Corporate Water Footprint Accounting and Impact Assessment: The Case of the Water Footprint of a Sugar-Containing Carbonated Beverage

All water use in the world is ultimately linked to final consumption by consumers. It is therefore interesting to know the specific water requirements of various consumer goods, particularly the water-intensive ones. This information is relevant not only for consumers, but also for food processors, retailers, and traders. The objective of this paper is to carry out a pilot study on water footprint accounting and impact assessment for a hypothetical sugar-containing carbonated beverage in a 0.5 l PET-bottle produced in a hypothetical factory that takes its sugar alternatively from sugar beet, sugar cane and high fructose maize syrup and from different countries. The composition of the beverage and the characteristics of the factory are hypothetical but realistic. The data assumed have been inspired by a real case. This paper does not only look at the water footprint of the ingredients of the beverage, but also at the water footprint of the bottle, other packaging materials and construction materials, paper and energy used in the factory. Although most companies focus on their own operational performance, this paper shows that it is important to consider freshwater usage along the supply chain. The water footprint of the beverage studied has a water footprint of 150 to 300 l of water per 0.5 l bottle, of which 99.7–99.8% refers to the supply chain. The study also shows that agricultural ingredients that constitute only a small fraction in weight of the final product have the biggest share at the total water footprint of a product.     

A fuzzy expert system application to the evaluation of ceramic- and paper-quality kaolin

This paper describes the results obtained from the application of a fuzzy expert system to the zonification of a deposit in terms of kaolin of a quality suitable for the paper and ceramic industries. In the first stage of the study, mineralogical, chemical and paper quality indices were characterized for samples taken from a kaolin deposit located in Galicia in NW Spain. In the second part of the study the expert system was trained and adjusted on the basis of analytical data, and its reliability in classifying samples in different quality groups was tested.Data analysis and the design and training of a fuzzy-logic expert system furnish the tool not only with general information inherent to kaolin mining but also with an input in the form of the local characteristics of the studied deposit. This method enables mining experts to identify the areas of a deposit containing kaolin that meets the criteria necessary for enrichment and subsequent use in the ceramic or paper industry. This kind of tool is not only indispensable in planning extraction tasks, but also permits technical and financial risk to be minimized. The model is innovative in that it automatically classified kaolin quality in terms of saleability, thereby emulating the logical reasoning processes of the human expert.     

Multi-approach back-analysis of a roof bed collapse in a mining room excavated in stratified rock

Roof bed deformation mechanics is a complex topic in mining practice. There are a number of empirical, analytical and numerical techniques that can be used to analyze and design underground excavations in stratified rock masses. Each has particular drawbacks, however, so the use of just one approach in order to obtain consistent and economic designs is not practical. To deepen understanding of this topic, it is useful to study real failure in mines. In this paper we describe how a roof bed failure in an underground mine, excavated in a stratified rock mass, was back-analyzed using different approaches, namely, the empirical stability graph method, the analytical voussoir techniques, and the numerical discrete element method. The study enabled us to better understand the conditions of failure and to define the most significant parameters affecting the failure. It has also been shown how relaxation or loss of confinement stress can play an important role in roof bed deformation.     

Molecular subtypes of Campylobacter spp., Salmonella enterica, and Escherichia coli O157:H7 isolated from faecal and surface water samples in the Oldman River watershed, Alberta, Canada

Campylobacter spp., Salmonella enterica, and Escherichia coli O157:H7 isolated from 898 faecal, 43 sewage, and 342 surface water samples from the Oldman River were characterized using bacterial subtyping methods in order to investigate potential sources of contamination of the watershed. Among these pathogens, Campylobacter spp. were the most frequently isolated from faecal, sewage, and surface water samples (266/895, 11/43, and 91/342, respectively), followed by Salmonella (67/898, 8/43, and 29/342, respectively), and E. coli O157:H7 (16/898, 2/43, and 8/342, respectively). Salmonella Rubislaw was the most common serovar isolated from water. This serovar was also isolated from two wild bird species. Most other serovars isolated from water were either not isolated from animals or were isolated from multiple species. E. coli O157:H7 was predominantly isolated from cattle. The most common phage-types of this pathogen from cattle were also the most common among water isolates, and there were exact pulsed field gel electrophoresis and comparative genomic fingerprint matches between cattle, sewage, and water isolates. Campylobacters were commonly isolated from surface waters and faeces from most animal species. Restriction fragment length polymorphism of the Campylobacter flaA gene identified several location and host species-specific (cattle, goose, pig) fingerprints. Molecular subtyping of these bacterial pathogens shows considerable promise as a tool for determining the sources of faecal pollution of water.     

Automatic on-line monitoring of atmospheric volatile organic compounds: gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and gas chromatography-flame ionization detection as complementary systems

Traditionally air quality networks have been carrying out the continuous, on-line measurement of volatile organic compounds (VOC) in ambient air with GC-FID. In this paper some identification and coelution problems observed while using this technique in long-term measurement campaigns are described. In order to solve these problems a GC-MS was set up and operated simultaneously with a GC-FID for C₂-C₁₁ VOCs measurement.There are few on-line, unattended, long term measurements of atmospheric VOCs performed with GC-MS. In this work such a system has been optimized for that purpose, achieving good repeatability, linearity, and detection limits of the order of the GC-FID ones, even smaller in some cases. VOC quantification has been made by using response factors, which is not frequent in on-line GC-MS. That way, the identification and coelution problems detected in the GC-FID, which may led to reporting erroneous data, could be corrected.The combination of GC-FID and GC-MS as complementary techniques for the measurement of speciated VOCs in ambient air at sub-ppbv levels is proposed. Some results of the measurements are presented, including concentration values for some compounds not found until now on public ambient air VOC databases, which were identified and quantified combining both techniques. Results may also help to correct previously published VOC data with wrongly identified compounds by reprocessing raw chromatographic data.     

