Fluidized Bed Gasification of Mixed Plastic Wastes: A Material and a Substance Flow Analysis

Gasification as a reliable and convenient waste-to-energy process for the economic analysis of mixed-plastic waste (MPW) was investigated. To this end a pilot scale bubbling fluidized bed air gasifier was fired with two commercially available MPWs to obtain syngas composition and characterization of the bed material, cyclone collected fines and purge material from the scrubber. These results were then processed by means of Material and Substance Flow Analyses to evaluate the main process performance parameters for the two MPWs tested

Revisiting Italian mediterranean policy in the 1950s: Internal or externally-driven? The interplay of external pressures and domestic constraints

This article aims to explore Italy's "Neo-Atlanticist" foreign policy (FP) strand in the mid-1950s to highlight the complex interplay of external and internal political dynamics. It corresponded to the third circle of Rome's FP loadstars – the Mediterranean and Arab world – with Rome intending to conduct an autonomous policy that was often seen as clashing with its Atlanticist commitments. Italian foreign policy was tightly constrained by its integration in Euro-Atlantic alliances, but it was also able to cut for itself a margin of independent maneuver in pursuit of a more autonomous policy in the Mediterranean

Italy’s involvement in PSO: between self-interest and the logic of appropriateness

What factors shape a state’s willingness to get involved in Peace Support Operations (PSO), a notoriously risky and costly activity? Do states contribute personnel out of a desire to support the cosmopolitan values embodied in PSO, or out of self-interested behaviour? Are those decisions based on normative, rule-based motivations, or rather on instrumental calculations of national interest? The end of the Cold War opened up new policy options for decision-makers, with Rome showing a strong determination to be more active in that field. Italy purposefully developed a reputation as a security provider, building, along the process, a distinct external self-identity as a natural ‘peace-maker’. Which factors explain Italy’s evolution from its early guarded support to UN (United Nations) peacekeeping operations, to its current rate of participation? This article argues that Italy makes instrumental use of PSO to gain international visibility and upgrade its ranking, but its strategic narrative, when addressing the general public, relies on a secondary script that adheres to the rhetoric of cosmopolitan rules that prevail in multilateral settings.This study was conducted at Research Center in Political Science [UID/CPO/00758/2013]; University of Minho and supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Tecnology (FCT) and the Portuguese Ministry of Education and Science through national funds, as well as by POPH (Programa Operacional Potencial Humano), and the European Social Fund/FSE (European Union

Multi-Wall Carbon Nanotubes Obtained by Fluidized Bed Pyrolysis of Virgin or Recycled Plastics

A new technique for a continuous, mass production of high-quality multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), based on fluidized bed pyrolysis of polymers (virgin or recycled polyolefins and recycled polyethylene terephtalate), is described in detail. The study investigates the role of interactions between the bed material and the polymer particles injected into the reactor as well as that of the reactor temperature. Results are reported in terms of yield and quality of obtained MWCNTs, all characterized by thermogravimetrical analysis and SEM microscopy. The production of MWCNTs, in a relatively large quantity and at a low cost, is demonstrated as technically feasible

A blurring of roles: use of force in UN peacekeeping

There is a sober paradox involved in the use of oxymoron ‘peace operations’, as these operations, traditionally anchored on the bedrock principles of UN peacekeeping - consent of the parties, impartiality, and non-use of force except in self-defence -, are being increasingly transformed into enforcement operations. Twenty-seven years after the end of the Cold War and the rebirth of the United Nations’ (UN) security role, peacekeeping operations are increasingly losing ground to an emerging pattern of more aggressive, offensive operations. They have an essentially hybrid nature, involving elements of both peacekeeping and enforcement. Although many see them as alternative, non-reconcilable techniques, politicians and practitioners do not see a sharp dividing line separating non-coercive and enforcement tasks, permitting an easy transition from one to the other

