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This dataset, in the context of the MultiPACK Project, describes the development of a CO2 air/water reversible heat pump, specifically investigating the domestic hot water (DHW) production operating mode. A dynamic model of the heat pump is developed with the software Simcenter Amesim. After validation against experimental data, the numerical model is utilized to predict the performance of the heat pump to varying hot water demand, evaporator air inlet conditions and high-pressure value, leading to the discussion of the optimal control strategy. A paper, based on this dataset, "Experimental and numerical investigation of a transcritical CO2 air/water reversible heat pump: analysis of domestic hot water production (14th Gustav Lorentzen Conference, Kyoto, Japan, 6th- 9th December 2020, DOI:10.18462/iir.gl.2020.1160).

Comprehensive and reliable information on anthropogenic sources of greenhouse gas emissions is required to track progress towards keeping warming well below 2°C as agreed upon in the Paris Agreement. Here we provide a dataset on anthropogenic GHG emissions 1970-2019 with a broad country and sector coverage. We build the dataset from recent releases from the “Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research” (EDGAR) for CO2 emissions from fossil fuel combustion and industry (FFI), CH4 emissions, N2O emissions, and fluorinated gases and use a well-established fast-track method to extend this dataset from 2018 to 2019. We complement this with information on net CO2 emissions from land use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF) from three available bookkeeping models.

Hydrochar, carbon-rich material produced during the thermochemical processing of biomass, is receiving increased attention due to its potential value as soil amendment. It can increase agroforestry systems’ productivity through direct and indirect effects on growth and soil quality. Hydrochar may also directly help mitigate climate change by sequestering stable carbon compounds in the soil and perhaps indirectly through increased C uptake by trees. In this research, we aim to evaluate how the application of hydrochar produced by two feedstock types, Cynara cardunculus L. (Hc) residuals and sewage sludge (Hs), and in two different doses (3 and 6 kg m−2) could improve the growth and water use efficiency of Populus alba L., a fast-growing tree species largely used in agroforestry as bioenergy crops and in C sequestration. We considered five plants per treatment, and we measured apical growth, secondary growth, leaf area and intrinsic water use efficiency in each plant for the whole growing season from February to October 2022. Our results highlighted that hydrochar applications stimulate the growth and water use efficiency of plants and that the double dose (6 kg m−2) of both hydrochars, and particularly Hc, had positive effects on plant performance, especially during extremely hot periods. Indeed, the year 2022 was characterized by a heat wave during the summer period, and this condition allowed us to evaluate how plants, growing in soils amended with hydrochar, could perform under climate extremes. Our findings showed that the control plants experienced severe damage in terms of dried stems and dried leaves during summer 2022, while hydrochar applications reduced these effects.

Hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) provides an attractive alternative method for the treatment of high-moisture waste and, in particular, digested sludge. HTC could reduce the costs and environmental risks associated with sludge handling and management. Although it is recognized that the dewaterability of hydrochars produced from digested sludge, even at mild temperatures (180–190 °C), is highly improved with respect to the starting material, the filterability of HTC slurries for the recovery of the solid material (hydrochar) still represents a challenge. This study presents the results of an investigation into the filterability of agro-industrial digested sludge HTC slurries produced by a C-700 CarboremTM HTC industrial-scale plant. The filterability of HTC slurries, produced at 190 °C for 1 h, with the use of acid solutions of hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid or citric acids, was investigated by using a semi-industrial filter press. The use of sulfuric acid or citric acid solutions, in particular, significantly improved the filterability of HTC slurries, reducing the time of filtration and residual moisture content. The acid treatment also promoted the migration of heavy metals and phosphorus (P) in the HTC filtrate solution. This study demonstrates that P can be recovered via the precipitation of struvite in high yields, recovering up to 85 wt% by mass of its initial P content.

In the transition from linear production systems, unsustainable from the point of view of resources, to a model that finds strength in environmental, social and economic sustainability, the circular economy paradigm is the foundation that facilitates the planetary agro-ecological transition. The European Union has taken a number of steps (including the Circular Economy Package of Directives) shaping circularity as a wide-ranging driver measure involving many sectors. The paper intends to provide a regulatory framework on the current general situation regarding circularity in European Union, in order to extrapolate and give evidence to the aspects that intersect the agri-food sector. This is not only because they are poorly addressed in the literature, but also because there is a lack of regulatory instruments on the circular economy specifically addressing this area of interest. For this purpose, the analysis focuses on waste and residue/scrap management issues, recognized by law as by-products and end-of-waste status, as they are covered by circular economy legislation and as they can be applied to the agri-food sector. The latter allow the implementation of circularity strategies in the agri-food sector and, given the numerousness of production chains and the peculiarities of each of them, various regeneration and/or reuse processes of specific resources may be depicted. The intent is to provide useful knowledge on how to implement sustainable waste management, also proposing a concrete case on a by-product of olive oil processing, through which it is possible to highlight how the correct application of regulations favors the adoption of circular economic and management models in the firms involved, as well as informing the relevant economic operators on the possible profiles of legal liability that may arise from insufficient knowledge. Furthermore, this paper delves into the European Green Deal’s Strategy as it enriches the circular economy paradigm with new facets. NextGenerationEU and the National Recovery and Resilience Plan financially support this strategy in the aftermath of the socioeconomic crisis from COVID-19 in the EU Member States. This is in order to achieve the objective of achieving the agro-ecological transition.

