Chapters authored
Degradation Monitoring Systems for a BIM Maintenance Approach
Digitization allows to develop unprecedented technological systems based on the use of sensors, robotics, and automation. The construction industry is involved in this process of integrating new technologies through a platform called Building Information Modeling (BIM), which simplifies the management of the increasing complexity of construction processes. This methodology aims to create a global interactive system of information sharing between the different actors in the construction process. The integration of the processes creates economic and environmental opportunities, which can translate into increased efficiency of the sector. The information collected can be used throughout the construction lifecycle, which together with the monitoring of the buildings will support maintenance decisions. The monitoring of reinforced concrete structures with sensors allows the identification and quantification of the degradation processes, through the monitoring of several characteristic parameters of the reinforced concrete over time, and the determination of significant changes that indicate the existence of a degradative process in development. Obtaining this type of information, and its integration into BIM models, will allow intervention at an early stage in order to limit damages and costs associated with the maintenance of the structure, contributing to increase in the structure’s useful life.
Part of the book: Sustainable Construction and Building Materials
Review of Biofuel Technologies in WtL and WtE
Processing of biomass feedstocks to produce energy, fuels, and chemicals via a combination of different applied technologies is considered a promising pathway to achieve sustainable waste management, with many environmental and economic benefits. In this chapter, we review the current state of the main processes associated with energy recovery and biofuel production under the concept of waste biorefineries. The reviewed technologies are classified into thermochemical, biological, and chemical, including combustion, gasification, steam explosion, pyrolysis, hydrothermal liquefaction, and torrefaction; anaerobic digestion, fermentation, enzymatic treatment, and microbial electrolysis; and hydrolysis, solvent extraction, transesterification, and supercritical conversion. Their brief history, current status, and future developments are discussed within a perspective of valorization and managing of current waste streams with no solution.
Part of the book: Elements of Bioeconomy