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An effective characterization of gas flaring is hampered by the lack of systematic, complete and reliable data on its magnitude and spatial distribution. In the last years, a few satellite methods have been developed to provide independent information on gas flaring activity at global, national and local scale. Among these, a MODIS-based method, aimed at the computation of gas flared volumes by an Italian plant, was proposed. In this work, a more general version of this approach, named RST-FLARE, has been developed to provide reliable information on flaring sites localization and gas emitted volumes over a long time period for the Niger Delta region, one of the top five gas flaring areas in the world. Achieved results showed a good level of accuracy, in terms of flaring sites localization (95% of spatial match) and volume estimates (mean bias between in 16% and 20%, at annual scale and 2–9% in the long period) when compared to independent data, provided both by other satellite techniques and national/international organizations. Outcomes of this work seem to indicate that RST-FLARE can be used to provide, at different geographic scales, quite accurate data on gas flaring, suitable for monitoring purposes for governments and local authorities.

The USA, China and India are the top three producers of municipal solid waste. The composition of solid wastes varies with income: low-to-middle-income population generates mainly organic wastes, whereas high-income population produces more waste paper, metals and glasses. Management of municipal solid waste includes recycling, incineration, waste-to-energy conversion, composting or landfilling. Landfilling for solid waste disposal is preferred in many municipalities globally. Landfill sites act as ecological reactors where wastes undergo physical, chemical and biological transformations. Hence, critical factors for sustainable landfilling are landfill liners, the thickness of the soil cover, leachate collection, landfill gas recovery and flaring facilities. Here, we review the impact of landfill conditions such as construction, geometry, weather, temperature, moisture, pH, biodegradable matter and hydrogeological parameters on the generation of landfill gases and leachate. Bioreactor landfills appear as the next-generation sanitary landfills, because they augment solid waste stabilization in a time-efficient manner, as a result of controlled recirculation of leachate and gases. We discuss volume reduction, resource recovery, valorization of dumped wastes, environmental protection and site reclamation toward urban development. We present the classifications and engineered iterations of landfills, operations, mechanisms and mining.

This Note highlights the convenience of extensively flared capillary viscometers in the elimination of the kinetic energy correction and the consequent simplification of their calibration and use in liquid viscosity measurements.

ObjectivesTo evaluate the influence of the composite resin translucency used in direct anatomic fiber posts on the bond strength (BS) and microhardness (VHN) of a luting agent into flared roots.Materials and methodsThe root canals of 70 single-rooted premolars were endodontically treated and prepared to simulate an oversized root canal. Prior to post cementation, composite resins with varying translucency (high translucent, HT; medium translucent, MT; high opacity, HO) were placed around the fiber posts to create anatomic fiber posts. The attenuation profile (%) of light passing either through the post or through the anatomic posts (n = 8) was obtained prior to the cementing procedures. A positive control group (PC) in which a prefabricated fiber post (PFP) with the diameter compatible with the root canal was cemented and a poorly adapted fiber post (negative control group, NC) were also evaluated. For both tests, the data were subjected to 2-way ANOVA and Bonferroni tests (α = 0.05).ResultsA more severe light attenuation through the post at the cervical (P < .001) and medium (P < 0.001) thirds was noted when less translucent composite resin surrounded the anatomic post. HO groups showed lower BS (P = .009) and VHN (P < .001) values than the other groups, regardless of root third. No significant difference in BS values was noted between PC and HT groups.ConclusionThe use of a more translucent composite resin in anatomic fiber posts increased the microhardness and bond strength of a dual polymerization self-adhesive RLA compared to the use of MT and HO composite. A well-adapted PFP showed the highest adhesive and mechanical behavior.Clinical relevanceClinicians should choose more translucent composite resins to create direct anatomic fiber posts to be cemented in flared root canals. That choice may allow improved mechanical properties of self-adhesive RLA and higher bond strength to the root canal as a consequence.

Gas flaring (GF) is an industrial phenomenon requiring a special attention for the serious impacts on environment, climate and human health. To analyses and map GF sites (GFs), the Daytime Approach for GF Investigation (DAFI), which is based on daytime data from the Operational Land Imager (OLI) aboard the Landsat-8 satellite, has recently been developed. The GFs catalogue from the DAFI system, spanning over the years 2013–2021, represents the first worldwide GF product generated from mid-high spatial resolution data (30 m). The DAFI version 2 (v2), also including information from the Multispectral Instrument (MSI) aboard Sentinel-2 satellites, already showed an improved capacity in the mapping of GFs over Iran and Iraq. In this work, the new catalogue arising from the porting of DAFI v2 at global scale is presented and discussed. By using a parallel workflow, based on a loop tiling scheme running in Google Earth Engine, DAFI v2 allowed us to extend the GF inventory globally up to 2023, by analyzing ∼4 million of OLI/OLI-2 (Collection 2) and MSI imagery. Results of this study show: (i) an increased DAFI v2 capacity, of about 41%, in detecting GFs compared to the previous DAFI version; (ii) a downward trend (∼4.6%) in terms of GF sites detected from 2021 to 2023. These findings demonstrated that DAFI v2, which will also include the estimates of radiative power at different spatial scales, may contribute in assessing and monitoring the GFs activities and in evaluating the effectiveness of the greenhouse gas-emission reduction strategies at global, continental, national and local scales.

