Abstract: Winter peaks in Belgian electricity demand are significantly higher than the summer peaks, creating a greater potential for imbalances between demand and supply. This potential is exacerbated because of the risk of outages in its ageing nuclear power plants, which are being phased out in the medium term. This paper conducts a choice experiment to investigate the acceptability of a load control-based demand response program in the winter months. It surveys 186 respondents on their willingness to accept limits on the use of home appliances in return for a compensation. Results indicate that respondents are most affected by the days of the week that their appliance usage would be curtailed, and by the compensation they would receive. The willingness to enroll in a program increases with age, environmental consciousness, home ownership, and lower privacy concerns. The analysis predicts that 95% of the sample surveyed could enroll in a daily load control program for a compen- sation of €41 per household per year. Thus while an initial rollout among older and more pro-environment homeowners could be successful, a wider implementation would require an explanation of its environmental and financial benefits to the population, and a greater consideration of their data privacy concerns.

Abstract: Neutron diffraction experiments conducted at 5 K in a magnetic field 0 < H/kOe < 50 have shown that the monoclinic perovskite La3Ni2TaO9 behaves as a relaxor ferromagnet. Compositions in the series La3Ni2SbxTayNb1–x–yO9 have been synthesized in polycrystalline form. Electron microscopy, X–ray diffraction and neutron diffraction have shown that the solid solutions are largely homogeneous and monophasic. Magnetometry and neutron diffraction have shown that the relaxor magnetisation persists in low fields when x + y = 1 but is rapidly diminished by the introduction of niobium. This change in magnetic behaviour is ascribed to the differences in the d–orbital energies of Sb5+, Nb5+ and Ta5+.

Abstract: Agricultural adaptation to climate change is indispensable. However, the degree of adaptation depends on adaptive capacity levels and it only takes place if the appropriate resources are present. Cross-sectional climate response models ignore this requirement. This paper adapts the Ricardian method to control for a generic territorial adaptive capacity index. The results for a sample of over 60.000 European farms show a significant non-linear positive relationship between adaptive capacity and climate responsiveness and that some regions in Europe can increase their climate responsiveness significantly. This confirms that improvement of adaptive capacity is an important policy tool to enhance adaptation.

Abstract: Waste treatment taxation is a popular policy instrument in many European countries and regions. Its impact on household waste has extensively been researched. However, only little research exists which looks into the impact of waste treatment taxation on industrial waste generation. Nevertheless, industrial waste constitutes more than ninety percent of waste generated in the European Union. This study assesses the impact of an incineration tax on the generation of industrial plastic waste in Flanders, Belgium. We conduct different types of econometrical panel analyzes and provide statistical evidence that firms show lagged behavior, which means that the previous year’s waste generation partly determines the current year’s. The dynamic panel estimations show robust results, indicating that a growth of incineration taxes exert significant negative effects on the growth of industrial plastic waste generation. This result offers no argument to iteratively raise incineration taxes. We conclude that incineration taxation is meaningful if tax rates are set according to the prevailing market conditions, i.e. taking into account the marginal costs of alternatives for incineration. In the short run, the effectiveness of taxation will quickly diminish due to the rapidly rising marginal costs of waste reduction. In the long run, extra recycling capacity is needed to recycle the minimized waste fraction. The role of taxation in the long run is to maintain an equilibrium in which recycling is preferred by the market.

Abstract: Atmospheric pressure gliding arc (GA) discharges are gaining increasing interest for CO2 conversion and other gas conversion applications, due to their simplicity and high energy efficiency. However, they are characterized by some drawbacks, such as non-uniform gas treatment, limiting the conversion, as well as the development of a hot cathode spot, resulting in severe electrode degradation. In this work, we built a dual-vortex plasmatron, which is a GA plasma reactor with innovative electrode configuration, to solve the above problems. The design aims to improve the CO2 conversion capability of the GA reactor by elongating the arc in two directions, to increase the residence time of the gas inside the arc, and to actively cool the cathode spot by rotation of the arc and gas convection. The measured CO2 conversion and corresponding energy efficiency indeed look very promising. In addition, we developed a fluid dynamics non-thermal plasma model with argon chemistry, to study the arc behavior in the reactor and to explain the experimental results.

