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SummaryThe production of liquid biofuels to blend with gasoline is of worldwide importance to secure the energy supply while reducing the use of fossil fuels, supporting the development of rural technology with knowledge‐based jobs and mitigating greenhouse gas emissions. Today, engineering for plant construction is accessible and new processes using agricultural residues and municipal solid wastes have reached a good degree of maturity and high conversion yields (almost 90% of polysaccharides are converted into monosaccharides ready for fermentation). For the complete success of the 2G technology, it is still necessary to overcome a number of limitations that prevent a first‐of‐a‐kind plant from operating at nominal capacity. We also claim that the triumph of 2G technology requires the development of favourable logistics to guarantee biomass supply and make all actors (farmers, investors, industrial entrepreneurs, government, others) aware that success relies on agreement advances. The growth of ethanol production for 2020 seems to be secured with a number of 2G plants, but public/private investments are still necessary to enable 2G technology to move on ahead from its very early stages to a more mature consolidated technology.

The interest in high homogenization pressure technology has grown over the years. It is a green technology with low energy consumption, not generating high CO2 emissions or polluting effluents. The main food applications derive from its effect on particle size, causing a more homogeneous distribution of fluid elements (particles, globules, droplets, aggregates, etc.) and favouring the release of intracellular components; and its effect on the structure and configuration of chemical components such as polyphenols and macromolecules such as carbohydrates (fibres) and proteins (also microorganisms and enzymes). The challenges of the 21st century lead food industry processing towards obtaining food with high nutritional quality and taking advantage of waste to obtain ingredients with specific properties. For this purpose, soft and non-thermal technologies such as high pressures homogenization have a huge potential. The objective of this work is to review how the need to combine safety, functionality and sustainability in food industry has conditioned the last decade applications of high-pressure homogenization technology.

This study is oriented to the economic and environmental impacts of the substitution in Kinshasa traditional cookstoves by improved clean cookstoves. We selected two traditional cookstoves (TCS), the TCS D27 and the TCS D23 and two improved cookstoves (ICS), the ICS 16/8/NC and the ICS 16/8/C. The test was carried out under the cooking controlled test (CCT) protocol, which is a laboratory test under strictly controlled conditions. All tests were carried out using the meal much preferred by the average and poor households of Kinshasa. To cook a dry meal of 1150g of beans and 1250g of rice, it takes 2429g of charcoal for a traditional cookstove TCS D27 and 1847g for traditional cookstove TCS D23. However, this only requires 1198g of charcoal for an improved cookstove ICS 16/8/NC and 1081g for an improved clean cookstove ICS 16/8/C. This represents fuel savings ranging from 37% to 55%. A household of 10 people in Kinshasa would spend up to $ 48.61 per month to purchase fuel with a TCS D27 while it will only need $ 22.01 per month for the same culinary tasks using an ICS 16/8/C. Le présent travail a consisté à analyser les impacts économiques et environnementaux du changement d’utilisation dans les ménages de la ville Kinshasa en République démocratique du Congo (RD Congo) du foyer de cuisson traditionnel par un foyer de cuisson amélioré. Nous avons sélectionnés deux foyers de cuisson traditionnels (traditional cookstove TCS), le TCS D27 et le TCS D23 et deux foyers de cuisson améliorés (improved cookstove ICS), le ICS 16/8/NC et le ICS 16/8/C. Le test réalisé fut le test de cuisson contrôlée (cooking controlled test CCT), qui est un test de laboratoire dans des conditions strictement contrôlées. Tous les tests furent réalisés en cuisinant un mets local familier populaire, principalement apprécié par les ménages moyens et pauvres de Kinshasa. Pour cuire un repas sec de 1150 g de haricot et 1250 g de riz, il a fallu 2429 g de charbon de bois avec un foyer traditionnel TCS D27 et 1847,4 g avec un foyer traditionnel TCS D23. Mais cela exigeait seulement 1198,7 g de charbon de bois avec un ICS 16/8/NC ou 1081,1 g avec un ICS 16/8/C,ce qui représente des économies en combustible allant de 37% jusqu’à 55%. Ainsi un ménage de 10 personnes à Kinshasa dépenserait jusqu’à 48,61 $/mois pour l’achat en combustible avec l’usage d’un TCS D27 alors qu’il n’aura besoin que de 22,01 $ mensuels pour les mêmes tâches culinaires en utilisant un ICS 16/8/C.