Gas flaring represents a large waste of a natural resource for energy production and is a significant source of greenhouses gases to the atmosphere. The World Bank estimates annual flared gas volumes of 150 billion cubic meters, based upon a conversion of remotely sensed radiant heat data from the NOAA’s VIIRS (Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite) instrument onboard the polar-orbiting Suomi NPP satellite. However, the conversion of the remotely sensed radiant heat measurements into flared gas volumes currently depends on flare operator reported volumes, which can be biased in various ways due to inconsistent reporting requirements. Here, I discuss both known and unknown biases in the datasets, using them to illustrate the current lack of accuracy in the widely discussed flaring numbers. While volume trends over time could be derived directly from the radiant heat data, absolute amounts remain questionable. Standardizing how flared gas volumes are measured and reported could dramatically improve accuracy. In addition, I suggest expanding satellite measurements of individual flares burning under controlled conditions as a major improvement to daily monitoring, alongside the potential usage of remotely sensed flare temperature to estimate combustion efficiency.

This study proposes a novel drape test method for fully formed knitted flared skirts, specifically tailored to account for the three-dimensional (3D) morphology of the human body. The objective is to accurately assess the drape characteristics of such skirts by developing a comprehensive testing approach. First, a 3D human body model in multiple postures was created using 3ds-Max modeling software and then printed with a 3D printer to serve as a customized test stand. The design and knitting principles for the fully formed flared skirt were examined, and samples were produced using a Shima Seiki four-needle bed computerized flat knitting machine. After fitting the skirt samples onto the 3D-printed human model, drape characteristics were measured with a YG811 drape tester. Using 18 sample skirts, the drape data were analyzed with SPSS26.0 software, revealing that the 3D-printed human model method allows for precise measurement of the drape in fully formed knitted fabrics. This approach offers a more realistic and accurate assessment of drapes, contributing valuable insights for textile design and evaluation in knitted garment production.

This paper presents a comprehensive assessment of historical (1990–2010) global anthropogenic particulate matter (PM) emissions including the consistent and harmonized calculation of mass-based size distribution (PM1, PM2. 5, PM10), as well as primary carbonaceous aerosols including black carbon (BC) and organic carbon (OC). The estimates were developed with the integrated assessment model GAINS, where source- and region-specific technology characteristics are explicitly included. This assessment includes a number of previously unaccounted or often misallocated emission sources, i.e. kerosene lamps, gas flaring, diesel generators, refuse burning; some of them were reported in the past for selected regions or in the context of a particular pollutant or sector but not included as part of a total estimate. Spatially, emissions were calculated for 172 source regions (as well as international shipping), presented for 25 global regions, and allocated to 0.5°  ×  0.5° longitude–latitude grids. No independent estimates of emissions from forest fires and savannah burning are provided and neither windblown dust nor unpaved roads emissions are included. We estimate that global emissions of PM have not changed significantly between 1990 and 2010, showing a strong decoupling from the global increase in energy consumption and, consequently, CO2 emissions, but there are significantly different regional trends, with a particularly strong increase in East Asia and Africa and a strong decline in Europe, North America, and the Pacific region. This in turn resulted in important changes in the spatial pattern of PM burden, e.g. European, North American, and Pacific contributions to global emissions dropped from nearly 30 % in 1990 to well below 15 % in 2010, while Asia's contribution grew from just over 50 % to nearly two-thirds of the global total in 2010. For all PM species considered, Asian sources represented over 60 % of the global anthropogenic total, and residential combustion was the most important sector, contributing about 60 % for BC and OC, 45 % for PM2. 5, and less than 40 % for PM10, where large combustion sources and industrial processes are equally important. Global anthropogenic emissions of BC were estimated at about 6.6 and 7.2 Tg in 2000 and 2010, respectively, and represent about 15 % of PM2. 5 but for some sources reach nearly 50 %, i.e. for the transport sector. Our global BC numbers are higher than previously published owing primarily to the inclusion of new sources. This PM estimate fills the gap in emission data and emission source characterization required in air quality and climate modelling studies and health impact assessments at a regional and global level, as it includes both carbonaceous and non-carbonaceous constituents of primary particulate matter emissions. The developed emission dataset has been used in several regional and global atmospheric transport and climate model simulations within the ECLIPSE (Evaluating the Climate and Air Quality Impacts of Short-Lived Pollutants) project and beyond, serves better parameterization of the global integrated assessment models with respect to representation of black carbon and organic carbon emissions, and built a basis for recently published global particulate number estimates.

The consequent-pole interior permanent-magnet (CPM) motor is a promising alternative for minimizing rare-earth magnet usage while supporting high-speed operation. However, rotor flux asymmetry often leads to distorted back-electromotive force waveforms and increased torque ripple. This study investigated a flared-type CPM motor that employs ferrite magnets arranged in a flared configuration to enhance flux concentration within a compact rotor. To address waveform distortion, structural modifications such as bridge removal and an asymmetric air-gap design were implemented. Three rotor parameters—polar angle, asymmetric air-gap length, and rotor opening length—were optimized using Latin hypercube sampling combined with an evolutionary algorithm. Finite element method analyses conducted under no-load and rated-load conditions showed that the optimized model achieved a 77.8% reduction in torque ripple, a 43.4% decrease in cogging torque, and a 0.5% improvement in efficiency compared with the basic model. Stress analyses were performed to examine the structural bonding strength and rotor deformation of the optimized model under high-speed operation. The results revealed a 5.5× safety margin at four times the rated speed. The proposed approach offers a cost-effective and sustainable alternative to rare-earth magnet machines for high-efficiency household appliances, where vibration reduction, cost stability, and energy efficiency are critical.