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Great efforts have been paid to improve engine efficiency as well as to reduce the pollutant emissions. The direct injection allows to improve the engine efficiency; on the other hand, the GDI combustion produces larger particle emissions. The properties of fuels play an important role both on engine performance and pollutant emissions. In particular, great attention was paid to the octane number. Oxygenated compounds allow increasing gasoline's octane number and play an important role in PM emission reduction. In this study was analyzed the effect of fuels with different RON and with ethanol and ethers content. The analysis was performed on a small GDI engine. Two operating conditions, representative of the typical EUDC cycle, were investigated. Both the engine performance and the exhaust emissions were evaluated. The gaseous emissions and particle concentration were measured at the exhaust by means of conventional instruments. Particle size distribution function was measured in the range from 5.6 nm to 560 nm by means of an Engine Exhaust Particle Sizer (EEPS). The results point out that the better result in terms of performance and emission reduction was observed for the high RON fuel. The fuels with ethanol as additive show a large fuel consumption and a not valuable effect on exhaust emissions

AbstractProjections show that biomass will remain important for reaching future EU renewable energy targets. In addition to using domestic biomass, European bioenergy markets will also partly rely on imports of biomass, in particular in trade‐oriented EU member states like the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Denmark. There has been a lot of debate on the sustainability of (imported) biomass and how policy should deal with this. In this research, therefore, we defined long‐term strategies for sustainable biomass imports in European bioenergy markets. We used the input of different stakeholders in our approach through focus‐group discussions and a global survey, focusing on the following aspects: key principles of sustainable biomass trade, risks and opportunities of biomass trade, both for import regions (EU countries) and for sourcing regions, and practical barriers for trade. Overall we conclude that policies should be stable and consistent within a long‐term vision. An overall sustainability assurance framework of biomass production and use is key, but should ultimately apply to all end uses of biomass. Furthermore, the mobilization of biomass should be supported, as well as commoditization, considering the large diversity of biomass. Side impacts of biomass use should be monitored. Reducing investors’ risk perception is crucial for future developments in the biobased economy, and a clear policy to phase out fossil fuels, e.g. through a carbon tax, needs to be implemented. The results of this research are of interest for policy makers when deciding on long‐term strategies concerning sustainable bioenergy markets. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

The hollow-fibre oxygenator is a key component of any extracorporeal circuit used to provide cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) during open-heart surgery. Since the oxygenator is placed downstream of the pump, the energy losses over it have a direct impact on the quality of pulsatile pressure and flow waveforms. The objective of this study was to describe the effects of hydrodynamic characteristics of the oxygenator on energy transfer during pulsatile, normothermic CPB. Twenty-three adult patients scheduled for coronary bypass surgery were divided randomly into two groups, using either an oxygenator (Group 1) with a relatively high-resistance and low-compliance (2079 ± 148 dyn.s.cm-5 and 0.00348 ± 0.00071 ml.mmHg-1, respectively) or an oxygenator (Group 2) with a relatively low-resistance and high-compliance (884 ± 464 dyn.s.cm-5 and 0.01325 ± 0.00161 ml .mmHg-1, respectively). During perfusion, pre- and post-oxygenator pressures, radial artery pressure, and blood flow were recorded simultaneously. A 32% decline of mean pressure was observed in Group 1 and a 16% decline in Group 2 (p<0.0001). Another decrease by approximately 73% in mean pressure in the rest of the perfusion system was noted in both groups. The mean radial artery pressure did not differ between the groups (74 ± 6 mmHg in Group 1 and 73 ± 6 mmHg in Group 2, p=0.608). Although lower total energy transfer indices were noticed through the low-resistance oxygenator (Group 2), both oxygenators showed a decrease of the generated pump oscillatory energy of approximately 50%. Despite the differences in resistance and compliance of the hollow-fibre oxygenators used, both oxygenators cause a comparable loss of generated oscillatory energy. Exclusion of the oxygenator downstream of the pulsatile pump would improve energy transfer during CPB.

We analysed the effect of applying Dutch thermal efficiency standards of residential dwellings, conversion efficiency, appliance fuel mixes and appliance ownership rates, to the UK residential sector. We found that although aggregate energy consumption does not change significantly, pollution emissions are reduced significantly. Thus, the primary difference between housing and appliance stocks in the two regions is in terms of fuel mixes. However, improved thermal efficiency does allow for increased dwelling warmth without increasing emissions. Adapting Dutch standards in the UK would lead to a one-time improvement of the environmental situation, after which the trend is continued.