Abstract Economically harvesting energy from a microbial fuel cell (MFC), increasing its electrical power production, and developing its role as a practical energy supply, needs a low-cost and high-performance design of the MFC compartments. According to this strategy, a novel monolithic membrane electrode assembly (MEA) was fabricated and evaluated as an air–cathode in a single-chamber MFC (SCMFC). The MEA was made of bacterial cellulose (BC), conductive multi-walled carbon nanotubes (CNT), and nano-zycosil (NZ). BC, as a nano-celluloses with oxygen barrier property, can maintain anaerobic conditions for the anode compartment. Binder-less CNT coating on BC avoids costly binders such as poly-tetra fluoro ethylene (PTFE) and Nafion and decreases the MEA charge transfer resistance. NZ, as a very cheap modifier, not only prevents the anolyte leakage but also provides more MEA’s active sites for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). The electrochemical performance of the MEA was compared to a PTFE- based gas diffusion electrode (GDE) in the SCMFC. The MEA cell provided a pulse power density of 1790 mW/m2, roughly twice as high as the pulse power density of GDE (920 mW/m2). SCMFC’s internal resistance decreased from 1.84 KΩ (with GDE) to 0.8 KΩ (with MEA). Also, the cell’s columbic efficiency increased from 4.2% (with GDE) to11.7% (with MEA). Additionally, the capacitance of the MEA (65 mF) was much higher than the value for GDE (0.73 mF). Thus, the MEA compared to the GDE showed higher performance in the SCMFC for electricity generation and wastewater treatment at a lower cost.

Project: GCOS Earth Heat Inventory - A study under the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS) concerted international effort to update the Earth heat inventory (EHI), and presents an updated international assessment of ocean warming estimates, and new and updated estimates of heat gain in the atmosphere, cryosphere and land over the period from 1960 to present. Summary: The file “GCOS_EHI_1960-2020_Earth_Heat_Inventory_Ocean_Heat_Content_data.nc” contains a consistent long-term Earth system heat inventory over the period 1960-2020. Human-induced atmospheric composition changes cause a radiative imbalance at the top-of-atmosphere which is driving global warming. Understanding the heat gain of the Earth system from this accumulated heat – and particularly how much and where the heat is distributed in the Earth system - is fundamental to understanding how this affects warming oceans, atmosphere and land, rising temperatures and sea level, and loss of grounded and floating ice, which are fundamental concerns for society. This dataset is based on a study under the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS) concerted international effort to update the Earth heat inventory published in von Schuckmann et al. (2020), and presents an updated international assessment of ocean warming estimates, and new and updated estimates of heat gain in the atmosphere, cryosphere and land over the period 1960-2020. The dataset also contains estimates for global ocean heat content over 1960-2020 for different depth layers, i.e., 0-300m, 0-700m, 700-2000m, 0-2000m, 2000-bottom, which are described in von Schuckmann et al. (2022). This version includes an update of heat storage of global ocean heat content, where one additional product (Li et al., 2022) had been included to the initial estimate. The Earth heat inventory had been updated accordingly, considering also the update for continental heat content (Cuesta-Valero et al., 2023).

This dataset underpins the study "Synergies and conflicts of energy development and water security in Africa". The study provides insights into energy supply and demand, power generation, investments and total system costs, water consumption and withdrawal as well as carbon dioxide emissions for the African continent. We developed a model to evaluate energy supply and water requirements to cover the energy needs of the African continent during the period 2015-2065. The model was developed using the open-source modeling system for long-term energy planning OSeMOSYS. The objective function is to minimise total energy system costs, rather than, for example, co-optimise the energy and water sectors. Other energy resources were also included in the model except for adding the water analysis, and the dataset was updated based on the latest available information. The OSeMOSYS model developed to conduct the study “Energy projections for African countries”, itself extended from the Electricity Model Base for Africa (TEMBA), was further extended, included exports for all fuels, water loss due to evaporation in hydropower plants and more scenarios examined. Furthermore, the latest available data on the energy system of Africa was also updated. The TEMBA model produces aggregate energy, and detailed power system results in each country in the African continent. The power sector results are also reported with power pool aggregation. The OSeMOSYS model and input data used to produce these results can be found at KTH-dESA/jrc_temba: TEMBA 2.1 (Version v2.1) [Data set]. Zenodo. http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4889373 (Authors: Ioannis Pappis, Vignesh Sridharan, Will Usher, & Mark Howells. (2021). The initial study was funded by the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission (contract number C936531 - JRC/PTT/2018/C.7/0038/NC).