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Trabajo Fin de Grado leído en la Universidad Rey Juan Carlos en el curso académico 2022/2023. Directores/as: Fabiola Gómez Jorge ; Tobacco companies have faced numerous challenges and pressures, from increased awareness of health risks associated with smoking to stringent regulations and changing societal attitudes towards tobacco consumption. By embracing change proactively, the tobacco industry can navigate these challenges more effectively and position itself for long-term success. Instead of waiting until circumstances force them to change, tobacco companies have chosen to adapt their business models, diversify their product offerings, and invest in alternative sectors that align with evolving consumer preferences and public health concerns. This paper presents a deep dive analysis on the tobacco industry transformation journey, from key stakeholders, such as, consumers, company employees, health organizations, and governments¿ point of view, to better understand the rational of this transformation process and the status of the change.

Trabajo Fin de Grado leído en la Universidad Rey Juan Carlos en el curso académico 2022/2023. Directores/as: Fabiola Gómez Jorge ; Tobacco companies have faced numerous challenges and pressures, from increased awareness of health risks associated with smoking to stringent regulations and changing societal attitudes towards tobacco consumption. By embracing change proactively, the tobacco industry can navigate these challenges more effectively and position itself for long-term success. Instead of waiting until circumstances force them to change, tobacco companies have chosen to adapt their business models, diversify their product offerings, and invest in alternative sectors that align with evolving consumer preferences and public health concerns. This paper presents a deep dive analysis on the tobacco industry transformation journey, from key stakeholders, such as, consumers, company employees, health organizations, and governments¿ point of view, to better understand the rational of this transformation process and the status of the change.

Clima 2000: 01 November 1993, London, England, UK Available on CD-ROM

Clima 2000: 01 November 1993, London, England, UK Available on CD-ROM

[ES] El sistema agroalimentario atraviesa un período de transición debido a diversas tensiones ambientales, económicas y sociales. En este contexto, las políticas implementadas por los diferentes países europeos juegan un papel fundamental. Esta tesis tiene como objetivo analizar diferentes herramientas políticas disponibles para los diferentes actores de la cadena agroalimentaria con el objetivo de proporcionar una comprensión integral del panorama político y regulatorio actual en Europa. Este trabajo está enmarcado en el proyecto EU VISIONARY, creado para mejorar la sostenibilidad de la agricultura europea mediante la promoción de prácticas ambientalmente amigables, económicamente viables y socioculturalmente apropiadas en los sistemas agroalimentarios. Se analizan las herramientas políticas identificadas y seleccionadas en varios de los países participantes en el proyecto VISIONARY (Reino Unido, Hungría, Alemania, Rumanía, Polonia, España, Italia y Dinamarca), considerando su hibridación e interdependencia y cómo interactúan con los diferentes actores del sistema agroalimentario. Para lograr esto, se realiza una revisión de la literatura sobre el marco actual de la política agraria dentro de la Unión Europea, considerando las últimas dinámicas como el Pacto Verde Europeo, las estrategias de Biodiversidad y De la Granja a la Mesa . Paralelamente, se tabulan los datos recopilados (93 herramientas de políticas), seguido de un análisis de correspondencia múltiple para identificar interacciones significativas entre las diferentes variables. Tras analizar y presentar los resultados, se constata que la mayoría de las intervenciones están relacionadas con la Política Agrícola Común (PAC), están alineadas con las estrategias europeas y están dirigidas principalmente a los agricultores. Además, las principales formas de acción son las regulaciones directas y los incentivos económicos. [EN] The agri-food system is going through a transition period due to environmental, economic, and social tensions. In this context, policies implemented by European countries play a vital role. This Master thesis aims to analyze different policy tools available to agri-food chain stakeholders to provide a comprehensive understanding of the current political and regulatory landscape in Europe. This work is part of the EU VISIONARY project, which was created to improve the sustainability of European agriculture by promoting environmentally friendly, economically viable, and socioculturally appropriate practices in food systems. The political tools identified and selected by some of the countries participating in the VISIONARY project (United Kingdom, Hungary, Germany, Romania, Poland, Spain, Italy, and Denmark) are analyzed, considering their hybridization and interdependency and how they interact with the different actors of the agri-food system. To achieve this analysis, a literature review of the current agricultural policy framework within the European Union is conducted, considering the latest dynamics such as The Green Deal, the Farm to Fork , and Biodiversity strategies. Additionally, the collected data (93 policy tools) is tabulated, followed by a multiple correspondence analysis to identify significant intersections between different variables. After analyzing and presenting the results, it was found that most interventions are related to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), are aligned with European strategies, and are primarily aimed at farmers. Furthermore, the primary forms of action are directregulations and economic incentives.

