación de metales pesados en aguas mediante microalgas

Publication number: ES2642462 A2 (16.11.2017) Also published as: ES2642462 R1 (29.11.2017) Application number: P201500861 (20.11.2015)La presente invención propone un "sistema de eliminación de metales pesados en aguas mediante microalgas", que utiliza las propiedades de estos microorganismos como material adsorbente y favorecedor de procesos de oxidación y precipitación, y una secuencia de etapas adecuadamente diseñadas para el funcionamiento óptimo del sistema. El proceso propuesto implica dos etapas claramente diferenciadas, la primera de producción en continuo de microalgas y la segunda más novedosa de puesta en contacto del cultivo de microalgas con las aguas de mina mediante sistemas de retención o recirculación de lodos. De esta forma se minimiza la cantidad de microalga necesaria, permitiendo depurar grandes volúmenes de agua contaminada por unidad de volumen de cultivo de microalgas.Universidad de Almerí

Uso de Google Classroom como repositorio de robótica práctica: PieroAcademy

En el desarrollo de practicas de laboratorio en algunas asignaturas del área de ingeniería de sistemas y automática, los alumnos recaban información relativa a equipos y componentes de diversas fuentes externas. Los resultados de su trabajo, que en muchos casos son de gran calidad, pasan al olvido una vez evaluados. Con el objetivo de poner en valor y mejorar el aprovechamiento de dichos trabajos, se propone la creaci´on de un repositorio controlado de informaci´on, donde los estudiantes puedan recopilar parte del material necesario para la realizaci´on de sus trabajos, ejemplos de ayuda, y tutoriales realizados por otros estudiantes; pero ademas contribuir a ampliar la información mediante sus propias experiencias. En la implementación del repositorio, se hace uso de las herramientas proporcionadas por la G Suite for Education (GSFE), siendo el núcleo, la herramienta denominada Google Classroom. En este trabajo se describe la implantación y experiencia con este sistema como medio para gestionar un repositorio organizado donde sus denominadas"clases", toman contenido de unidades temáticas; con la versatilidad de su acceso desde dispositivos móviles y la capacidad de reutilización en asignaturas reales.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech. Proyecto de Innovación educativa de la Universidad de Málaga PIE 17-118

Wastewater treatment using microalgae: how realistic a contribution might it be to significant urban wastewater treatment?

Microalgae have been proposed as an option for wastewater treatment since the 1960’s but still this technology has not been expanded to an industrial scale. In this paper, the major factors limiting the performance of these systems are analysed. The composition of the wastewater is highly relevant, and especially the presence of pollutants such as heavy metals and emerging compounds. Biological and engineering aspects are also critical and have to be improved to at least approximate the performance of conventional systems, not just in terms of capacity and efficiency but also in terms of robustness. Finally, the harvesting of the biomass and its processing into valuable products poses a challenge; yet at the same time, an opportunity exists to increase economic profitability. Land requirement is a major bottleneck that can be ameliorated by improving the system’s photosynthetic efficiency. Land requirement has a significant impact on the economic balance but the profits from the biomass produced can enhance these systems’ reliability, especially in small cities

Utilization of secondary-treated wastewater for the production of freshwater microalgae

In this work we studied the potential use of secondary-treated wastewater as nutrient source in the production of freshwater microalgae strains. Experiments were performed indoors in semicontinuous mode, at 0.3 day-1, simulating outdoor conditions. We demonstrated that all the tested strains can be produced by using only secondary-treated wastewater as the nutrient source. The utilization of secondary-treated wastewater imposes nutrient-limiting conditions, with maximal biomass productivity dropping to 0.5 g·l-1·day-1and modifies the biochemical composition of the biomass by increasing the amount of lipids and carbohydrates while reducing the biomass protein content. We measured fatty acids content and productivity of up to 25%d.wt. and 110 mg·l-1·day-1, respectively. We demonstrated that all the tested strains were capable of completely removing the nitrogen and phosphorus contained in the secondary-treated wastewater, and while the use of this effluent reduced the cells’ photosynthetic efficiency, the nitrogen and phosphorus coefficient yield increased. Muriellopsis sp. and S. subpicatus were selected as the most promising strains for outdoor production using secondary-treated wastewater as the culture medium; this was not only because of their high productivity but also their photosynthetic efficiency, of up to 2.5%, along with nutrient coefficient yields of up to 96 gbiomass·gN-1 and 166 gbiomass·gP-1. Coupling microalgae production processes to tertiary treatment in wastewater treatment plants makes it possible to recover nutrients contained in the water and to produce valuable biomass, especially where nutrient removal is required prior to wastewater discharge

