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Biodiesel is a fuel generally consisting of a mixture of fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) which is used in alternative or in combination with petroleum diesel for its environmental benefits. Biodiesel is conveniently manufactured from vegetable oils by transesterification of triglycerides with methanol. However, the process brings about the concurrent formation of glycerol, which may become an oversupplied chemical if biodiesel production keeps growing. A novel biodiesel-like material (abbreviated as DMC-BioD) was developed by reacting soybean oil with dimethyl carbonate (DMC), which avoided the co-production of glycerol. The main difference between DMC-BioD and biodiesel produced from vegetable oil and methanol (MeOH-biodiesel) was the presence of fatty acid glycerol carbonate monoesters (FAGCs) in addition to FAMEs. In the following study, details regarding synthesis and composition of DMC-BioD are provided along with physical properties relevant for its use as a fuel. In addition, the production of potential pyrogenic contaminants was investigated by analytical pyrolysis and compared with those from MeOH-biodiesel, and the model compounds tristearin, triolein, trilinolein and oleic acid glycerol carbonate ester (OAGC). The presence of FAGCs influenced both fuel and flow properties, while the distribution of main pyrogenic compounds, including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), was little affected. Benefits and drawbacks of DMC as a candidate transmethylating reagent for producing biofuel from renewable resources and alternative co-products (glycerol carbonate and glycerol dicarbonate) are discussed.

Pyroelectric energy harvesting has the ability to transform wasted heat into useful energy and as such has a potential to create “green” energy from freely available sources such as ambient temperature changes, and contribute to the fight against climate change. Current pyroelectrics applications are limited to low-power electronics, portable systems or tasks needing only very low range of power (μW–mW). Developing further this highly promising technology should ultimately lead to the creation of more powerful, autonomous and self-powered electronic devices that could one day use to recycle currently “lost” thermal energy to power electronic devices in both domestic and industrial settings. To the best of our knowledge, hexagonal phase ZnS (wurtzite ZnS) has not been studied as a possible energy harvesting pyroelectric material despite w-ZnS being isostructural to the well-exploited and widely praised hexagonal ZnO [1]. In addition, the Tc temperature (1020 ˚C for bulk material) is high enough for ZnS that it has the ability to operate at higher temperature that are good match with the working temperature of power plants and automobiles, and hence w-ZnS ceramics should have a potential to be used in pyroelectric harvesters of waste heat coming from those activities [2]. Here we report on the pyroelectric output registered for a wurtzite phase ZnS ceramic fabricated as part of our project. To probe the pyroelectric output for a w-ZnS ceramic a simple device (a “pyro-cell”) was created by evaporating gold electrods on both sides of a ceramic sample, which was mounted on a Cu-metalized rectangular insulating base (vetronite) using silver paint. This device is stable from room temperature up to approximately 180°C. Two different heating and cooling testing set-ups were established: Set-up n°1 used an industrial scale laser, providing a source with fast temperature change, and Set-up n°2 had a standard lab hot plate heating element, providing a much slower temperature change. The characterization required an accurate measurement of the currents of the order of 10-9 A. In addition, using the Pyroelectric Test System (PK‐SPIV17T, State College, PA, USA) with a Keithley 6517 B Picoammeter, we were able to measure the pyroelectric coefficient and monitor its change at different frequencies as a function of temperature from 20 °C up to 150° C, with a heating rate of between 2 and 10 °C/min. Figure 1: Pyroelectric current measurements on an ZnS ceramic sample, using testing set-up n°1. The horizontal axis shows the time (seconds). References [1] Y. Yang, W. Guo, K.C. Pradel, G. Zhu, Y. Zhou, Y. Zhang, Y. Hu, L. Lin, Z. Lin Wang, “Pyroelectric Nanogenerators for Harvesting Thermoelectric Energy”, Nano Lett, 12 (6), 2012, 2833–2838 [2] L.A. Chavez, F.O. Zayas Jimenez, B.R. Wilburn, L.C. Delfin, H. Kim, N. Love, Y. Lin, “Characterization of Thermal Energy Harvesting Using Pyroelectric Ceramics at Elevated Temperatures”, Energy Harvesting and Systems, 5(1-2), 2018, 3–10 This project was also partially supported by the Piano triennale di realizzazione 2019-2021 della ricerca di sistema elettrico nazionale – Progetto 1.3 Materiali di frontiera per usi energetici (C.U.P. code: I34I19005780001).