[ES] El sistema agroalimentario atraviesa un período de transición debido a diversas tensiones ambientales, económicas y sociales. En este contexto, las políticas implementadas por los diferentes países europeos juegan un papel fundamental. Esta tesis tiene como objetivo analizar diferentes herramientas políticas disponibles para los diferentes actores de la cadena agroalimentaria con el objetivo de proporcionar una comprensión integral del panorama político y regulatorio actual en Europa. Este trabajo está enmarcado en el proyecto EU VISIONARY, creado para mejorar la sostenibilidad de la agricultura europea mediante la promoción de prácticas ambientalmente amigables, económicamente viables y socioculturalmente apropiadas en los sistemas agroalimentarios. Se analizan las herramientas políticas identificadas y seleccionadas en varios de los países participantes en el proyecto VISIONARY (Reino Unido, Hungría, Alemania, Rumanía, Polonia, España, Italia y Dinamarca), considerando su hibridación e interdependencia y cómo interactúan con los diferentes actores del sistema agroalimentario. Para lograr esto, se realiza una revisión de la literatura sobre el marco actual de la política agraria dentro de la Unión Europea, considerando las últimas dinámicas como el Pacto Verde Europeo, las estrategias de Biodiversidad y De la Granja a la Mesa . Paralelamente, se tabulan los datos recopilados (93 herramientas de políticas), seguido de un análisis de correspondencia múltiple para identificar interacciones significativas entre las diferentes variables. Tras analizar y presentar los resultados, se constata que la mayoría de las intervenciones están relacionadas con la Política Agrícola Común (PAC), están alineadas con las estrategias europeas y están dirigidas principalmente a los agricultores. Además, las principales formas de acción son las regulaciones directas y los incentivos económicos. [EN] The agri-food system is going through a transition period due to environmental, economic, and social tensions. In this context, policies implemented by European countries play a vital role. This Master thesis aims to analyze different policy tools available to agri-food chain stakeholders to provide a comprehensive understanding of the current political and regulatory landscape in Europe. This work is part of the EU VISIONARY project, which was created to improve the sustainability of European agriculture by promoting environmentally friendly, economically viable, and socioculturally appropriate practices in food systems. The political tools identified and selected by some of the countries participating in the VISIONARY project (United Kingdom, Hungary, Germany, Romania, Poland, Spain, Italy, and Denmark) are analyzed, considering their hybridization and interdependency and how they interact with the different actors of the agri-food system. To achieve this analysis, a literature review of the current agricultural policy framework within the European Union is conducted, considering the latest dynamics such as The Green Deal, the Farm to Fork , and Biodiversity strategies. Additionally, the collected data (93 policy tools) is tabulated, followed by a multiple correspondence analysis to identify significant intersections between different variables. After analyzing and presenting the results, it was found that most interventions are related to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), are aligned with European strategies, and are primarily aimed at farmers. Furthermore, the primary forms of action are directregulations and economic incentives.

There is a growing awareness of the valuable nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) being lost in conventional wastewater treatment systems. Although the removal of these nutrients has been well addressed, efforts for nutrient recovery have seen little development. As the emphasis on sustainability in the wastewater treatment industry increases, conventional wastewater treatment processes are being re-evaluated and new treatment systems developed. A possible nutrient recovery mechanism is the precipitation of magnesium ammonium phosphate hexahydrate (MgNH4PO4·6H2O), commonly known as struvite. Human urine has been identified as a rich source of nutrients in wastewater; hence the separate collection of urine is considered a viable method of enabling struvite recovery. Since dilution of urine to a certain degree is inevitable, reconcentration of urine beyond the solubility limit of struvite is critical. Currently available methods for reconcentration (e.g., evaporation, freeze-thaw, reverse osmosis and electrodialysis) are relatively expensive with high energy demand. Thus, the research here aims to demonstrate nutrient reconcentration from diluted urine and simultaneous organic removal by using the principles of microbial desalination cells (MDCs), where energy released from organic oxidation is partially used for the separation of nutrient ions. With reduced energy demand, a sustainable method for the utilization of source-separated urine is examined. The performance of bioelectrochemical systems relies on the activity of exoelectrogenic bacteria to transfer electrons to the anode. An examination of exoelectrogen sensitivity at various wastewater treatment conditions (i.e. ammonia and oxygen) is an important component of this research. Methanogenesis is considered the greatest challenge in achieving practical applications in anaerobic bioelectrochemical systems. An electrolytic oxygen production method is suggested for effective control of methanogenesis in a feasible and cost-effective manner. Master of Applied Science (MASc) Thesis

