Economic assessment and comparison of acacia energy crop with annual traditional crops in Southern Europe

In several policy documents bioenergy is recognized as an important renewable energy source in Italy. The increase in energy prices represents an opportunity for lignocellulosic energy crops such as acacia and poplar.     

Environmental assessment: (LCA) and spatial modelling (GIS) of energy crop implementation on local scale

Environmental analysis tools as LCA and GIS have been combined to provide an integrated methodology able to determine suitable areas for cultivating Brassica spp. (B. carinata and B. napus) and Populus spp and for proposing local and decentralised energy production and consumption scenario. The methodology is applied and verified in a Catalonia (southern Europe) case study area but it can be extrapolated to other Mediterranean regions with similar agroclimates.The results obtained show that a high impact reduction in potential global warming category can be achieved annually (annual reduction of 1,954,904 Mg of CO₂ eq.) in a local scale scenario.Environmental integration such as GIS and LCA provide a methodology capable of giving enough information and results to determine an energy crop implementation strategy for reducing energy consumption and CO₂ eq. emissions.     

Potential of rainwater resources based on urban and social aspects in Colombia

The potential offered by non‐conventional water resources (rainwater) associated with high or low urban density in new housing in different rainfall zones (800–2300 mm) was studied. Ten cities in Colombia with over 250 000 inhabitants were used as a case study. The potential of substitution of tap water by rainwater according to population groups with different socioeconomic status was estimated. This study reveals the favourable conditions for rainwater harvesting in the Colombian context, and enables the linking of supply and demand issues related to local climatic and environmental sustainability in order to integrate the use of rainwater into urban housing projects. For the current consumption scenario (greater than 160 Lcd), rainwater becomes a potential replacement for mains water in urban areas with rainfall of above 1553 L/m²/year.     

Special Issue: A,B and Z: The Structure,Function and Genetics of Z-DNA and Z-RNA

It is now difficult to believe that a biological function for the left-handed Z-DNA and Z-RNA conformations was once controversial. The papers in this Special Issue, “Z-DNA and Z-RNA: from Physical Structure to Biological Function”, are based on presentations at the ABZ2021 meeting that was held virtually on 19 May 2021 and provide evidence for several biological functions of these structures. The first of its kind, this international conference gathered over 200 scientists from many disciplines to specifically address progress in research involving Z-DNA and Z-RNA. These high-energy left-handed conformers of B-DNA and A-RNA are associated with biological functions and disease outcomes, as evidenced from both mouse and human genetic studies. These alternative structures, referred to as “flipons”, form under physiological conditions, regulate type I interferon responses and induce necroptosis during viral infection. They can also stimulate genetic instability, resulting in adaptive evolution and diseases such as cancer. The meeting featured cutting-edge science that was, for the most part, unpublished. We plan for the ABZ meeting to reconvene in 2022.     

Optimized bioregenerative space diet selection with crew choice

Previous studies on optimization of crew diets have not accounted for choice. A diet selection model with crew choice was developed. Scenario analyses were conducted to assess the feasibility and cost of certain crew preferences, such as preferences for numerous-desserts, high-salt, and high-acceptability foods. For comparison purposes, a no-choice and a random-choice scenario were considered. The model was found to be feasible in terms of food variety and overall costs. The numerous-desserts, high-acceptability, and random-choice scenarios all resulted in feasible solutions costing between 13.2 and 17.3 kg ESM/person-day. Only the high-sodium scenario yielded an infeasible solution. This occurred when the foods highest in salt content were selected for the crew-choice portion of the diet. This infeasibility can be avoided by limiting the total sodium content in the crew-choice portion of the diet. Cost savings were found by reducing food variety in scenarios where the preference bias strongly affected nutritional content.     

Work measurement for estimating food preparation time of a bioregenerative diet

During space missions, such as the prospective Mars mission, crew labor time is a strictly limited resource. The diet for such a mission (based on crops grown in a bioregenerative life support system) will require astronauts to prepare their meals essentially from raw ingredients. Time spent on food processing and preparation is time lost for other purposes. Recipe design and diet planning for a space mission should therefore incorporate the time required to prepare the recipes as a critical factor. In this study, videotape analysis of an experienced chef was used to develop a database of recipe preparation time. The measurements were highly consistent among different measurement teams. Data analysis revealed a wide variation between the active times of different recipes, underscoring the need for optimization of diet planning. Potential uses of the database developed in this study are discussed and illustrated in this work.     

Feasibility assessment of poplar bioenergy systems in the Southern Europe

A detailed reliability assessment of bioenergy production systems based on poplar cultivation was made. The aim of this assessment was to demonstrate the Economic feasibility of implementing poplar biomass production for power generation in Spain. The assessment considers the following chain of energy generation: cultivation and harvesting, and transportation and electricity generation in biomass power plants (10, 25 and 50 MW). Twelve scenarios were analysed in accordance with the following: two harvesting methods (high density packed stems and chip production in the field), two crop distributions around the power plant and three power plant sizes. The results show that the cost of biomass delivered at power plant ranges from 18.65 to 23.96 € Mg^?1 dry basis. According to power plant size, net profits range from 3 to 22 million € per yr.Sensibility analyses applied to capital cost at the power plant and to biomass production in the field demonstrate that they do not affect the feasibility of these systems. Reliability is improved if benefits through selling CO₂ emission credits are taken into account.This study clears up the Economic uncertainty of poplar biomass energy systems that already has been accepted as environmentally friendlier and as offering better energetic performance.     

Aluminium–aluminium nitride composites fabricated by melt infiltration under pressure

Aluminium–matrix composites containing ~55 vol.% AlN particles were fabricated by melt infiltration of aluminium into an AlN preform under a pressure of up to 130 MPa. Two different AlN powders (H.C. Starck, Goslar, Germany, and ESK, Elektroschmelzwerk, Kempten, Germany) and four types of aluminium alloy (2024, 1070, 6060 and 5754) were used. The initial AlN powders were characterized by scanning electron microscopy. The composites were studied by light microscopy, scanning and transmission electron microscopies and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. Particle–matrix interfaces were observed using high-resolution electron microscopy. As a result of the melt infiltration process, the composites are very dense and the microstructure shows a homogeneous distribution of the reinforcement. The interfaces are clean with very little porosity. Some Al₂Cu precipitates were observed in the 2024 matrix.