Exploring the spatiotemporal evolution of bioenergy with carbon capture and storage and decarbonization of oil refineries with a national energy system model of Colombia

Bioenergy combined with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) has a high mitigation potential of greenhouse gases in the energy system. However, the feasibility of its deployment depends on co–location of suitable storage basins and biomass resources with low-carbon stocks. Moreover, national transition analyses towards low–carbon energy systems have often given little attention to the mitigation potential of existing oil refineries, which are major components of current energy systems. We parametrized and incorporated these knowledge gaps into an energy system optimization model and used it analyze mitigation pathways towards carbon neutrality of the Colombian energy system by midcentury. Our results show that modern bioenergy could contribute 0.8–0.9 EJ/y (48–51 %) to the final energy consumption by 2050 at a system cost of 29–35 B$/y. BECCS value chains could deliver a mitigation potential of 37–41 % of the cumulative avoided emissions between 2030 and 2050. Low–carbon retrofitting of existing oil refineries could contribute up to 19 % of the total biofuel production and 10 % of the total CO2 capture by 2050. The Andes and Caribbean could be promising regions for BECCS because of their high potential for biomass supply and carbon sinks. In contrast, Orinoquía has a high potential for bioenergy and more uncertainty of CCS, depending on the access to nearby carbon sinks. This framework could be used to harmonize between the visions of the energy and agricultural sectors, national government and the oil sector, and national and regional governments, towards integrated planning for low-carbon development

Two-Swim Operators in the Modified Bacterial Foraging Algorithm for the Optimal Synthesis of Four-Bar Mechanisms

This paper presents two-swim operators to be added to the chemotaxis process of the modified bacterial foraging optimization algorithm to solve three instances of the synthesis of four-bar planar mechanisms. One swim favors exploration while the second one promotes fine movements in the neighborhood of each bacterium. The combined effect of the new operators looks to increase the production of better solutions during the search. As a consequence, the ability of the algorithm to escape from local optimum solutions is enhanced. The algorithm is tested through four experiments and its results are compared against two BFOA-based algorithms and also against a differential evolution algorithm designed for mechanical design problems. The overall results indicate that the proposed algorithm outperforms other BFOA-based approaches and finds highly competitive mechanisms, with a single set of parameter values and with less evaluations in the first synthesis problem, with respect to those mechanisms obtained by the differential evolution algorithm, which needed a parameter fine-tuning process for each optimization problem

Evaluación de la calidad bioquímica, química, física y microbiológica del músculo de tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) durante el almacenamiento a 0 y 5 °C

Fishing products are characterized for being highly perishable; therefore, preservation methods are used to retain freshness and quality and extend shelf life. One of the factors that most impact the loss of freshness, quality, and shelf life is storage temperature. This study evaluated the effect of storage temperature (0 ºC and 5 °C) on the quality and shelf life of tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) muscle during 20 days of storage. Adenosine 5’-triphosphate (ATP) and related compounds, K-value, pH, color, texture, water holding capacity (WHC), total volatile bases (TVB-N), and total count of mesophilic microorganisms were monitored. Both time and storage temperature had a significant effect (P < 0.05) on the K-value, TVB-N, and total count of mesophilic microorganisms. The overall results of this study indicated that the edible quality of tilapia muscle was affected by storage temperature, observing a shelf life of 16 days at 0°C and 8 days at 5 ºC.Los productos pesqueros se caracterizan por ser altamente perecederos; por lo tanto, se utilizan métodos para conservar la frescura, la calidad y extender la vida útil. Uno de los factores que más influye en la pérdida de frescura, calidad y vida útil es la temperatura de almacenamiento. Este estudio evaluó el efecto de la temperatura de almacenamiento (0 °C y 5 °C) sobre la calidad y vida útil del músculo de tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) durante 20 días de almacenamiento. Se monitorearon el ATP (adenosina-5’-trifosfato) y compuestos relacionados, el indice K, el pH, el color, la textura, la capacidad de retención de agua (CRA), las bases volátiles totales (TVB-N) y el recuento total de microorganismos mesófilos. Los resultados indicaron que el tiempo y la temperatura de almacenamiento tuvieron un efecto significativo (P < 0.05) sobre el indice K, TVB-N y el recuento total de microorganismos mesófilos. En el presente estudio se concluye que al almacenar el músculo de tilapia a menor temperatura se produce una mayor vida útil, lo que implica que el producto se puede conservar con buena calidad por más tiempo. Asimismo, la calidad comestible del músculo de tilapia se vio afectada por la temperatura de almacenamiento, observándose una vida útil de 16 días a 0 °C y 8 días a 5 °C