Quadrotor UAV

The goal of this project was to analyze, design and implement an autonomous quadrotor aerial vehicle for collaborative operations with autonomous ground vehicles. The main design constraints were to maximize payload and flight time. The quadrotor consists of a delrin hub with four aluminum arms, and is infused with an IMU and multiple range finder sensors. The quadrotor is capable of formation control, docking with the ground robot for power conservation during transit and rapid deploy

Selection of native Tunisian microalgae for simultaneous wastewater treatment and biofuel production

This paper focuses on the selection of native microalgae strains suitable for wastewater treatment and biofuel production. Four Chlorophyceae strains were isolated from North-eastern Tunisia. Their performances were compared in continuous mode at a 0.3 1/day dilution rate. The biomass productivity and nutrient removal capacity of each microalgae strain were studied. The most efficient strain was identified as Scenedesmus sp. and experiments at different dilution rates from 0.2 to 0.8 1/day were carried out. Maximal biomass productivity of 0.92 g/L·day was obtained at 0.6 1/day. The removal of chemical oxygen demand (COD), ammonium and phosphorus was in the range of 92-94%, 61-99% and 93-99%, respectively. Carbohydrates were the major biomass fraction followed by lipids and then proteins. The saponifiable fatty acid content was in the 4.9-13.2% dry biomass range, with more than 50% of total fatty acids being composed of saturated and monosaturated fatty acids