La eficiencia en el uso de los recursos naturales es una prioridad para garantizar la sostenibilidad económica y ambiental de la agricultura. El proyecto Riego-Asesor analiza las relaciones entre la variabilidad climática y las necesidades requeridas en la gestión hídrica agrícola para así diseñar una batería de buenas prácticas de riego en base a pronósticos meteorológicos. El proyecto además desarrolla modelos semi-mecanicisticos de cultivos que permiten predecir el balance hídrico y simular así el déficit hídrico existente además de cuantificar la respuesta productiva frente al agua aplicada. Un aspecto importante de Riego-Asesor es la implementación de un sistema de predicción meteorológica que se adapta a las características microclimáticas de cada punto. Mediante la implantación de este sistema se esperan importantes beneficios en el ahorro y eficiencia de agua, incrementos de rendimiento y reducción del gasto energético, entre otros, gracias a la mejora de la predicción de la precipitación y de la evapotranspiración de referencia. The efficient use of natural resources is a priority to ensure economic and environmental sustainability of agriculture. Riego-Asesor project analyzes the relationship between climate variability and the needs required in agricultural water management in order to design a set of good irrigation practices based on weather forecasts. The project also develops semi-mechanistic crop models for predicting water balance and thus simulate the existing water deficit. In addition, these models try to quantifying the productive response to applied water. An important aspect of Riego-Asesor is the implementation of a weather forecasting system that adapts to the microclimatic characteristics of each point. By implementing this system important benefits are expected in water savings and efficiency, yield increases and reduced energy expenditure, among others, through the improved prediction of precipitation and reference evapo-transpiration. El proyecto Riego-Asesor está financiado por el MINECO con co-financiación FEDER a través del proyecto Retos Colaboración RTC-2015-3453-2: “Asesor virtual para la ayuda a la toma de decisiones sobre estrategias de riego sostenibles”.

AbstractSoil micronutrients are capital for the delivery of ecosystem functioning and food provision worldwide. Yet, despite their importance, the global biogeography and ecological drivers of soil micronutrients remain virtually unknown, limiting our capacity to anticipate abrupt unexpected changes in soil micronutrients in the face of climate change. Here, we analyzed >1300 topsoil samples to examine the global distribution of six metallic micronutrients (Cu, Fe, Mn, Zn, Co and Ni) across all continents, climates and vegetation types. We found that warmer arid and tropical ecosystems, present in the least developed countries, sustain the lowest contents of multiple soil micronutrients. We further provide evidence that temperature increases may potentially result in abrupt and simultaneous reductions in the content of multiple soil micronutrients when a temperature threshold of 12–14°C is crossed, which may be occurring on 3% of the planet over the next century. Altogether, our findings provide fundamental understanding of the global distribution of soil micronutrients, with direct implications for the maintenance of ecosystem functioning, rangeland management and food production in the warmest and poorest regions of the planet.

This study analyzes 174 tank milk samples taken from 89 commercial farms located all along the Cantabrian Coast (Green Spain). Sampling was performed in two periods: autumn 2016 and spring 2017. A survey was carried out for every day of sampling to record the average lactating dairy cow production and its diet composition. For each sample, the fatty acid (FA) profile (49 FA plus its main relationships) and nine fat-soluble antioxidant (FSA) profiles (retinol (vitamin A), α- and Υ-tocopherol (vitamin E), all-trans-β-carotene, 9-cis-β-carotene, 13-cis-β-carotene, lutein, zeaxanthin, and β-cryptoxanthin) were determined. The milk production varied between 7.3 and 45.9 liters per cow per day, highlighting the diversity found among production systems. The milk fat content ranged from 2.64% to 4.38% and the protein content from 2.87% to 3.56%. Regarding the fatty acids profile, the percentage of saturated fat varied between 59.95% and 75.99%. The linolenic acid content fluctuated between 0.21 and 1.31 and rumenic acid ranged from 0.20 to 2.47 (g 100 g−1 total FA). The most important correlations between diet and milk FA were always related to the content of fresh grass and total forage (which is defined by both fresh and conserved forage derived from fresh grass (GCF)) in the diet. The content of vaccenic acid, linolenic acid, total omega-3, rumenic acid, and total CLA isomers showed the highest correlation with the proportion of fresh grass in the diet. The antioxidant contents were also highly variable, although correlations with dietary components were lower. The highest correlations were between total forage content (fresh grass (FG) plus GCF) and lutein, all-trans-β-carotene, and 13-cis-β-carotene. Diets without fresh grass had lower omega-3 content, CLA, vaccenic acid, lutein, all-trans-β-carotene, and 13-cis-β-carotene.