Le Pakistan traverse une crise énergétique terrifiante et dévastatrice. Récemment, la prévision de la consommation d'énergie s'est intensifiée par rapport à sa capacité de production, ce qui est problématique pour la stabilité sociale et économique du Pakistan. Par conséquent, il est essentiel d'examiner le lien entre la consommation d'électricité, les prix de l'électricité, la transition urbaine, les autres utilisations d'électricité et l'expansion économique de 1970 à 2018 au Pakistan. Pour l'analyse, la technique économétrique de deuxième génération de Lee et Strazicich (2013), le nouveau Augmented Autoregressive Distributed Lag (AARDL) et Frequency Domain Causality (FDC) est utile pour détecter l'association à moyen et à court terme entre les variables. Les résultats montrent que la consommation d'électricité stimule l'expansion économique à court et à long terme, bien que la hausse des prix de l'électricité diminue l'activité économique à court et à long terme. En outre, la transition urbaine et d'autres utilisations de l'électricité ont un impact positif et négatif substantiel sur l'expansion économique à court et à long terme. Le résultat suggère qu'un approvisionnement énergétique efficace, des prix de l'énergie à faible coût, une bonne gestion de la transition urbaine et d'autres utilisations de l'énergie pourraient être utiles aux décideurs pour atteindre les ODD 7 et 11 au Pakistan. Pakistán se encuentra en una crisis energética aterradora y devastadora. Recientemente, la predicción del consumo de energía se ha intensificado en comparación con su capacidad de producción, lo que es problemático para la estabilidad social y económica de Pakistán. Por lo tanto, es vital examinar el vínculo entre el consumo de energía, los precios de la energía, la transición urbana, otros usos de la electricidad y la expansión económica de 1970 a 2018 en Pakistán. Para el análisis, la técnica econométrica de segunda generación de Lee y Strazicich (2013), el novedoso Retraso Distribuido Autoregresivo Aumentado (AARDL) y la Causalidad en el Dominio de la Frecuencia (FDC) son útiles para detectar la asociación a largo y corto plazo entre las variables. Los resultados muestran que el consumo de energía estimula la expansión económica a corto y largo plazo, aunque el aumento de los precios de la energía disminuye la actividad económica a corto y largo plazo. Además, la transición urbana y otros usos de la electricidad tienen un impacto positivo y negativo sustancial en la expansión económica a corto y largo plazo. El resultado sugiere que el suministro eficiente de energía, los precios de la energía de bajo coste, la gestión adecuada de la transición urbana y otros usos de la energía podrían ser útiles para que los responsables políticos alcancen los ODS 7 y 11 en Pakistán. Pakistan is in a terrifying and devastating energy crisis. Recently, the prediction for energy consumption has intensified compared to its production capacity, which is problematic for Pakistan's social and economic stability. Hence, it is vital to examine the link between power consumption, power prices, urban transition, other electricity use, and economic expansion from 1970 to 2018 in Pakistan. For analysis, the second-generation econometric technique of Lee and Strazicich (2013), novel Augmented Autoregressive Distributed Lag (AARDL), and Frequency Domain Causality (FDC) is useful to detect the long-medium and short-run association among the variables. The results show that power consumption stimulates economic expansion in the short and long-run, though the rise in power prices declines economic activity in the short and long-run. Also, urban transition and other electricity use are a substantial positive and negative impact on economic expansion in the short and long-run. The outcome suggests that efficient energy supply, low-cost power prices, proper urban transition management, and other energy use could be useful for policymakers to achieve SDGs 7 and 11 in Pakistan. باكستان في أزمة طاقة مرعبة ومدمرة. في الآونة الأخيرة، تكثف التنبؤ باستهلاك الطاقة مقارنة بقدرته الإنتاجية، مما يمثل مشكلة للاستقرار الاجتماعي والاقتصادي لباكستان. وبالتالي، من الضروري دراسة الصلة بين استهلاك الطاقة وأسعار الطاقة والتحول الحضري واستخدام الكهرباء الأخرى والتوسع الاقتصادي من 1970 إلى 2018 في باكستان. للتحليل، فإن تقنية الاقتصاد القياسي من الجيل الثاني من Lee and Strazicich (2013)، والتأخر الموزع الانحداري الذاتي المعزز (AARDL)، وسببية مجال التردد (FDC) مفيدة للكشف عن الارتباط طويل المدى وقصير المدى بين المتغيرات. تظهر النتائج أن استهلاك الطاقة يحفز التوسع الاقتصادي على المدى القصير والطويل، على الرغم من أن ارتفاع أسعار الطاقة يؤدي إلى انخفاض النشاط الاقتصادي على المدى القصير والطويل. كما أن التحول الحضري والاستخدامات الأخرى للكهرباء لها تأثير إيجابي وسلبي كبير على التوسع الاقتصادي على المدى القصير والطويل. تشير النتيجة إلى أن إمدادات الطاقة الفعالة، وأسعار الطاقة منخفضة التكلفة، وإدارة الانتقال الحضري المناسبة، وغيرها من استخدامات الطاقة يمكن أن تكون مفيدة لصانعي السياسات لتحقيق هدفي التنمية المستدامة 7 و 11 في باكستان.

