This Special Issue “Ecocentric education” contains articles focused on ecological values in environmental education (EE) and education for sustainable development (ESD). Ecocentric education is based on a critical theory, originating from Erich Fromm [1], Herbert Marcuse [2], and Paulo Freire [3], and on ecological pedagogy (ecopedagogy), developed by Richard Kahn [4]. These critical theorists served as catalysts in the transformation of education towards the recognition of the “domination” of capitalist, corporate, and/or political power in shaping societies, challenging the broadly shared assumptions and practices [5]. Fromm [1] and his peers believed that education makes learners internalize alienation from humanity and nature, a process which is inherent in the industrial capitalist society. This process increases uncritical adherence to dominant values such as consumerism, downplaying the negative side effects of technocratically defined “progress”. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci10090217 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/helenkopnina/
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Design educators and industry partners are critical knowledge managers and co-drivers of change, and design graduate and post-graduate students can act as catalysts for new ideas, energy, and perspectives. In this article, we will explore how design advances industry development through the lens of a longitudinal inquiry into activities carried out as part of a Dutch design faculty-industry collaboration. We analyze seventy-five (75) Master of Science (MSc) thesis outcomes and seven (7) Doctorate (PhD) thesis outcomes (five in progress) to identify ways that design activities have influenced advances in the Dutch aviation industry over time. Based on these findings, we then introduce an Industry Design Framework, which organizes the industry/design relationship as a three-layered system. This novel approach to engaging industry in design research and design education has immediate practical value and theoretical significance, both in the present and for future research. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sheji.2019.07.003 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christine-de-lille-8039372/
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Pyrolysis liquids from lignocellulosic biomass have the potential to be used as a feed for aromatics such as benzene, toluene, and xylenes (BTX) using catalytic upgrading with zeolites. We here report an experimental study on the conversion of various pyrolysis oil fractions to determine the most suitable one for BTX synthesis. For this purpose, the pyrolysis liquid was fractionated using several extraction/distillation steps to give four fractions with different chemical compositions. The fractions were analyzed in detail using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, elemental analysis, gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, Karl-Fischer titration, and gel permeation chromatography. Catalytic pyrolysis experiments were carried out using a tandem microreactor with H-ZSM-5 (23) as the catalyst. The highest BTX yield of 24% (on a carbon and dry basis) was obtained using the fractions enriched in phenolics, whereas all others gave far lower yields (4.4-9%, on a carbon and dry basis). Correlations were established between the chemical composition of the feed fraction and the BTX yield. These findings support the concept of a pyrolysis biorefinery, where the pyrolysis liquid is separated into well-defined fractions before further dedicated catalytic conversions to biobased chemicals and biofuels using tailored catalysts.
Gemeenten zoeken naar nieuwe manieren om samen met burgers te komen tot oplossingen voor maatschappelijke vraagstukken. In het Europese project CoSIE experimenteren we met verschillende manieren om deze co-creatie vorm te geven. We kijken bijvoorbeeld naar het verbeteren van de leefbaarheid in een wijk en het vinden van werk voor mensen met een afstand tot de arbeidsmarkt.Doel Het project CoSIE onderzoekt hoe dienstverlening kan verbeteren als gemeenten die samen met burgers en andere betrokkenen ontwerpt. Deze manier van werken heet co-creatie. De verschillende manieren van cocreatie worden onderzocht. We richten ons op burgers die moeilijk te bereiken of kwetsbaar zijn. Bijvoorbeeld mensen met een afstand tot de arbeidsmarkt, en kinderen met overgewicht. Daarnaast onderzoeken we welke meerwaarde digitale hulpmiddelen en open data kunnen hebben in het proces van co-creatie. Ook kijken we hoe het laten vertellen en vastleggen van individuele verhalen hieraan kan bijdragen. Lees meer