Abstract: Mcl1 is an important anti-apoptotic member of the Bcl2 family proteins that are upregulated in several cancer malignancies. The canonical binding groove (CBG) located at the surface of Mcl1 exhibits a critical role in binding partners selectively via the BH3-domain of pro-apoptotic Bcl2 family members that trigger the downregulation of Mcl1 function. There are several crystal structures of point-mutated pro-apoptotic Bim peptides in complex with Mcl1. However, the mechanistic effects of such point-mutations towards peptide binding and complex stability still remain unexplored. Here, the effects of the reported point mutations in Bim peptides and their binding mechanisms to Mcl1 were computationally evaluated using atomistic-level steered molecular dynamics (SMD) simulations. A range of external-forces and constant-velocities were applied to the Bim peptides to uncover the mechanistic basis of peptide dissociation from the CBG of Mcl1. Although the peptides showed similarities in their dissociation pathways, the peak rupture forces varied significantly. According to simulations results, the disruption of the conserved polar contacts at the complex interface causes a sequential release of the peptides from the CBG of Mcl1. Overall, the results obtained from the current study may provide valuable insights for the development of novel anti-cancer peptide-inhibitors that can downregulate Mcl1’s function.

Abstract: Bimetallic plasmonic nanoparticles enable tuning of the optical response and chemical stability by variation of the composition. The present numerical simulation study compares Ag–Au alloy, Ag@Au core–shell, and Au@Ag core–shell bimetallic plasmonic nanoparticles of both spherical and anisotropic (nanotriangle and nanorods) shapes. By studying both spherical and anisotropic (with LSPR in the near-infrared region) shapes, cases with and without interband transitions of Au can be decoupled. Explicit comparisons are facilitated by numerical models supported by careful validation and examination of optical constants of Au–Ag alloys reported in the literature. Although both Au–Ag core–shell and alloy nanoparticles exhibit an intermediary optical response between that of pure Ag and Au nanoparticles, there are noticeable differences in the spectral characteristics. Also, the effect of the bimetallic constitution in anisotropic nanoparticles is starkly different from that in spherical nanoparticles due to the absence of Au interband transitions in the former case. In general, the improved chemical stability of Ag nanoparticles by incorporation of Au comes with a cost of reduction in plasmonic enhancement, also applicable to anisotropic nanoparticles with a weaker effect. A photothermal heat transfer study confirms that increased absorption by the incorporation of Au in spherical Ag nanoparticles also results in an increased steady-state temperature. On the other hand, anisotropic nanoparticles are inherently better absorbers and hence better photothermal sources, and their photothermal properties are apparently not strongly affected by the incorporation of one metal in the other. This study of the optical/spectral and photothermal characteristics of bimetallic Au–Ag alloy versus core–shell nanoparticles provides detailed physical insight for development of new taylor-made plasmonic nanostructures.

Abstract: Ni thin films sputter-deposited at room temperature with varying Ar pressures were investigated with automated crystal orientation mapping in a transmission electron microscope to uncover the mechanisms controlling the internal stress build-up recorded in-situ during deposition. Large grains were found to induce behaviour similar to a stress-free nucleation layer. The measurements of grain size in most of the Ni thin films are in agreement with the island coalescence model. Low internal stress was observed at low Ar pressure and was explained by the presence of large grains. Relaxation of high internal stress was also noticed at the highest Ar pressure, which was attributed to a decrease of Σ3 twin boundary density due to a low deposition rate. The results provide insightful information to better understand the relationship between structural boundaries and the evolution of internal stress upon deposition of thin films.