This paper provides a review of the literature that applies the life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology to the assessment of the environmental performance of the life cycle of construction and demolition waste (CDW) management systems. This article is focused on generating a general mapping of the literature and on identifying the best practices in compliance with LCA framework and proposing directions for future LCA studies in this field. The temporal evolution of the research in this field and the aim of the studies have grown in parallel with the legal framework related to waste and energy efficiency of buildings. Most studies have been published in Europe, followed by USA. Asia and Australia, being at an incipient application stage to the rest of the world. Topics related to "LCA of buildings, including their EoL" and "LCA of general CDW management strategies" are the most frequently analysed, followed by "LCA of EoL of construction elements" and "LCA of natural material vs recycled material". Regarding the strategies, recycling off-site and incineration, both combined with landfill for the rejected fractions, are the most commonly applied. Re-use or recycling on-site is the strategy least applied. The key aspect when LCA is applied to evaluate CDW management systems is the need to normalise which processes to include in the system boundary and the functional unit, the use of inventory data adapted to the context of the case study and the definition of a common set of appropriate impact assessment categories. Also, it is important to obtain results disaggregated by unit processes. This will allow the comparison between case studies.

To review new putative mechanisms involved in the pathophysiology of a disturbed energy balance in cancer cachexia, which can lead to novel targets for clinical cachexia management. In the context of rapid developments in tumour treatment with potential systemic consequences, this article reviews recent data on energy requirements. Furthermore, we focus on new insights in brown adipose tissue (BAT) activity and reward processing in the brain in relation to the cachexia process.Nearly no new data have been published on energy requirements of cancer patients in the light of comprehensive new therapies in oncology. New developments, such as the introduction of staging with 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose PET-computed tomography scanning, led to the observation that BAT activation may contribute to impaired energy balance in cancer cachexia. Animal and human data to date provide an indication that BAT activation indeed occurs, but its quantitative impact on the degree of cachexia is controversial. The peripheral and central nervous system is known to influence satiation, with a possible role for impaired food reward processing in the brain. To date, there are limited confirmatory data, but this is an interesting new area to explore for better understanding and treating cancer-induced anorexia.The multimodal approach to counteract cancer cachexia should expand its targets to BAT and food reward processing in the brain.

Central solar heating plants with seasonal storage (CSHPSS) are among the most promising technologies to save energy in the industrial and residential-commercial building sectors. This work introduces a systematic approach to optimize these systems according to economic and environmental criteria. Our method, which combines the TRNSYS 17 simulation software with life cycle assessment and multi-objective optimization, identifies optimal CSHPSS designs for any climatic condition and heating demand profile considering economic and environmental criteria simultaneously. The capabilities of this approach are illustrated through its application to a case study of a CSHPSS located in Barcelona (Spain), which satisfies a heating demand for a neighborhood of 1120 dwellings. Numerical results show that the CSHPSS plant leads to significant environmental and economic improvements compared to the use of a conventional natural gas heating system. Our tool can guide engineers and architects in the transition towards a more sustainable residential sector.

Livestock production in peri-urban areas constitutes an important sub-sector of the agricultural production system in China, and contributes to environmental degradation and local air borne pollution contributing to smog. As a result, local policies are being implemented to safeguard the environment. However, there has been little attempt to quantify the impact of environmental policies on livestock production structure, spatial distribution and their related greenhouse gases (GHGs) and ammonia (NH3) emissions. Here, we calculated the inventories of GHGs and NH3 emissions for 2010 and 2014 for peri-urban livestock production in Beijing, using reliable spatially explicit data, which was collected from 1748 industrial farms in 2010 and 2351 industrial farms in 2014, including pig, dairy, beef cattle, poultry and sheep farms. Our estimates indicated that total industrial livestock production increased by 17% between 2010 and 2014, even under the more strict environmental protection polices, with farm size decreasing by between 7% and 47%. Up to 50% of the industrial livestock farms have remained in operation, with the rest closing down or being moved to other regions. Following this trend, total GHGs emission decreased from 5.0 to 4.5 Tg CO2-eq between 2010 and 2014. Most of the GHGs emission reduction was due to the lowering of energy related carbon dioxide (CO2) emission in 2014. Total NH3 emission decreased from 102 to 96 Gg between 2010 and 2014, mainly due to more stringent environmental regulations for new and extended farms (increased in farm size), e.g. Discharge standard for pollutants for livestock and poultry breeding. Our study identified that GHGs and NH3 emission hotspots were concentrated in suburban areas (around the city centre and with less agricultural resource and population density) in 2010. However, between 2010 and 2014 these hotspots moved to the exurban plain and mountain area following the closure or sub-division of intensive farms in suburban regions and construction of new and small farms in exurban areas (around the suburban and with more agricultural resource and lower population density). Scenario analysis suggests that total GHGs emission can be reduced by up to 1.0 Tg CO2-eq (23% of total livestock sector emissions) in Beijing, using a combination of modifications of farm type, livestock diet and manure management. The integrated scenario can reduce CH4, N2O and NH3 emissions by 27%, 9% and 35%, compared to the reference scenario. Within this short period of time (5 years), policies have had direct impacts on peri-urban livestock production in Beijing, resulting in marked changes in the structure of different livestock sectors, as well as the GHGs and NH3 emission inventories and their spatial distribution. Our analysis clearly shows that the success of these (and future) polices relies on optimizing spatial management of new livestock production systems. Policy and farmer guidance should focus on optimizing livestock diet and on-farm manure management, industrial production systems and the pig and poultry sectors in peri-urban regions.