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The world, society and education are constantly evolving, and to respond to these changes, the main governmental institutions have been proposing different global strategies to focus efforts in the same direction. Currently, the United Nations and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) have presented a series of indicators that could help to minimise the environmental, economic and social instability we are experiencing. In this sense, Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) has been described as a fundamental factor. Specifically, in previous work, we argued that physical education (PE) could be a good tool to contribute to SDGs. Based on this, no research analysing the voices of Physical Education Teachers (PET) on how this contribution could be made has been identified in previous literature. Therefore, the objectives of this research are: (1) to analyse the voices and opinions of active PETs in terms of the knowledge they have about Sustainable Development (SD); (2) to determine their opinions about the contribution that PE could make to SDGs; and finally, (3) to identify the challenges and limitations of pedagogical action of SD in PE. For this purpose, a qualitative analysis through a semi-structured interview with 41 active PETs was carried out. The main findings will be presented and discussed around four themes: (a) agreement on the concept of sustainability; (b) PE can contribute to the achievement of SDGs; (c) ambiguity in applying SDGs to PE lessons; and (d) teachers’ constraints on how to implement SDGs in PE. It seems to indicate that PETs do not have a multidimensional vision of sustainable development. While they recognise the potential of PE to contribute to SDGs through awareness raising and student learning, they point to its pedagogical and formative constraints as the main barriers to being able to contribute. They pointed to a lack of knowledge on how to do so, guidelines on how to integrate ESD, lack of involvement, shortage of time or resources in school physical education.

Wood biomass is turned into industrial fuel through chipping. The efficiency of chipping depends on many factors, including chipper knife wear. Chipper knife wear was determined through a long-term follow-up study, conducted at a waste wood recycling yard. Knife wear determined a sharp drop of productivity (>20%) and a severe decay in product quality. Dry sharpening with a grinder mitigated this effect, but it could not replace proper wet sharpening. Increasing the frequency of wet sharpening sessions determined a moderate increase of knife depreciation cost, but it could drastically enhance machine performance and reduce biomass processing cost. Since benefits largely exceed costs, increasing the frequency of wet sharpening sessions may be an effective measure for reducing overall chipping cost. If the main goal of a chipper operator is to increase productivity and/or decrease fuel consumption, then managing knife wear should be a primary target. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Abstract In recent years, the overall energy consumption is increasing significantly and the energy consumption in the building sector represents over 30% of the global ones in developed countries. Thermal energy storage (TES) using phase change materials (PCM), which are materials able to store high amounts of energy as latent heat, is suggested as a possible solution to decrease the energy consumption. The authors of this paper developed materials able to encapsulate/stabilize PCM in addition to isolate an industrial residue from the steel recycling process: electrical arc furnace dust (EAFD). This waste is a hazardous dust, and when it is combined with a polymeric matrix produce dense sheet materials suitable for multilayered constructive systems. In this paper the physical, mechanical, thermal and acoustical characterization of two new materials with EAFD and PCM in a polymeric matrix for constructive system is presented. The results are compared with those obtained for one commercial dense sheet material available in the market, Texsound commercialized by TEXSA (Spain). The new dense sheet materials developed in this paper have similar acoustic properties compared to the results obtained for the commercial material and are competitive with it, even better because the new material incorporates PCM which increases the thermal inertia of final constructive system.

Capítulos en libros The smart city is a sustainable and efficient urban center that provides high quality of life to its inhabitants with an optimal management of its resources, where clean and cost effective energy generation is a key issue. Under this setting, distributed generation can provide an adequate tool to deal with energy reliability and to successfully implement renewable sources; nevertheless, selection and scaling of energy systems, considering location, is not a trivial task. Frequently, the stakeholders analyze only one or two "popular" generation systems, and then calculate the output and return of investment in a simplified and approximated approach. This practice could lead the stakeholder to an inadequate technology mix. To tackle this problem, this paper reviews and models most common energy sources for distributed generation in a smart city context. Then, a technical economic analysis is developed for 2 cases, a household and a district, considering not only renewable sources but also efficient non-renewable technologies. The results of the numerical analysis help to assess the more adequate generation systems for a given application, energetic demand, and geographical characteristics. A well-developed analysis is essential for a better understanding of the available technologies and their synergies; as a result, the investors can choose the appropriate solutions, maximizing overall benefits. info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

Treball Final de Màster Universitari en Estudis Internacionals de Pau, Conflictes i Desenvolupament (Pla de 2013). Codi: SBG120. Curs acadèmic: 2016/2017 The Earth’s resources are limited and it is important that we conserve as much as possible. One way to do this is to recycle waste products. The main objective of this project is to decrease the amount of recyclable garbage that is not being recycled in the city of Castellón de la Plana. With the high number of plastic and glass bottles that are being used in restaurants, pubs, and family homes, a vast majority of these will likely be thrown in the garbage instead of recycling. Although there are a number of areas that allow easy access for recycling, the convenience of tossing something into the garbage is considered more convenient. This project will attempt to look at various options to not only provide enticement for businesses to recycle, but also potentially allow a form of income as an incentive.

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

Abstract Concrete is identified in the literature as a suitable material for thermal energy storage applications, with even innovative application potentials such as storage media in concentrating solar power plants. To ensure a suitable heat transfer among concrete components, the binder material of concrete (cement paste) require further research and understanding to this aim. In particular, the thermal stability of cement paste under temperature cycled conditions arises as a research gap. In this study, ordinary Portland and calcium aluminate cement types were selected using a low water-cement ratio. Thermo-mechanical properties were studied before and after 1, 10, and 25 or 50 thermal cycles at 200 °C, 400 °C, 600 °C, and 800 °C. Although ordinary Portland cement paste showed micro-cracking propagation after 25 thermal cycles from ambient temperature to 200 °C and 400 °C, both cement pastes preserved their integrity, being compressive strength higher in ordinary Portland cement. On the contrary, after 25 or 50 thermal cycles at 600 °C and 800 °C, only calcium aluminate cement preserved its integrity, while ordinary Portland cement revealed a fragmentation status. Despite the compressive strength decrease in calcium aluminate paste at 600 °C and 800 °C, as a result of porosity increase, the properties were maintained after 10 thermal cycles. However, thermal conductivity in calcium aluminate paste was reduced nearly 50% after the first cycle at temperatures higher than 200 °C.

Treball Final de Grau en Finances i Comptabilitat. Codi: FC1049. Curs acadèmic: 2019/2020 In recent years there has been a rise in businesses investing in social and ethical issues. The sustainable development goals published in 2015 by the UN provide a globally agreed framework to make the world more sustainable. Companies have been given the opportunity to help the environment and society through their actions whilst increasing their value and return and improving their reputation. A method for doing so is by following the principles of responsible investment and incorporating environmental, social and governance criteria into long-term businesses strategies. Spanish banks are actively working to achieve the sustainable development goals by investing in sustainable finance, social projects, housing programmes, etc. to meet societal needs whilst extending their market scope and achieving corporate growth and financial success. The main focus of their actions lays with two specific goals: ending poverty and providing decent work and economic growth for all.

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