Abstract: In electron microscopy, the maximum a posteriori (MAP) probability rule has been introduced as a tool to determine the most probable atomic structure from high-resolution annular dark-field (ADF) scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) images exhibiting low contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR). Besides ADF imaging, STEM can also be applied in the annular bright-field (ABF) regime. The ABF STEM mode allows to directly visualize light-element atomic columns in the presence of heavy columns. Typically, light-element nanomaterials are sensitive to the electron beam, limiting the incoming electron dose in order to avoid beam damage and leading to images exhibiting low CNR. Therefore, it is of interest to apply the MAP probability rule not only to ADF STEM images, but to ABF STEM images as well. In this work, the methodology of the MAP rule, which combines statistical parameter estimation theory and model-order selection, is extended to be applied to simultaneously acquired ABF and ADF STEM images. For this, an extension of the commonly used parametric models in STEM is proposed. Hereby, the effect of specimen tilt has been taken into account, since small tilts from the crystal zone axis affect, especially, ABF STEM intensities. Using simulations as well as experimental data, it is shown that the proposed methodology can be successfully used to detect light elements in the presence of heavy elements.

Abstract: Prolonged drought is considered as a creeping natural hazard, which has created a financial burden and unsustainable environment in Iran. Moreover, the effect of drought phenomenon in rural areas is more extensive, causing significant challenges to the rural economy in general and agricultural production in particular. A common strategy to manage drought is based on crisis management (ex-ante). However, for effective drought management, risk management seems to be more in line with drought early warning systems. This quantitative study used risk assessment, which is the function of two elements such as hazard (SPI and SDI indices) and vulnerability (exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity). This study aims to build the foundations for drought early warning systems in limited resource areas such as Kermanshah Township in the northwestern part of Iran. The population of this study comprised of wheat farmers in which 293 farmers were selected using multistage cluster sampling method. In the next step, the drought risk map for Kermanshah Township was developed, which revealed that the majority of villages are at intense environmental risk. The result of this study has implications for drought management practitioners. For example, the results can aid policymakers in the design of an early warning system in order to reduce risk and thus empower farmers toward resilient farming.

Abstract: As a response to increasing urbanization and changing weather and climatic patterns, urban green infrastructure (UGI) emerged as a concept to increase resilience within the urban boundaries. Given that implementing these (semi-) natural solutions in practice requires a clear overview of the costs and benefits, valuation becomes ever important. A range of decision-support tools for green infrastructure and ecosystem services exist, developed for various purposes. This paper reviews the potential of 10 shortlisted and existing valuation tools to support investment decisions of urban green infrastructure. In the assessment, the functionality is regarded specifically from the urban planning and decision-making viewpoint. The toolkits were evaluated on 12 different criteria. After analyzing the toolkits on these criteria, the findings are evaluated on the (mis)match with specific requirements in the urban planning and management context. Secondly, recommendations and guidelines are formulated to support the design of simple valuation tools, tailored to support the development of green infrastructure in urban areas. Approaching the valuation toolkits biophysically and (socio-)economically provides an integral overview of the challenges and opportunities of the capacities of each framework. It was found that most tools are not designed for the peculiarities of the urban context. Several elements contribute to the hampering uptake of GI valuation tools. Firstly, the limited effort in the economic case for green infrastructure remains a burden to use toolkits to compare grey and green alternatives. Secondly, tools are currently seldom designed for the peculiarities of cities: urban ecosystem (dis)services, multi-scalability, life-span assessments of co-benefits and the importance of social benefits. Thirdly, toolkits should be the result of co-development between the scientific community and local authorities in order to create toolkits that are tailor made to the specific needs in the urban planning process. It can be concluded that current tools, are not readily applicable to support decision making as such. However, if applied cautiously, they can have an indicative role to pinpoint further targeted and in-depth analyses.