There is a growing awareness of the valuable nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) being lost in conventional wastewater treatment systems. Although the removal of these nutrients has been well addressed, efforts for nutrient recovery have seen little development. As the emphasis on sustainability in the wastewater treatment industry increases, conventional wastewater treatment processes are being re-evaluated and new treatment systems developed. A possible nutrient recovery mechanism is the precipitation of magnesium ammonium phosphate hexahydrate (MgNH4PO4·6H2O), commonly known as struvite. Human urine has been identified as a rich source of nutrients in wastewater; hence the separate collection of urine is considered a viable method of enabling struvite recovery. Since dilution of urine to a certain degree is inevitable, reconcentration of urine beyond the solubility limit of struvite is critical. Currently available methods for reconcentration (e.g., evaporation, freeze-thaw, reverse osmosis and electrodialysis) are relatively expensive with high energy demand. Thus, the research here aims to demonstrate nutrient reconcentration from diluted urine and simultaneous organic removal by using the principles of microbial desalination cells (MDCs), where energy released from organic oxidation is partially used for the separation of nutrient ions. With reduced energy demand, a sustainable method for the utilization of source-separated urine is examined. The performance of bioelectrochemical systems relies on the activity of exoelectrogenic bacteria to transfer electrons to the anode. An examination of exoelectrogen sensitivity at various wastewater treatment conditions (i.e. ammonia and oxygen) is an important component of this research. Methanogenesis is considered the greatest challenge in achieving practical applications in anaerobic bioelectrochemical systems. An electrolytic oxygen production method is suggested for effective control of methanogenesis in a feasible and cost-effective manner. Master of Applied Science (MASc) Thesis

Latent thermal energy storages (LTESs) in combination with heat pumps and smart control strategies can maximize the utilization of renewable energy sources for heating and cooling. However, smart energy management with model predictive control (MPC) requires monitoring the total energy stored in the LTES, which is determined by the liquid fraction of the phase change material (PCM). Measuring the liquid fraction is challenging and the diverse liquid-fraction sensing approaches pose a trade-off between accuracy and ease of implementation. The present study aims to quantify the effect of the liquid fraction sensing accuracy on the performance of MPC strategies for heating systems with LTES. For this purpose, a residential heating application with an energy management system is analyzed. The heating system consists of a heat pump, an LTES and a photovoltaic array. The heat pump can be driven by the photovoltaic array and the electric grid. The energy management system uses MPC based on Mixed-Integer Linear Programming. Representative seasonal profiles for the heating load and weather conditions are used as forecasts for the MPC. The performance of the energy management system is assessed in terms of total heating cost for different error values in the estimation of the liquid fraction of the PCM in the LTES. The heating cost is found to proportionally increase with the absolute error in liquid fraction due to reduced utilization of the LTES capacity.

Latent thermal energy storages (LTESs) in combination with heat pumps and smart control strategies can maximize the utilization of renewable energy sources for heating and cooling. However, smart energy management with model predictive control (MPC) requires monitoring the total energy stored in the LTES, which is determined by the liquid fraction of the phase change material (PCM). Measuring the liquid fraction is challenging and the diverse liquid-fraction sensing approaches pose a trade-off between accuracy and ease of implementation. The present study aims to quantify the effect of the liquid fraction sensing accuracy on the performance of MPC strategies for heating systems with LTES. For this purpose, a residential heating application with an energy management system is analyzed. The heating system consists of a heat pump, an LTES and a photovoltaic array. The heat pump can be driven by the photovoltaic array and the electric grid. The energy management system uses MPC based on Mixed-Integer Linear Programming. Representative seasonal profiles for the heating load and weather conditions are used as forecasts for the MPC. The performance of the energy management system is assessed in terms of total heating cost for different error values in the estimation of the liquid fraction of the PCM in the LTES. The heating cost is found to proportionally increase with the absolute error in liquid fraction due to reduced utilization of the LTES capacity.