op de projectwebsite Resultaten Het project zal leiden tot inspirerende voorbeelden van co-creatie voor de aanpak van maatschappelijke vraagstukken. Denk bijvoorbeeld aan overgewicht bij kinderen of centraal wonen door ouderen. Een greep uit de tussenresultaten en publicaties tot nu toe: Whitepaper 'de menselijke maat terug bij de overheid' (Sociaal Bestek, december '20) Pilotposters met een korte beschrijving van de pilots in de 10 landen Co-creation of Public Service Innovation - Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Tech – CoSIE White Paper Rapid Evidence Appraisal of the Current State of Co-creation in Ten European Countries. Relevance, Understanding and Motivation – The Key Catalysts of Co-creation Towards a Roadmap for Co-creation – Practical Ideas and Useful Tools Presentatie 3 oktober 2019 tijdens een KSI-lunchmeeting Looptijd 01 december 2017 - 01 april 2021 Aanpak Het project bestaat uit verschillende pilots in de gemeenten Nieuwegein en Houten. Andere EU-landen zijn al eerder begonnen met hun pilots. Van die ervaringen kunnen wij in ons Nederlandse onderzoek leren. Pilot gemeente Nieuwegein Bewoners denken in de pilot in Nieuwegein mee over hoe hun buurt socialer en veiliger kan. In gesprekken met hen kwam het afvalprobleem vaak naar voren. Daarom bedenken we samen oplossingen waar bewoners zich betrokken bij voelen. Zo organiseren we discussiebijeenkomsten met bewoners en gebruiken we creatieve visuele vormen om hun verhalen te vertellen. In dit interview vertelt Nynke Joustra, projectleider bij de gemeente Nieuwegein, meer over de pilot en de bredere aanpak 'Nypels' waarbinnen deze pilot wordt uitgevoerd: No time to waste: co-creatie tegen afval. Pilot gemeente Houten De gemeente Houten wil de begeleiding van kwetsbare groepen bij het vinden van werk verbeteren. Samen met werkzoekenden, ondernemers, ngo's en andere gemeentelijke diensten werkt Houten in co-creatie aan een betere dienstverlening. In het najaar van 2019 probeert de gemeente verschillende oplossingen uit.
In the course of the “energie transitie” hydrogen is likely to become a very important energy carrier. The production of hydrogen (and oxygen) by water electrolysis using electricity from sun or wind is the only sustainable option. Water electrolysis is a well-developed technique, however the production costs of hydrogen by electrolysis are still more expensive than the conventional (not sustainable) production by steam reforming. One challenge towards the large scale application of water electrolysis is the fabrication of stable and cheap (noble metal free) electrodes. In this project we propose to develop fabrication methods for working electrodes and membrane electrode stack (MEAs) that can be used to implement new (noble metal free) electrocatalysts in water electrolysers.
Paper sludge contains papermaking mineral additives and fibers, which could be reused or recycled, thus enhancing the circularity. One of the promising technologies is the fast pyrolysis of paper sludge, which is capable of recovering > 99 wt.% of the fine minerals in the paper sludge and also affording a bio-liquid. The fine minerals (e.g., ‘circular’ CaCO3) can be reused as filler in consumer products thereby reducing the required primary resources. However, the bio-liquid has a lower quality compared to fossil fuels, and only a limited application, e.g., for heat generation, has been applied. This could be significantly improved by catalytic upgrading of the fast pyrolysis vapor, known as an ex-situ catalytic pyrolysis approach. We have recently found that a high-quality bio-oil (mainly ‘bio-based’ paraffins and low-molecular-weight aromatics, carbon yield of 21%, and HHV of 41.1 MJ kg-1) was produced (Chem. Eng. J., 420 (2021), 129714). Nevertheless, catalyst deactivation occurred after a few hours’ of reaction. As such, catalyst stability and regenerability are of research interest and also of high relevance for industrial implementation. This project aims to study the potential of the add-on catalytic upgrading step to the industrial fast pyrolysis of paper sludge process. One important performance metric for sustainable catalysis in the industry is the level of catalyst consumption (kgcat tprod-1) for catalytic pyrolysis of paper sludge. Another important research topic is to establish the correlation between yield and selectivity of the bio-chemicals and the catalyst characteristics. For this, different types of catalysts (e.g., FCC-type E-Cat) will be tested and several reaction-regeneration cycles will be performed. These studies will determine under which conditions catalytic fast pyrolysis of paper sludge is technically and economically viable.
