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A Knowledge Graph for GIS-Based Operational Resilience Assessment of Electricity Networks Against Climate Scenarios
No full textThe existing electricity infrastructures are increasingly challenged by the frequency and intensity of natural adverse events as most of their assets have been built to operate in environmental conditions that are now outdated. Resilience to climate change related events is a new and urgent requirement for infrastructure planning studies, that has led to rethinking the methods and decision support tools commonly used by the electricity operators to address failure scenarios driven by climate factors. Knowledge graphs are a viable technology for integration of data, information and models developed in different scientific fields, such as electricity networks and environmental risk assessments. The paper details the design approach of a knowledge graph to support the resilience analysis process of an electricity network. When linked to a Geographic Information System (GIS) environment, the knowledge graph will support in the configuration of various resilience analysis methods, such as failure forecast and/or simulation. The work is part of the activity line Decision support systems and operational resilience of the Italian project NEST, funded by the PNRR
Comparative genomics provides insights into molecular adaptation to hypermetamorphosis and cantharidin metabolism in blister beetles (Coleoptera: Meloidae)
No full textBlister beetles (Coleoptera: Meloidae) are currently subdivided into three subfamilies: Eleticinae (a basal group), Nemognathinae, and Meloinae. These are all characterized by the endogenous production of the defensive terpene cantharidin (CA), whereas the two most derived subfamilies show a hypermetamorphic larval development. Here, we provide novel draft genome assemblies of five species sampled across the three blister beetle subfamilies (Iselma pallidipennis, Stenodera caucasica, Zonitis immaculata, Lydus trimaculatus, and Mylabris variabilis) and performed a comparative analysis with other available Meloidae genomes and the closely-related canthariphilous species (Pyrochroa serraticornis) to disclose adaptations at a molecular level. Our results highlighted the expansion and selection of genes potentially responsible for CA production and metabolism, as well as its mobilization and vesicular compartmentalization. Furthermore, we observed adaptive selection patterns and gain of genes devoted to epigenetic regulation, development, and morphogenesis, possibly related to hypermetamorphosis. We hypothesize that most genetic adaptations occurred to support both CA biosynthesis and hypermetamorphosis, two crucial aspects of Meloidae biology that likely contributed to their evolutionary success
A Multidisciplinary Approach for the Development of a Supply Chain in Biomass Conversion of Agrifood Waste Mediated by Larvae of Hermetia illucens L.: From Rearing to By-Product Exploitation
Get PDFBlack soldier fly larvae (BSFL) can convert various organic substrates into high added-value biomass. In addition, the residue can be used as a soil conditioner. Several studies have been conducted on a laboratory scale that may not represent what happens on a prototype scale. Using fruit and vegetable waste as a basic substrate, mixing them with agro-industry by-products (called co-substrates), the Hermes project set up a process on medium (2 kg) and large (10 kg) scales with two different feeding regimes (1.25 g/BSFL and 2 g/BSFL). At the mature stage, larval biomass was separated from frass (the by-product of the larval rearing). The production of larval proteins and fats and the use of frass as soil conditioning were evaluated. The lowest feeding regime (1.25 g/BSFL) provided the best waste valorization. The shift towards higher production scales is not completely linear. The addition of co-substrates to fruit and vegetable waste, as they are provided by the large-scale retail trade, can help to standardize a process as part of an insect farm. The frass recovered from the residue of rearing (on the diet or on the agrifood leftovers) was composted and used in field to grow a processing tomato variety. The addition of composted frass assured a slightly lower yield than synthetic fertilizer but there was no statistically significant difference (p > 0.10). This suggests that partial replacement of synthetic fertilizer with composted frass has potential. Overall, the work demonstrated that, using a multidisciplinary approach, the interest and the value in building a supply chain based on bioconversion mediated by Hermetia illucens can be emphasized
WEST full tungsten operation with an ITER grade divertor
Get PDFThe mission of WEST (tungsten-W Environment in Steady-state Tokamak) is to explore long pulse operation in a full tungsten (W) environment for preparing next-step fusion devices (ITER and DEMO) with a focus on testing the ITER actively cooled W divertor in tokamak conditions. Following the successful completion of phase 1 (2016-2021), phase 2 started in December 2022 with the lower divertor made entirely of actively cooled ITER-grade tungsten mono-blocks. A boronization prior the first plasma attempt allowed for a smooth startup with the new divertor. Despite the reduced operating window due to tungsten, rapid progress has been made in long pulse operation, resulting in discharges with a pulse length of 100 s and an injected energy of around 300 MJ per discharge. Plasma startup studies were carried out with equatorial boron nitride limiters to compare them with tungsten