Designing indicators for assessing the effects of marine protected areas on coral reef ecosystems : a multidisciplinary standpoint

The present paper aims at identifying and assessing indicators of the effects of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in coral reef regions, based on a bibliography review in ecology, economics and social sciences. First the various effects Studied within each of these domains and the variables used to measure them were censused. Potential ecological indicators were assessed through their link with the question used (here termed "relevance") and their "effectiveness" which encompasses the issues of precision, accuracy and statistical power. Relevance and effectiveness were respectively measured by the frequency of use of each indicator and the proportion of significant results in the reviewed articles. For social and economic effects, the approach was not possible due to the low number of references: we thus discussed the issue of finding appropriate indicators for those fields. Results indicate: 1- the unbalance in literature between disciplines: 2- the need for protocols and methodologies which include controls in order to assess MPA effects: 3- an important proportion of ecological indicators with low effectiveness: 4- the large number of ecological effects still not studied or not demonstrated at present

Temporal stability of the rumen microbiota in beef cattle, and response to diet and supplements

Acknowledgements Sampling of ruminal digesta was carried out at Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) by Laura Nicoll, Lesley Deans and Claire Broadbent. Sequencing using Illumina MiSeq was carried out by Edinburgh Genomics, The University of Edinburgh. Edinburgh Genomics is partly supported through core grants from NERC (R8/H10/56), MRC (MR/K001744/1) and BBSRC (BB/J004243/1). Data were processed using the Maxwell High Performance Computing Cluster of the University of Aberdeen IT Service (www.abdn.ac.uk/staffnet/research/hpc.php), provided by Dell Inc. and supported by Alces Software. Funding This work was funded by the Rural and Environment Science and Analytical Services Division (RESAS) of the Scottish Government as a collaborative HEI project between The University of Aberdeen, The Roslin Institute, and Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC). The funding body had no role in the design of the study or collection, analysis, or interpretation of data or in writing the manuscript.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

TFG 2014/2015

Amb aquesta publicació, EINA, Centre universitari de Disseny i Art adscrit a la Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, dóna a conèixer el recull dels Treballs de Fi de Grau presentats durant el curs 2014-2015. Voldríem que un recull com aquest donés una idea més precisa de la tasca que es realitza a EINA per tal de formar nous dissenyadors amb capacitat de respondre professionalment i intel·lectualment a les necessitats i exigències de la nostra societat. El treball formatiu s’orienta a oferir resultats que responguin tant a paràmetres de rigor acadèmic i capacitat d’anàlisi del context com a l’experimentació i la creació de nous llenguatges, tot fomentant el potencial innovador del disseny.Con esta publicación, EINA, Centro universitario de diseño y arte adscrito a la Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona, da a conocer la recopilación de los Trabajos de Fin de Grado presentados durante el curso 2014-2015. Querríamos que una recopilación como ésta diera una idea más precisa del trabajo que se realiza en EINA para formar nuevos diseñadores con capacidad de responder profesional e intelectualmente a las necesidades y exigencias de nuestra sociedad. El trabajo formativo se orienta a ofrecer resultados que respondan tanto a parámetros de rigor académico y capacidad de análisis, como a la experimentación y la creación de nuevos lenguajes, al tiempo que se fomenta el potencial innovador del diseño.With this publication, EINA, University School of Design and Art, affiliated to the Autonomous University of Barcelona, brings to the public eye the Final Degree Projects presented during the 2014-2015 academic year. Our hope is that this volume might offer a more precise idea of the task performed by EINA in training new designers, able to speak both professionally and intellectually to the needs and demands of our society. The educational task is oriented towards results that might respond to the parameters of academic rigour and the capacity for contextual analysis, as well as to considerations of experimentation and the creation of new languages, all the while reinforcing design’s innovative potential

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries