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In this study, microwave-assisted hydrothermal carbonization of waste coconut shell (feedstock) is reported. It is a thermo-conversion technique in which the feedstock was transformed into energy-rich carbonaceous material under mild conditions. The process was conducted in a microwave oven by heating the waste coconut shell in deionized water inside a pressurized vessel. The effects of different process conditions on the product yields, and the energy properties of the hydrochars were studied by varying the reaction temperature from 150 to 200 °C and residence time from 5 to 30 min. The results showed that there was transformation of the feedstock in the process due to the decarboxylation, dehydration, and demethanation reactions. This led to changes in the chemical and structural compositions, as well as increase in the energy properties of the prepared hydrochars. The higher heating value increased from 15.06 MJ/kg in the feedstock to 19.76 MJ/kg in the hydrochar. The energy properties of the hydrochars prepared in this study showed that microwave-assisted hydrothermal carbonization process could be a technique for converting waste coconut shell into high value-added product.

Waste-to-energy supply chains are important potential contributors to minimising the environmental impacts of municipal solid waste by reducing the amounts of waste sent to landfill, as well as the fossil fuel consumption and environmental footprints. Accounting for the spatial and transport properties of the waste-to-energy supply chains is crucial for understanding the problem and improving the supply chain designs. The most significant challenge is the distributed nature of the waste generation and the household energy demands. The current work proposes concepts and a procedure for targeting the size of the municipal solid waste collection zone as the first step in the waste-to-energy supply chains synthesis. The formulated concepts and the provided case study reveal trends of reducing the net greenhouse gas savings and energy recovery by increasing the collection zone size. Population density has a positive correlation with the greenhouse gas saving and energy recovery performance. For smaller zone size the energy recovery from waste approaches and in some cases may surpass the energy spent on waste transportation. The energy recovery and greenhouse gas savings remain significant even for collection zones as large as 200 km2. The obtained trends are discussed and key directions for future work are proposed.

Abstract The long-term management of radioactive wastes is a key part of the French nuclear programme. A public organisation, the National Radioactive Waste Management Agency (ANDRA), is in charge of such management. The approach adopted in France is to dispose of solid or solidified short-lived wastes of low and intermediate activity in surface land disposal using the principle of multiple barriers throughout the period necessary for the radioactivity to decay to a level at which it is no longer hazardous to the environment. Two centres of this type have been established, the first—the `La Manche' Disposal Centre—has received over 500 000 m3 of waste during the 25 years of its operation from 1969 to 1994. The `Aube' Disposal Centre, designed to accommodate 1 million m3, has now taken over. ANDRA has established an integrated management system covering every stage of conditioning, transporting and disposing the different types of waste produced. The aim of this system is to guarantee safety at acceptable cost by minimising the environmental impact and the overall operating constraints.

Background: Phenolic compounds are food-derived bioactive compounds well-known for their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. They are in the spotlight for the management of diabetes due to their positive effects on glucose homeostasis. Materials and methods: We have performed a literature review on the main topics related to the application of phenolic compounds as functional food ingredients. This includes extraction and purification from vegetable sources and agro-industrial by-products, encapsulation to improve their solubility and bioavailability, and preclinical and clinical evidence linking these compounds with anti-diabetic activity. Objectives: (1) provide an understanding of the role of phenolic compounds on diabetes; (2) identify green technologies for phenolic compounds extraction from agri-food by-products following a biorefinery scheme; (3) underline the relevance of encapsulation techniques using nanotechnology to improve their bioavailability; (4) discuss the therapeutic efficacy of polyphenols. Results: This review compiles recent relevant research on phenolic compounds extraction from renewable resources, their purification from agri-food by-products, and encapsulation strategies using eco-friendly processes. It also highlights the preclinical and clinical evidence on phenolic compounds’ antidiabetic activity, giving insight into their mechanisms of action. Conclusions: This review explores the latest advances in polyphenols and how their benefits in glucose homeostasis can be applied toward improving the health of patients with diabetes and related conditions.