The Portuguese foreign fighters phenomenon: a preliminary assessment

This paper analyses the phenomenon of a group of Portuguese citizens and Portuguese-descendants who went to fight alongside the Islamic State (IS) organisation and other extremist groups in Syria and Iraq. The article provides a new contribution to radicalisation by using a new dataset and an understudied case study: Portugal. It hosts a small Muslim community, which has not found itself under the spotlight of being a major concern, as regards the terrorist threat. Is it possible to find common underlying motivations driving young men and women to volunteer for jihad? Do young Muslims face different constraints that explain their involvement in militant activity, particularly being more vulnerable to factors such as socioeconomic marginalisation? Does socialisation in peer-to-peer ideological networks, and small-group recruitment within pre-existing radical milieus play a decisive role? By identifying biographical factors that stand out in two radicalisation theories – social network analysis, and the relative deprivation hypothesis –, it is possible to elicit what factors hold when applied specifically to the Portuguese case. The data provide support to socioeconomic explanations and group-level factors as the main mechanisms that lead converts to involvement in extremism and terrorism.This work was supported by Research Center in Political Science – CICP [Grant Number UID/CPO/00758/2013

Relations with North Africa: a new priority in Portuguese bilateral foreign policy?

Portugal has remained quite distant from coastal North African states for many centuries. Having recently emerged as a prominent player across North Africa, Portugal’s current relationship with the Maghreb countries is unprecedented in its history. Lisbon has invested in building the Maghreb axis as a ‘new priority’ in the architecture of Portugal’s bilateral foreign policy. This policy already took off, and is now beyond the rhetorical plan, where it stood for many years. Portugal and its partner countries across the Mediterranean have reiterated their willingness to keep up with the positive momentum, especially from the past 10 years, deepening bilateral political dialogue and bolstering trade relations. This article puts Portuguese relations with North Africa into context and offers an up-to-date analysis on recent (and ongoing) developments in Luso‒Maghreb relations.I am grateful to the EEG for providing financial support to this study; and for the interview at the Ministry of Defence (DGPDN), with Henrique Reinaldo Castanheira, on 17 February 2014; plus two interviews conducted at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs: one with a senior diplomat who does not wish to be identified; another with Paula Menezes Cordeiro of the Department for Middle East and North Africa

Portugal’s challenging relationship with China under tense US/EU-China relations

Portugal has a longstanding relationship with China and has benefited from the economic opportunities arising from closer economic ties with Beijing, especially in the wake of the 2011 international bailout and external assistance programme. Lisbon wants to do as much business with China as possible. On the other hand, the United States (US) is Portugal’s most important ally. Thus, Lisbon has found itself caught between conflicting great-power interests. Amid rising US-China tensions, Lisbon has become a battlefield for both states’ geostrategic political ploys. Portugal needs to navigate complex partnerships as the European Union (EU) lacks a consistent foreign and security policy towards China. Lisbon needs to strike a balance between the unfailing commitment to the US and loyalty to the EU on the one hand, and the economic relationship with Beijing on the other.This study was conducted at the Research Center in Political Science (UID/CPO/00758/2013), University of Minho, and was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology and the Portuguese Ministry of Education and Science through national funds

Narratives modes and foreign policy change: the debate on the 2015 Iran nuclear deal

This article sheds light on the way narratives translate into policy outcomes and enable foreign policy change. How is it that narratives shape foreign policy change? The analysis focuses on the public discursive strategy employed during the US Congress debate over the 60-day review period of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). This article intends to contribute to the literature on policy narratives in International Relations (IR). I argue that foreign policy decisions are framed in a manner that seeks to ensure their supremacy in the context of a process of political contestation of meaning and of attempts to deconstruct and delegitimise alternative narratives.This study was conducted at the Research Center in Political Science (UID/CPO/00758/2013), University of Minho, and was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology and the Portuguese Ministry of Education and Science through national funds

L’Ipogeo delle Pigne nella Grotta di Manaccora (Peschici, FG). I materiali protoappenninici

L'articolo analizza un settore (il cd. Ipogeo delle Pigne) degli scavi del 2001-2003 alla Grotta di Manaccora nel Gargano. Viene offerta un'analisi del contesto e dei rinvenimenti ceramici (dal punto di vista cronologico e dei contatti transadriatici) e litici