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The presented Report forms Deliverable D6.2 resulted from the realization of Workpackage WP.6.3 titled “Overview of market drivers, fiscal measures and subsidies” in frame of the EU-Project “Geothermal communities – demonstrating the cascaded use of geothermal energy for district heating with small scale RES integration and retrofitting measures” (GEOCOM). The following seven countries were covered by WP6.3 works and this Deliverable D6.2: o Macedonia, o Hungary, o Italy, o Poland, o Romania, o Serbia, o Slovakia. The work was done with the contribution of all GEOCOM Project Partner teams and appointed experts, coordinated, interpreted and summarized by the Mineral and Energy Economy Research Institute of PAS team, WP6 leader. FP7

Preparation of TiO2 using the hydrothermal treatment in NH4OH solution and subsequent thermal heating at 500–700 °C in Ar was performed in order to introduce some titania surface defects. The highest amount of oxygen vacancies and Ti3+ surface defects were observed for a sample heat-treated at 500 °C. The presence of these surface defects enhanced photocatalytic properties of titania towards the deactivation of two bacteria species, E. coli and S. epidermidis, under artificial solar lamp irradiation. Further modification of TiO2 was targeted towards the doping of Cu species. Cu doping was realized through the impregnation of the titania surface by Cu species supplied from various copper salts in an aqueous solution and the subsequent heating at 500 °C in Ar. The following precursors were used as a source of Cu: CuSO4, CuNO3 or Cu(CH3COO)2. Cu doping was performed for raw TiO2 after a hydrothermal process with and without NH4OH addition. The obtained results indicate that Cu species were deposited on the titania surface defects in the case of reduced TiO2, but on the TiO2 without NH4OH modification, Cu species were attached through the titania adsorbed hydroxyl groups. Cu doping on TiO2 increased the absorption of light in the visible range. Rapid inactivation of E. coli within 30 min was obtained for the ammonia-reduced TiO2 heated at 500 °C and TiO2 doped with Cu from CuSO4 solution. Photocatalytic deactivation of S. epidermidis was greatly enhanced through Cu doping on TiO2. Impregnation of TiO2 with CuSO4 was the most effective for inactivation of both E. coli and S. epidermidis.

This paper describes anaerobic thermophilic sludge digestion (55 °C) in a continuously stirred tank reactor (CSTR) on a pilot-plant scale (150 L). The experimental protocol was defined to examine the effect of the increase in the organic loading rate on the efficiency of the digester and to report on its steady-state performance. The reactor was subjected to a programme of steady-state operation over a range of solids retention times (SRTs) of 75, 40, 27, 20 and 15 days and organic loading rates (OLR) in the range 0.4–2.2 kg VS/(m3 day). The digester was fed with raw sludge (containing approximately 35 kg/m3 volatile solids (VS)) once daily during the 75-day SRT period, twice daily during the 40-day SRT period and three times a day during the 27-, 20- and 15-day SRT periods. The reactor was initially operated with an organic loading rate of 0.4 kg VS/(m3 day) and an SRT of 75 days. The volatile solids removal efficiency in the reactor was found to be 73%, while the volumetric methane production rate produced in the digester reached 0.02 m3/(m3 day). Over a 338-day operating period, an OLR of 2.2 kg VS/(m3 day) was achieved with 49.1% VS removal efficiency in the pilot sludge digester, at which time the volumetric methane production rate content of biogas produced in the digester reached 0.4 m3/(m3 day). The chemical oxygen demand (COD) mass balance obtained indicated that COD used for methane generation increased when the SRT was decreased or when the influent organic loading rate was increased. This implies that the amount of COD used in the anabolism route decreased with SRT due the microbial population becoming adapted to new operational conditions and more COD being used to generate methane.

The problem of acid gas exhaust emissions treatment has not been fully resolved at present. Dry adsorption of acid gases with alkaline sorbents is currently being investigated, to improve solid sorbents. In this study, 5 types of hydrated lime were characterised and tested. The sorption capacities were measured by means of a system consisting of a feed line (HCl/N2), a thermostatic reactor and a water absorber. The physical characteristics of sorbent samples were also compared. Analyses conducted with scanning electronic microscopy revealed that sample C1 showed uniform particle distribution. Samples C2 and C3 showed the co-presence of fine and coarse particles. Sample C4 showed very fine particles with agglomeration phenomena. In sample C5, fibrous elements were found. Energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS) analyses showed a similar composition of the samples, with the exception of the presence of Mg in some of them. After 30 min of testing, the following differences in sorption capacities with respect to C1 (3.59 mg g−1) were found: C2, −20%; C3, −13%; C4, −17%; C5, −3%. Higher sorption capacities were associated with more uniform particle size distributions. Conversely, agglomeration of fine particles may have adversely affected the performance of sorbents.

Sustainable food supply has gained considerable consumer concern due to the high percentage of spoilage microorganisms. Food industries need to expand advanced technologies that can maintain the nutritive content of foods, enhance the bio-availability of bioactive compounds, provide environmental and economic sustainability, and fulfill consumers’ requirements of sensory characteristics. Heat treatment negatively affects food samples’ nutritional and sensory properties as bioactives are sensitive to high-temperature processing. The need arises for non-thermal processes to reduce food losses, and sustainable developments in preservation, nutritional security, and food safety are crucial parameters for the upcoming era. Non-thermal processes have been successfully approved because they increase food quality, reduce water utilization, decrease emissions, improve energy efficiency, assure clean labeling, and utilize by-products from waste food. These processes include pulsed electric field (PEF), sonication, high-pressure processing (HPP), cold plasma, and pulsed light. This review describes the use of HPP in various processes for sustainable food processing. The influence of this technique on microbial, physicochemical, and nutritional properties of foods for sustainable food supply is discussed. This approach also emphasizes the limitations of this emerging technique. HPP has been successfully analyzed to meet the global requirements. A limited global food source must have a balanced approach to the raw content, water, energy, and nutrient content. HPP showed positive results in reducing microbial spoilage and, at the same time, retains the nutritional value. HPP technology meets the essential requirements for sustainable and clean labeled food production. It requires limited resources to produce nutritionally suitable foods for consumers’ health.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations state that cities and human settlements need to be more inclusive, safe and resilient. In Europe cities have experienced dramatic physical, social and economic changes during the last decades while historic centres of European cities, among the most important assets of the European cultural heritage, are living paradoxes. They are defined as “a collection of beauty, icon of well-being, model of sustainability, but abandoned”. This study investigates the changes in the urban landscape of Nicosia, a particular historical centre in the Mediterranean region (Cyprus). The city centre is characterised by exceptionally well-preserved Venetian fortifications. Due to political circumstances, the capital of Cyprus, Nicosia, is still divided and has been ruled by two different administrations for several decades. This study used optical multi-spectral satellite datasets processing, like the Landsat and the most recent Sentinel-2 products, to detect, identify and characterise significant morphological transformations within the walled city and around it. This paper’s central thesis promotes a more systematic use of earth observation products and derivatives in decision-making processes that regard planning, use and management of urban resources in Europe, especially in support of urban planning strategies of historic cities.

The objective of this paper is to explain novel sustainable robotics solutions for cities. Those new proposals appear under the ECHORD++ project which is a good tool to meet academia and industry with the objective of providing innovative technological solutions. In this paper, authors explain the tool as well as the methodology to promote robotics research in urban environments, and the on-going experience will demonstrate that huge advances are made in this field. Peer Reviewed