Large amounts of agricultural residues are produced annually in the UK alone, which presents a significant biomass energy resource. It has limited availability in briquetted form in the UK but is widely used, particularly in Asia. The aim of this work is to assess the emission from briquetted agricultural residues to wood fuel, including commercial wood briquettes, when utilised in a 5 kW domestic heating stove. Other straw-type materials, sugarcane bagasse, Miscanthus, were also investigated. The combustion behaviour depended on the chemical and physical nature of the briquettes. Results indicate that fuel choice is an important consideration for emission reduction. Fuel-N directly correlates to emitted NOx and all the fuels studied had NOx emissions below the EU regulation limit. While agricultural residues can be relatively high in Cl and S, there is evidence of in-situ capture of HCl and SO2 by calcium salts in the fuel ash. Particulate emissions correlate with the volatile matter in the fuel, but also are influenced by the quality/durability of the briquette. The briquettes performed well compared to wood logs, and while there is a fuel-type influence on emissions, it is also clear that briquettes from optimised manufacture can be lower emitting than wood logs.

This paper presents a new decision-support framework and software platform for an integrated assessment of options for sustainable management of urban pollution. The framework involves three steps: (1) mapping the flow of pollutants associated with human activities in the urban environment; (2) modelling the fate and transport of pollutants; and (3) quantifying the environmental, health and socio-economic impacts of urban pollution. It comprises a suite of different models and tools to support sustainability appraisals including life cycle assessment, substance flow analysis, source and pollutants characterisation, pollutant fate and transport modelling, health impact analysis, ecological impact assessment, and multi-criteria decision analysis. The framework can be used at different levels, from simple screening studies to more detailed assessments. The paper describes the decision-support framework and outlines several case studies to demonstrate its application. The software tool is available free of charge at www.pureframework.org. Practical applications: The PUrE framework and software platform can be applied to assess and compare the sustainability of different technologies, products, human activities or policies. Example applications of the framework have so far included sustainability comparisons of technologies for thermal treatment of municipal solid waste; generation of electricity from coal and biomass; environmental and health impacts of a mixture of pollutants in Sheffield; the role of urban green space in reducing the levels of particulate matter in London and the impacts of environmental policy on legacy pollution in Avenmouth.

With concerns of energy shortages, China, like the United States, European Union, and other countries, is promoting the development of biofuels. However, China also faces high future demand for food and feed, and so its bioenergy program must try to strike a balance between food and fuel. The goals of this paper are to provide an overview of China's current bioethanol program, identify the potential for using marginal lands for feedstock production, and measure the likely impacts of China's bioethanol development on the nation's future food self-sufficiency. Our results indicate that the potential to use marginal land for bioethanol feedstock production is limited. Applying a modeling approach based on highly disaggregated data by region, our analysis shows that the target of 10 million t of bioethanol by 2020 seems to be a prudent target, causing no major disturbances in China's food security. But the expansion of bioethanol may increase environmental pressures due to the higher levels of fertilizer use. This study shows also that if China were able to cultivate 45% of its required bioethanol feedstock on new marginal land, it would further limit negative effects of the bioethanol program on the domestic and international economy, but at the expense of having to apply another 750 thousand t of fertilizer.

This paper is concerned with how technology influences people’s emotional attachments to nature. The paper proposes two theoretical works in progress: a model which shows how emotions are constructed through social, technological and ecological experience; and a framework which proposes ways in which technology influences the construction of emotional attachments to nature. The aim of these models and frameworks are to enable designers to reframe their perceptions of ecological issues and recognise the behavioural, cultural and social complexities. The paper also hopes to further the relevance of the design and emotion field to sustainable development. The paper emerges from an investigation into an anthropological approach to ecodesign, and one of the key aims of presenting the paper is to understand its relevance of this enquiry to the design and emotion field.