Reducing the startup time of aerobic granular sludge reactors through seeding floccular sludge with crushed aerobic granules

One of the main challenging issues for the aerobic granular sludge technology is the long startup time when dealing with real wastewaters. This study presents a novel strategy to reduce the time required for granulation while ensuring a high level of nutrient removal. This new approach consists of seeding the reactor with a mixture of crushed aerobic granules and floccular sludge. The effectiveness of the strategy was demonstrated using abattoir wastewater, containing nitrogen and phosphorus at approximately 250 mgN/L and 30 mgP/L, respectively. Seven different mixtures of crushed granules and floccular sludge at granular sludge fractions (w/w in dry mass) of 0%, 5%, 10%, 15%, 25%, 30% and 50% were used to start eight granulation processes. The granulation time (defined as the time when the 10th percentile bacterial aggregate size is larger than 200 μm) displayed a strong dependency on the fraction of granular sludge. The shortest granulation time of 18 days was obtained with 50% crushed granules, in comparison with 133 days with 5% crushed granules. Full granulation was not achieved in the two trials without seeding with crushed granules. In contrast to the 100% floccular sludge cases, where a substantial loss of biomass occurred during granulation, the biomass concentration in all other trails did not decrease during granulation. This allowed that good nitrogen removal was maintained in all the reactors during the granulation process. However, enhanced biological phosphorus removal was achieved in only one of the eight trials. This was likely due to the temporary accumulation of nitrite, a strong inhibitor of polyphosphate accumulating organisms.     

Isolation and characterisation of pectic substances from murta (Ugni molinae Turcz) fruits

Cell walls polysaccharides from murta fruit (Ugni molinae Turcz), an endemic Chilean species with relevant food uses, were fractionated by water, ammonium oxalate, hot diluted HCl and cold diluted NaOH extractions. The polysaccharide fractions were analysed for monosaccharide composition and physicochemical properties. Pectic substances were found in all extracts, but mainly in the oxalate and acid soluble fractions, in which they appear as homogalacturonan polymers. Murta pectin was further extracted by hot diluted acid treatment using industrial conditions, yielding 30% by weight of dry fruit. The polymer showed similar composition and physicochemical properties to those of commercial citrus pectin, presenting a galacturonic acid content of 70.9% (w/w), a molecular weight of 597 kDa, and a methoxylation degree of 57%. The FT-IR spectrum of murta pectin suggests the presence of ferulic acid residues on its structure and the NMR analysis confirmed the structure of this polysaccharide. It is concluded that murta fruit can be considered as a valuable source of high quality pectin.     

Antimicrobial effectiveness of oregano and sage essential oils incorporated into whey protein films or cellulose‐based filter paper

BACKGROUND: In this study the antimicrobial effectiveness of oregano and sage essential oils (EOs) incorporated into two different matrices, whey protein isolate (WPI) and cellulose‐based filter paper, was analysed. RESULTS: Antimicrobial properties of WPI‐based films containing oregano and sage EOs were tested against Listeria innocua, Staphylococcus aureus and Salmonella enteritidis. Oregano EO showed antimicrobial activity against all three micro‐organisms. The highest inhibition zones were against L. innocua. However, sage EO did not show antimicrobial activity against any of the micro‐organisms. Antimicrobial activity was confirmed for both EOs using cellulose‐based filter paper as supporting matrix, although it was significantly more intense for oregano EO. Inhibition surfaces were significantly greater when compared with those of the WPI films. This finding is likely due to the higher porosity and diffusivity of the active compounds in the filter paper. CONCLUSION: The interactions between the EOs and the films have a critical effect on the diffusivity of the active compounds and therefore on the final antimicrobial activity. As a result, to obtain active edible films, it is necessary to find the equilibrium point between the nature and concentration of the active compounds in the EO and the formulation of the film. Copyright © 2010 Society of Chemical Industry     

MOMS-GA: A Multi-Objective Multi-State Genetic Algorithm for System Reliability Optimization Design Problems

A custom genetic algorithm was developed and implemented to solve multiple objective multi-state reliability optimization design problems. Many real-world engineering design problems are multi-objective in nature, and among those, several of them have various levels of system performance ranging from perfectly functioning to completely failed. This multi-objective genetic algorithm uses the universal moment generating function approach to evaluate the different reliability or availability indices of the system. The components are characterized by having different performance levels, cost, weight, and reliability. The solution to the multi-objective multi-state problem is a set of solutions, known as the Pareto-front, from which the analyst may choose one solution for system implementation. Two illustrative examples are presented to show the performance of the algorithm; and the multi-objective formulation considered for both of them is the maximization of system availability, and the minimization of both system cost, and weight.