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Packaging materials can arise from a wide range of sources and are commonly used for food, medicine, household appliances, and items to enclose or protect products during distribution, storage, sale, delivery, and use. The choice of material (paper, plastic, glass, wood, metal, multi-layer or other packaging) to be used depends on the type and properties of product, the purpose of packaging, and the price. The aim of the investigation is to analyse the morphological composition of packaging waste collected separately in Kaunas (Lithuanian) private households and to evaluate its recycling possibilities. The mixture of paper, plastic, and metal packaging waste was analyzed in the winter and spring (one time per month) in the waste management company JSC "Kauno švara".

Background The current coronavirus infectious disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused unexpected pressure on medical supplies, interrupting supply chains and increasing prices. The supply of antiviral filters which form an essential part of the ventilator circuit have been affected by these issues. Three-dimensional (3D) printing may provide a solution to some of these issues. Methods We designed and tested 3D printed heat and moisture exchange (HME) and antiviral casing. For each casing we tested two different filter materials derived from a sediment water filter cartridge or 1.5-μm glass fiber filter paper. A polyurethane sponge was used for the HME. Each design was tested for circuit leak, circuit compliance, peak inspiratory pressure and casing integrity using methylene blue dye. Results We designed, produced, and tested two different types of antiviral filters with six different internal configurations. Overall, we tested 10 modified filter designs and compared them with the original commercial filter. Except for the combination of 1.5-μm filter paper and 5 mm sponge peak inspiratory pressure and circuit compliance of the filters produced were within the operating limits of the ventilator. All In addition, all filters passed the dye test. Conclusions Our filter may be of particular importance to those working in low middle-income countries unable to compete with stronger economies. Our design relies on products available outside the healthcare supply chain, much of which can be purchased in grocery stores, hardware stores, or industrial and academic institutions. We hope that these HMEs and viral filters may be beneficial to clinicians who face critical supply chain issues during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Despite of the wide use worldwide, the industrial potential of bamboo species in Brazil is not much investigated. However, some encouragement to revert this situation was created in last few years. The aim of this research was to evaluate the technological characteristics of the Bambusa vulgaris biomass for the production of pulp by the kraft process. The technological characteristics of the raw material were determined by the basic density, the chemical composition and the morphology of the fibers. The cooking process was carried out with the application of eight charges of active alkali, in 90 minutes of heating time and 60 minutes in the maximum temperature of 170oC. All analyzes were also executed with the Eucalyptus spp. and the Pinus spp., in order to make a complete comparison among the species Bambusa vulgaris and the two most used raw materials for the pulp production in Brazil. The Bambusa vulgaris presented a higher basic density, lower holocellulose content and a higher total extractive content. Its fibers have intermediate length and wall thickness, similar to the Eucalyptus spp. and the Pinus spp. Considering the kraft pulping process, the species Bambusa vulgaris demonstrated to be easier to delignify besides presenting almost zero reject content and smaller consumption of active alkali. However, the Eucalyptus spp. and the Pinus spp. obtained the best yields, the lowest specific consumption of raw material and better selectivities.

This paper aims at quantifying and explaining the effects of Individual Pitch Control (IPC) on the wake of a wake-steering wind turbine. As the machine is intentionally misaligned with respect to the wind, IPC can be used to mitigate the resulting extra loading. However, while IPC reduces loads, it also affects the wake, which influences the power of downstream turbines. The question is therefore whether the IPC activity has any other appreciable effect at the wind farm level, in addition to its original turbine-level load reduction goal. In this work, experiments and CFD simulations of scaled wind turbines in a boundary layer wind tunnel are considered. The CFD model is first validated with measurements, and then used to show subtle changes in the wake, power and loads caused by IPC. It is observed that IPC does indeed have some non-negligible effects, and that these effects differ for positive and negative yawing.

The impact of wake steering control strategy on power production and loads for a cluster of two wind turbines is analysed in this work. The power and loads data base are generated by means of high resolution simulations using an ALM-LES model along with an aeroelastic code for multibody analysis, while the optimal yaw misalignment values are obtained, for different wind directions and performance requirements, using a weighted cost function that accounts for both power production and fatigue damage on main wind turbine components. The sensitivity of the results regarding the inflow conditions, in terms of turbulence intensity, is also analysed. The overall results show that when accounting for both power production and fatigue damage, greater values of optimal yaw misalignment are obtained. This indicates that standard yaw misalignment strategies that accounts only for power production reduce at the same time the loading damage on the wind turbine, compared to greedy configuration.