limiters, while Ion Cyclotron Resonance Heating assisted startup was attempted. High fluence operation in attached regime, which was the main thrust of the first campaigns, already showed the progressive build up of deposits and appearance of dust, impacting the plasma operation as the plasma fluence increased. In total, the cumulated injected energy during the first campaigns reached 43 GJ and the cumulated plasma time exceeded 5 h. Demonstration of controlled X-Point Radiator regime is also reported, opening a promising route for investigating plasma exhaust and plasma-wall interaction issues in more detached regime. This paper summarises the lessons learned from the manufacturing and the first operation of the ITER-grade divertor, describing the progress achieved in optimising operation in a full W environment with a focus on long pulse operation and plasma wall interaction
Chemiresistive Materials for Alcohol Vapor Sensing at Room Temperature
Get PDFThe development of efficient sensors able to detect alcoholic compounds has great relevance in many fields including medicine, pharmaceuticals, food and beverages, safety, and security. In addition, the measurements of alcohols in air are significant for environmental protection because volatile alcohols can have harmful effects on human health not only through ingestion, but also through inhalation or skin absorption. The analysis of alcohols in breath is a further expanding area, being employed for disease diagnoses. The analyses performed by using chromatography, mass-spectrometry, nuclear magnetic resonance, ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, or Raman spectroscopy often require complex sampling and procedures. As a consequence, many research groups have focused their efforts on the development of efficient portable sensors to replace conventional methods and bulky equipment. The ability to operate at room temperature is a key factor in designing portable light devices suitable for in situ real-time monitoring. In the present review, we provide a survey of the recent literature on the most efficient chemiresistive materials for alcohol sensing at room temperature. Remarkable gas-sensing performances have mainly been obtained by using metal oxides semiconductors (MOSs), metal organic frameworks (MOFs), 2D materials, and polymers. Among 2D materials, we mainly consider graphene-based materials, graphitic carbon nitride, transition metal chalcogenides, and MXenes. We discuss scientific advances and innovations published in the span of the last five years, focusing on sensing mechanisms
Analysis of the experimental tests performed at NACIE-UP facility through a novel CFX-RELAP5 codes coupling
Get PDFThe design and safety assessment of Lead-cooled Fast Reactors (LFRs), being one of the Generation IV technologies, must be supported by extensive experimental campaigns. Such activities are necessary to completely understand the physical phenomena involved in such reactors, as well as to properly develop new numerical tools or validate the pre-existent ones. From the experimental point of view, ENEA Research Center of Brasimone is one of the most active institutions, thanks to its experimental platforms and know-how maturated since the early 2000s. From the numerical point of view, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) codes are the most suitable ones to analyze some phenomena expected in a Heavy Liquid Metal (HLM)-cooled reactor, such as the complex 3D phenomena occurring within the pools or the core fuel assemblies. In addition, the fluid thermal conduction, usually neglected in a System Thermal-Hydraulic (STH) code, can assume a significant importance in some transient scenarios, e.g., loss of flow accidents with transition from forced to natural circulation. However, the safety analysis of the LFRs should still rely on the use of STH codes because of their lower computational cost compared to the CFD codes, also considering the high number of transient evolutions to be analyzed for the purpose of the reactor licensing. At ENEA Brasimone, a novel coupling approach has been developed to couple the CFD code Ansys CFX with the STH code RELAP5/Mod3.3. The coupled tool aims at exploiting the advantages of the two families of codes. It adopts a multi-scale approach to simulate in detail some circuit components while performing system-level analysis, so as to keep an acceptable computational time. The coupling technique is based on ad-hoc user routines written in FORTRAN and implemented in Ansys CFX, which acts as the master code. The user routines take care of time step management, data exchange, RELAP5 execution, and error checking. The goal of this paper is to assess the simulation capabilities of the coupled tool by reproducing a forced-to-natural-circulation transition test, carried out at the NACIE-UP facility, with LBE as working fluid. The work has been realized in the framework of the IAEA Coordinate Research Project-I31038, named “Benchmark of Transition from Forced to Natural Circulation Experiment with Heavy Liquid Metal Loop”
BEPU analysis of an Upgraded ICE facility test by TRACE/DAKOTA coupling
