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Global demand for electrical energy is in constant growth because of the constant increase in the number of inhabitants and the economy growth. This paper presents the way the increasing demand for energy and the constant increase in the capacity of power plant production systems exacerbates the working conditions of the system parts and leads to the remaining working life reduction. Efficient operation of thermal power plants is the basis of economical production of electricity based on combustion of lignite. Ventilation mill as such is one of the basic equipment in thermal power plants which work has a significant impact on the level of energy efficiency. This paper presents the complexity of the optimization problem of the different thermal power plants and the system demands to use multidisciplinary research. However, any optimization of an energy plant, such as a ventilation mill, in this case, represents a unique approach to the problem of operating efficiency of the plant, and as such it asks for many new requirements and solutions. This paper also presents the way for solving this complex problem by using detail analyses of work of system of ventilation mill and dust channel by analysing the period of failures. This paper describes the following: the usages of CFD numerical simulation in FLUENT software for determining the working conditions in ventilation mill and dust channel; possibilities for use the process of coating damaged parts with wear resistance material and procedure for selection and coating on real working parts; analyses of damaged coated working parts of ventilation mill after testing in exploitation condition; data analysis of working parts before and after coating, time and time and resource saving. One of the main goals is to analyse the damaged coated working parts of ventilation mill after testing in exploitation condition.

The brewer's yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae displays a much higher ethanol tolerance compared to most other organisms, and it is therefore commonly used for the industrial production of bioethanol and alcoholic beverages. However, the genetic determinants underlying this yeast's exceptional ethanol tolerance have proven difficult to elucidate. In this perspective, we discuss how different types of experiments have contributed to our understanding of the toxic effects of ethanol and the mechanisms and complex genetics underlying ethanol tolerance. In a second part, we summarize the different routes and challenges involved in obtaining superior industrial yeasts with improved ethanol tolerance.

Two new species of Torodorinae: Caveana plenalinea Park, sp. nov. and Antiochtha hemitatos Park, sp. nov., are described from Laos. At the same time, three species of the genus Torodora are reported for the first time from Laos.

Abstract The modification of carbon fibres surface has been achieved by high temperature (1000 °C) growth of Fe3O4 magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) on the surface of carbon fibres using ammonium iron (II) sulphate as a single precursor of the nanoparticles. As a consequence, the formation of MNPs on the surface of unsized carbon fibres increased the interfacial shear strength by 84.3%, as measured by single fibre fragmentation test. Further investigation on interfacial reinforcing mechanism confirmed an increase in average total surface energy of carbon fibres from 58.81 for unmodified carbon fibre to 64.31 mJ/m2 for MNPs decorated fibres. Fundamental analysis revealed a 12.44% increase in average dispersive and no significant reduction in average specific surface energy of carbon fibre after MNPs surface decoration. This led to an increase in interlaminar shear strength from 46.9 to 63.3 MPa due to the strong mechanical interlocking at the MNPs decorated-carbon fibre/epoxy interface which can be described by improve in the dispersive component of the surface energy.

This paper discusses the concept of 'sustainable water services' and suggests a multicriteria method to assess it. Although conceptual discussions around this notion are often confined to the triple bottom line (TBL) classification, it seems that the TBL approach does not provide the suitable framework to measure water services sustainability. It is argued that assets (or technical) and governance aspects are also indispensable dimensions. After revisiting the concept in broader terms, several criteria and metrics are suggested to operationalize and quantify the sustainability level of urban water services. To aggregate the numerous aspects that are relevant in this scope a multicriteria decision analysis approach is proposed. Furthermore, to illustrate the real-world application of the method, a multicriteria model applicable to the case of Portugal was developed and calibrated with the input of a decision-maker with extensive experience in the sector. With the suggested framework it is possible to assess the global sustainability level of the water services (e.g. of each utility) and also the performance in each particular dimension ('social', 'environmental', 'economic', 'governance' and 'assets').

Abstract The condition of the substation grounding grid is vital for the safety of the people. Inadequate grounding may cause failures in major substation's equipment, as well as in control, metering and telecommunication equipment. Therefore, it is necessary to clearly identify damaged elements on grounding grid. This paper presents an approach to test the integrity of the grounding grid in a general framework of IEEE Std. 81-2012. More precisely, in order to locate damaged grounding riser(s) and/or grounding grid conductor(s), this paper is focused on novel unambiguous criteria for post-processing of raw-data collected from the measurements. In order to avoid the effect of power frequency interference on the measurement, we use DC test current of 100 A. The field test is described and discussed in details. The outcome of field test clearly shows the validity and feasibility of the proposed approach.

This report contains the main experimental results from the project SeaCH4NGE-PLUS. Briefly, the screening of chemical content of a range of seaweeds collected in Iceland in 2020 and 2021 did not identify a bromoform rich seaweed that had high promise as a methane reducing feed component for cattle. Certain samples of brown macroalgae were high in total phenolic content, indicating a high phlorotannin content that has been associated with a moderate methane reduction. That is consistent with the findings of this research. Samples of Asparagopsis sp. indicated that they may have a short shelf life to preserve the bromoform content. Fermentation may increase slightly the methane reduction potential of seaweed, but extracting phlorotannins did not yield a much higher reduction of methane as hypothesized. This report is closed until 31.12.2023. ___ Þessi skýrsla inniheldur helstu tilraunaniðurstöður úr verkefninu SeaCH4NGE-PLUS. Í stuttu máli sýndi skimun á efnainnihaldi u.þ.b. 20 þörungategunda sem safnað var á Íslandi 2020 og 2021, ekki fram á brómóformríkt þang, en bromoform ríkt þang getur haft metan minnkandi áhrif þegar það er gefið nautgripum. Sýni af brúnþörungum voru gjarnan há í fenólinnihaldi, sem bendir til mikils flórótanníninnihalds sem hefur verið tengt hóflegri metanlækkun. Rannsóknir á Asparagopsis þörungum. gaf til kynna að þau sýni gætu haft stutt geymsluþol, en áhrif voru minni en reiknað var með. Gerjun getur haft lítilleg jákvæð áhrif á metanframleiðslu (þ.e.a.s. dregið aðeins meira úr framleiðslu), en útdráttur af flórótannínum hafði ekki afgerandi áhrif á metanframleiðslu. Þessi skýrsla er lokUð til 31.12.2023. Funding: Loftslagssjóður, Rannís

Estonia is among the countries with the most energy-efficient Near Zero Energy Buildings (NZEBs) in Europe, i.e. their energy consumption is the lowest. From the energy management prospects, on one hand, the rising price of electricity and decreasing the feed-in prices, and on the other hand, the decreasing price of battery energy storage system (BESS) have made the self-consumption of NZEBs profitable. This paper develops a simple tool to study the optimal sizing of BESS and increase the profitability of NZEBs. The BESS sizing is done considering the installed PV capacity in the NZEB, the energy consumption profile, and the local electricity prices. The results of this paper demonstrate to the NZEB owner and planers that in case of self-consumption, investment in PV systems could be more profitable when it is combined with BESS. Simulation results are presented to validate the proposed BESS sizing tool and analyze the sensitivity of results to changes in electricity and battery system price.