The paper describes formation and spreading of dense shelf waters in the Adriatic Sea (North Adriatic Dense Water, NAdDW) during the winter of 2012 as a consequence of an intense and long cold air outbreak of northeasterly Bora winds. As a result, during February 2012 northern Adriatic Sea water temperature dropped to about 6 degrees C and density exceeded 1030 kg/m(3), most likely the maximum value since 1929. NAdDW dynamics has been investigated by means of a 3-D ocean-wave coupled model running on a high resolution and eddy-permitting grid. The numerical experiments have relied on the Coupled-Ocean-Atmosphere-Wave-Sediment-Transport (COAWST) system forced one-way with atmospheric forcings provided by the model COSMO-17. A suite of observational data has been used to characterize the Bora event and evaluate numerical model performance. At sub-basin scales, the newly formed waters flowing southerly have produced a water renewal of the northern Adriatic, as more than 50% of water volumes have left the basin. Dense waters volume transports, evaluated through different Adriatic cross-sections, have been modulated by tides (damped for the densest water masses) and reached about 1 Sv. The contribution of wave-induced forcings has been quantified and examined, indicating that these represent a major driving mechanism during NAdDW production and spreading phases. This work provides evidence that NAdDW is spread accordingly with two different mechanisms: at early stages of its formation, the wind-driven ocean circulation pushes newly formed waters to leave the northern basin with relatively high speeds (about 0.30 m/s). Later on, remaining NAdDW leaks slowly out (0.09 m/s as average) from the production site. Residence times of dense waters in the north, middle, and south Adriatic Sea are also documented. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Synthesis of cork-derived ceria ecoceramic, an emerging porous catalyst, for enhancing solar thermochemical water splitting.

Aeroengine manufacturers must continuously develop new high-performance engines, in terms of both specific fuel consumption and pollutant emissions. During the combustion of kerosene, CO 2 and lower amounts of SO 2 , CO, NO x and hydrocarbons are produced; those gases are directly or indirectly responsible for greenhouse effect. Large emission of NO x is produced by engines during the aircraft operation in airport. In the near future, the target in Europe for the aviation sector provides a reduction of SO% of NO x and 50% of CO 2 . For this reason, the hybrid-electric propulsion systems (HEPS) are becoming a viable alternative propulsion technology in the field of aviation, useful to guarantee a massive reduction of pollution. In the paper, the authors analyze and simulate a hybrid turbine/electric engine for a passengers regional aircraft, comparing the results in terms of pollutant and fuel consumption with the conventional thermal engine ones.

Predicting the potential habitat of species under both current and future climate change scenarios is crucial for monitoring invasive species and understanding a species' response to different environmental conditions. Frequently, the only data available on a species is the location of its occurrence (presence-only data). Using occurrence records only, two models were used to predict the geographical distribution of two destructive invasive termite species, Coptotermes gestroi (Wasmann) and Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki. The first model uses a Bayesian linear logistic regression approach adjusted for presence-only data while the second one is the widely used maximum entropy approach (Maxent). Results show that the predicted distributions of both C. gestroi and C. formosanus are strongly linked to urban development. The impact of future scenarios such as climate warming and population growth on the biotic distribution of both termite species was also assessed. Future climate warming seems to affect their projected probability of presence to a lesser extent than population growth. The Bayesian logistic approach outperformed Maxent consistently in all models according to evaluation criteria such as model sensitivity and ecological realism. The importance of further studies for an explicit treatment of residual spatial autocorrelation and a more comprehensive comparison between both statistical approaches is suggested.

Abstract This literature review was built upon recently published articles on Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs) of agricultural biogas plants, to: enhance understanding of the relevant literature in the field and the related question by readers worldwide. It was designed to highlight methodological issues and impact indicators, which best represent this research field; consequently, they should be considered in performing environmental assessments of agro-biogas derived energy systems. The literature review highlighted the wide variability of environmental results due to the ways the feedstock mixtures were produced, managed, and supplied; and due to the regions in which the anaerobic digesters were located and operated. Differences were found to be related to the aim and function of the study and to the methodological approach used, especially for the development of the environmental impact assessments. Other differences resulted from the ways the energy produced was utilised, whether it was used as an input to the natural gas national grid, and/or if it was used within the production system. The authors of this review concluded that, although much progress has been made, many unsolved challenges and methodological choices must be addressed to further improve the robustness of LCA in relation to AD and to related approaches.