An update on the observational facilities at CASLEO

Presentamos una puesta al día sobre los diferentes telescopios e instrumentos disponibles en el Complejo Astronómico El Leoncito (CASLEO), Argentina. Todos los telescopios y sus instrumentos están completamente automatizados, y se operan rutinariamente en modo remoto. Los observadores pueden utilizar el telescopio Jorge Sahade (JS) de 2.15 m para im´agenes, polarimetr´ıa CCD, y espectroscop´ıa (tanto en baja como alta resoluci´on), mientras que se encuentran en estudio nuevos desarrollos instrumentales. Actualmente, cerca del 70 % de los astr´onomos optan por observar en forma remota. El telescopio Helen Sawyer Hogg (HSH) de 0.6 m tambi´en se encuentra disponible para observaci´on remota, y puede usarse para obtener im´agenes con un campo de 9.26×9.26 arcmin2 . Tambi´en operan en el CASLEO dos telescopios menores, a trav´es de sendos convenios con el Nicolaus Copernicus Astronomical Centre (NCAC, Polonia) y el Instituto de Astrof´ısica de Andalucía (IAA, España). La comunidad argentina tiene acceso al 20 % del tiempo disponible en cada uno de estos instrumentos (solo en modo servicio).We present an update on the different telescopes and instruments available at the Complejo Astron´omico El Leoncito (CASLEO), Argentina. All the telescopes and their instruments are fully automated, and are routinely operated in remote mode. Observers can use the 2.15 m Jorge Sahade (JS) telescope for imaging, CCD polarimetry, and spectroscopy (both low and high resolution), future instrumental developments are also in progress. Presently, about 70 % of the astronomers opt to observe remotely. The Helen Sawyer Hogg (HSH) 0.6 m telescope is now also available for remote observing, and it can be used to obtain images with a 9.26 × 9.26 arcmin2 field of view. Two smaller telescopes, operated under agreements with NCAC (Poland) and IAA (Spain), respectively, are also operational at CASLEO. The Argentine community has access to 20 % of the available time at each of these instruments (only in service mode).Fil: Aballay, Jose Luis. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - San Juan. Complejo Astronómico "El Leoncito". Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Complejo Astronómico "El Leoncito". Universidad Nacional de la Plata. Complejo Astronómico "El Leoncito". Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Complejo Astronómico "El Leoncito"; ArgentinaFil: Cellone, Sergio Aldo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - San Juan. Complejo Astronómico "El Leoncito". Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Complejo Astronómico "El Leoncito". Universidad Nacional de la Plata. Complejo Astronómico "El Leoncito". Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Complejo Astronómico "El Leoncito"; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísicas; ArgentinaFil: Fernández, G. E. L.. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - San Juan. Complejo Astronómico "El Leoncito". Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Complejo Astronómico "El Leoncito". Universidad Nacional de la Plata. Complejo Astronómico "El Leoncito". Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Complejo Astronómico "El Leoncito"; ArgentinaFil: Giménez, M. A.. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - San Juan. Complejo Astronómico "El Leoncito". Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Complejo Astronómico "El Leoncito". Universidad Nacional de la Plata. Complejo Astronómico "El Leoncito". Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Complejo Astronómico "El Leoncito"; ArgentinaFil: Giuliani Ramos, Bruno Gabriel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - San Juan. Complejo Astronómico "El Leoncito". Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Complejo Astronómico "El Leoncito". Universidad Nacional de la Plata. Complejo Astronómico "El Leoncito". Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Complejo Astronómico "El Leoncito"; ArgentinaFil: Giuliani, Jose Luis. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - San Juan. Complejo Astronómico "El Leoncito". Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Complejo Astronómico "El Leoncito". Universidad Nacional de la Plata. Complejo Astronómico "El Leoncito". Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Complejo Astronómico "El Leoncito"; ArgentinaFil: Godoy, Rodolfo Alfredo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - San Juan. Complejo Astronómico "El Leoncito". Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Complejo Astronómico "El Leoncito". Universidad Nacional de la Plata. Complejo Astronómico "El Leoncito". Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Complejo Astronómico "El Leoncito"; ArgentinaFil: Mammana, Luis Antonio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - San Juan. Complejo Astronómico "El Leoncito". Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Complejo Astronómico "El Leoncito". Universidad Nacional de la Plata. Complejo Astronómico "El Leoncito". Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Complejo Astronómico "El Leoncito"; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísicas; ArgentinaFil: Molina, Hector Rolando Pablo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - San Juan. Complejo Astronómico "El Leoncito". Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Complejo Astronómico "El Leoncito". Universidad Nacional de la Plata. Complejo Astronómico "El Leoncito". Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Complejo Astronómico "El Leoncito"; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de San Juan; ArgentinaFil: Ostrov, Pablo Gabriel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - San Juan. Complejo Astronómico "El Leoncito". Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Complejo Astronómico "El Leoncito". Universidad Nacional de la Plata. Complejo Astronómico "El Leoncito". Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Complejo Astronómico "El Leoncito"; ArgentinaFil: Pereyra, Pablo Florencio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - San Juan. Complejo Astronómico "El Leoncito". Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Complejo Astronómico "El Leoncito". Universidad Nacional de la Plata. Complejo Astronómico "El Leoncito". Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Complejo Astronómico "El Leoncito"; ArgentinaFil: Pinto, Juan Domingo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - San Juan. Complejo Astronómico "El Leoncito". Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Complejo Astronómico "El Leoncito". Universidad Nacional de la Plata. Complejo Astronómico "El Leoncito". Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Complejo Astronómico "El Leoncito"; Argentin

Microalgae research worldwide

In this paper, worldwide research trends in the microalgae field are analyzed based on a bibliometric study. We have looked at the number of publications and their distribution, as well as the most relevant journals and keywords, to determine the evolution and latest tendencies in this field. The results confirm that this is a fast-growing area in terms of the number of publications. The most relevant journals on this subject are Bioresource Technology and Algal Research. Although the majority of papers come out of the USA, the most relevant institutions are actually located in China, France and Spain. The most frequently cited strains are Chlorella and Chlamydomonas. The main keywords that appear in over 1,000 articles are generally related to microalgae cultivation applications such as ‘biomass, biofuel, and lipids’ while others are related to the methodology; for instance, ‘bioreactor’. Of all the keywords, ‘biomass’ stands out, as it appears in almost 20% of publications. Bibliographic analysis confirms that Microalgae Biotechnology is a very active field, where scientific productivity has exponentially increased over recent years in tandem with industrial production. Therefore, expectations are high in this field for the near future