Get PDFThe Ingress of Coolant Event (ICE) in the plasma chamber is one of the safety issues in fusion nuclear plants. The best estimate thermal-hydraulic system codes adopted to perform deterministic safety analysis should be validated against the phenomena typical of accidental transients in fusion installations. TRACE (TRAC/RELAP Advanced Computational Engine), best estimate thermalhydraulic system code developed by USNRC, has been adopted to simulate an ICE. The calculated results have been compared to the experimental data obtained in one test performed in the upgraded Integrated ICE facility at JAERI. In this updated configuration the pressure suppression system is connected to the top of the plasma chamber instead of the bottom of the vacuum vessel. The facility nodalization has been developed in the SNAP environment/architecture. To qualify the code and the nodalization, an accuracy evaluation has been performed both from a qualitative and quantitative point of view. Then, considering the presence of some uncertainties in the input-deck development, an uncertainty analysis has been carried out. The probabilistic method to propagate the input uncertainties has been selected and the analysis has been carried out with the DAKOTA toolkit coupled with TRACE code in SNAP. In the uncertainty analysis, some relevant statistical parameters have been considered to characterize the dispersion of the results and the correlation between the uncertain input parameters selected and the PC pressure chosen as figure of merit
Cultural Audience Engagement for Climate Action
No full textReaching wider audiences to define and promote new sustainable lifestyles is a major challenge. The arts can emotionally transfer scientific messages complementing or even replacing conventional knowledge valorisation. Culture is increasingly committed to sustainable development. Cultural and creative initiatives may boost Climate action and a just and clean energy transition by establishing a multidisciplinary dialogue between citizens, artists, curators but also experts and researchers. Such an engagement can help energy experts and planners better develop mitigation and adaptation strategies. Cultural and creative organisations (museums, but also libraries and theatres) can contribute carrying out social practices and guaranteeing inclusiveness and accessibility, leveraging sense of belonging and pro-activism. Digitalization and IoT open key opportunities to this extent, such as crowd-sourced and open co-creative approaches, allowing for harvesting data that might be even integrated in sustainable energy and climate plans. After providing an overview of the programmatic framework, the paper will present some exemplary initiatives, replying to the following questions: • How is Culture supporting action for Climate? Is the energy and climate research and academic world actually playing a role in cultural practices? • Is empowerment, hence behavioural change, for climate through art, heritage and cultural & creative industry (CCI) currently assessed? • Is an integration between cultural and climate policies being practiced
Innovative business models in the circular ecomy: an analysis of good practices for electrical and electronic equipment on the European circular economy skateholder platform
No full textThe pervasive integration of electronic technologies in the contemporary digital land-scape underscores the significance of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE). Beyond their utility in daily life, certain components within EEE, hold classification as critical raw materials (CRMs) and transform cities into urban mines. This issue highlights the necessity of optimizing its sustainable consumption and production patterns at all stages of the life cycle and across various sectors. The optimization of the complete product life cycle serves as a foundational pillar of the circular economy (CE). While the transition from a linear to a CE has been a longstanding objective promoted by the EU, a comprehensive mapping elucidating potential shortcoming in the effective implementation of this transition in Europe for the field of EEE remains elusive. This paper seeks to investigate the state-of-the-art of CE good practices for EEEs in Europe, shedding light on potential strengths and challenges to be addressed. To obtain an empirical perspective, the European Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform (ECESP) serves as a tool to delineate the trajectory of progress throughout the transition to a CE. The analysis encompasses both life cycle phases and the production sector. The findings underscore a prevailing focus on the prod-uct’s end-of-life phase and sectors associated with recycling and waste manage-ment, while the initial life cycle phase remains underexplored in terms of eco-design solutions or innovative processes. On a positive note, several instances of new business models have emerged, redirecting consumption emphasis towards services
Validity of gyrokinetic theory in magnetized plasmas
Get PDFGyrokinetics, as a reduced kinetic theory derived from adiabaticity, provides a general framework for the long-term dynamics of magnetized plasmas. While its validity limits are stated in terms of formal expansion parameters, more quantitative test of such is not widely mentioned even if it existed. Here we show, by detailed analyses of the Hamiltonian map with a test particle model, that gyrokinetic theory rests on the inherent nature of particle dynamics as a boundary layer problem. For low-frequency fluctuations, we demonstrate the existence of a frequency-independent threshold in the normalized amplitude, below which gyrokinetics is generally applicable. However, this threshold becomes sensitive to wave parameters in the high-frequency regime, which raises concerns about the generality of high-frequency gyrokinetic theory. Further analyses indicate that constructing a reduced kinetic equation based on superadiabaticity is not feasible. These findings contribute to a deeper understanding of the basic physics behind gyrokinetic theory