Abstract: In recent decades new recycling technologies for mixed plastic waste have emerged. In pyrolysis, the polymer chains are thermally broken (pyrolyzed) to obtain hydrocarbon materials of different molecular weights such as naphtha, oil or waxes, whose yields can be controlled by varying the reaction parameters. Naphtha represents a closed-loop recycling process as it is a feedstock for (poly)olefins; while the co-production of waxes, having several applications in e.g. the construction industry, exemplifies an open-loop recycling process. This paper compares the economic performance of the pyrolysis of mixed polyolefin waste in a closed-loop and open-loop scheme, including a probabilistic approach to the most important variables. From an economic perspective, open-loop pyrolysis as presented outperforms closed-loop recycling, due to the high prices of wax. However, the results present a high dispersion caused by the volatility of the prices of crude oil and its derivates. Considering the current oil price projections, our case study analysis showed that for open-loop recycling there is a future probability of almost a 98 % of observing positive results and around 57 % of probability in the case of closed-loop recycling, under the assumptions made. Yet, in a future scenario where decarbonized electricity would decrease oil prices, the probability of a positive outcome reduces to 57 % for the open-loop case and to less than 8 % in the case of closed-loop recycling. To make these pathways attractive to investors, the nameplate capacity should be at least 70 kt/year for open-loop recycling and 115 kt/year for closed-loop recycling. A 120 kt/year plant should operate minimally at 80 % of its capacity for open-loop recycling, while closed-loop recycling would demand running close to maximum capacity. Security of feedstock supply therefore is required.

Abstract: Global environmental problems have urged the need for developing sustainable technologies. However, new technologies that enter the market have often higher economic costs and potentially higher environmental impacts than conventional technologies. This can be explained by learning effects: a production process that is performed for the first time runs less smooth than a production process that has been in operation for years. To obtain a fair estimation of the potential of a new technology, learning effects need to be included. A review on the current literature on learning effects was conducted in order to provide guidelines on how to include learning effects in prospective technology assessment. Based on the results of this review, five recommendations have been formulated and an integration of learning effects in the structure of prospective technology assessment has been proposed. These five recommendations include the combined use of learning effects on the component level and on the end product level; the combined use of learning effects on the technical, economic and environmental level; the combined use of extrapolated values and expert estimates; the combined use of learning-by-doing and learning-by-searching effects and; a tier-based method, including quality criteria, to calculate the learning effect. These five complementary strategies could lead to a clearer perspective on the environmental impact and cost structure of the new technology and a fairer comparison base with conventional technologies, potentially resulting in a faster adoption and a shorter time-to-market for sustainable technologies.

Abstract: Increasing global production, trafficking and consumption of drugs of abuse cause an emerging threat to people’s health and safety. Electrochemical approaches have proven to be useful for on-site analysis of drugs of abuse. However, few attention has been focused on the analysis of polydrug samples, despite these samples causing severe health concerns, certainly when stimulants and depressants are combined, as is the case for Speedball, a mixture of cocaine and heroin. In this work, we provide solutions for the selective detection of cocaine (stimulant) in polydrug samples adulterated with heroin and codeine (depressants). The presence of either one of these compounds in cocaine street samples leads to an overlap with the cocaine signal in square-wave voltammetry measurements at unmodified carbon screen-printed electrodes, leading to inconclusive screening results in the field. The provided solutions to this problem consist of two parallel approaches: (i) cathodic pretreatment of the carbon screen-printed electrode surface prior to measurement in both alkaline and neutral conditions; (ii) electropolymerization of orthophenylenediamine on graphene modified carbon screen-printed electrodes prior to measurement in neutral conditions. Both strategies allow simultaneous detection of cocaine and heroin in speedball samples as well as simultaneous detection of cocaine and codeine. Implementing these strategies in portable devices holds great potential for significantly improved accuracy of on-site cocaine screening in polydrug samples.

Abstract: The physical properties of uranium dioxide vary greatly with stoichiometry. Oxidation towards hyperstoichiometric UO2 – UO2+x – might be encountered at various stages of the nuclear fuel cycle if oxidative conditions are met; the impact of stoichiometry changes upon physical properties should therefore be properly assessed to ensure safe and reliable operations. These physical properties are intimately linked to the arrangement of atomic defects in the crystalline structure. The evolution of the defect concentration with environmental parameters – oxygen partial pressure and temperature – were evaluated by means of a point defect model where the reaction energies are derived from atomic-scale simulations. To this end, various configurations and net charge states of oxygen interstitial clusters in UO2 have been calculated. Various methodologies have been tested to determine the optimum cluster configurations and a rigid lattice approach turned out to be the most useful strategy to optimize defect configuration structures. Ultimately, results from the point defect model were discussed and compared to experimental measurements of stoichiometry dependence on oxygen partial pressure and temperature.