The first objective of any waste policy should be to minimize the negative effects of the generation and management of waste on human health and the environment. Re-use and recycling of waste, although of high priority in the waste hierarchy, is not necessarily always the best treatment method. In the case of hazardous waste containing toxic components, thermal treatment with energy recovery constitutes a cost effective treatment option, complying with the pillars of “Sustainability” and the requirements of “Resource Efficient and Cleaner Production”. Iron recovery from the incineration ashes, water recycling, substitution of fossil fuel by high calorific waste in the incineration process, and energy recovery, avoid the use of non-renewable resources. Emissions to air and discharges to water of a typical rotary kiln for the incineration of hazardous waste, are far below the European emission limit values. Furthermore, recent studies on health effects of modern, state-of-the art waste incinerators show that any potential damage to the health of those living close-by or working in a hazardous waste incineration plant, is likely to be very small, if detectable.

EU rules for the welfare of pigs define 40 lx for a minimum period of eight hours per day as the minimum standards of light intensity in swine buildings. The aim of this study was to verify if the 40 lx light intensity level requested by EU rules was achieved in naturally vs. artificially illuminated areas of a pig house and to investigate light intensity distribution within the building and the pens. For this purpose, light intensity was continuously monitored in two compartments of a piggery at the height of 1.50 m along the central corridor, according to standard inspections adopted in pig farms. As a second step, light intensity was measured in a three dimensional grid at 5 heights (0 to 1.5 m) in six different positions in the pens to investigate light distribution at the heights of animals and humans. The light intensity level required by EU rules was reached 93+/-5.65% (9:00 am to 5:00 pm) in the artificially illuminated areas. In pens illuminated only by natural light and without dunging areas, the 40 lx level was never reached, while in pens with dunging areas the 40 lx were reached 83+/-1.83% (9:00 am to 5:00 pm). Analysis of the 3D distribution of light intensity revealed that the light level remained very low (15 lx) inside the pen.

The Indaver integrated grate furnace, incinerating municipal solid waste (MSW) along with comparable industrial waste, is described. In the installation, energy is recovered by producing steam which is delivered to other companies, or used to generate electricity. The bottom ashes are wet-washed; ferrous and non-ferrous metals and granulates are recovered. Next to the grate furnace, a fluidized bed combustor (FBC) operated by SLECO is situated. It can co-incinerate various types of industrial wastes (including ASR), RDF, waste water treatment (WWT) sludges, etc. and produces steam to generate electricity. The bottom ashes are recovered as secondary raw material. It is demonstrated that both installations have a good environmental performance and address many aspects of cleaner production. This way, both grate furnace and FBC may play an important role in sustainable waste management. Depending on the fractions of the energy carrier(s), the actual energy recovery varies from 41% for the grate furnace (steam + electricity) to 27% for the FBC (only electricity). The most important airborne emissions and solid residues are monitored in both installation and are discussed in detail. For all components of interest, emissions remain well below Flemish limit values. Moreover, it was shown that both installations act as a POP sink when flue gas emissions are taken into account as a POP output. From the bottom ashes of both incinerators ferrous and non-ferrous metals and granulates are recovered, representing 19.9 and 9.2 wt% of the original waste input of respectively the grate furnace and the FBC. When introducing higher amounts of heavy metals into the FBC, co-incinerating ASR, the bottom ashes still fulfil Flemish requirements for use as secondary raw material.

During an eight day trial automotive shredder residue (ASR) was added to the usual waste feed of a Fluidized Bed Combustor (FBC) for waste-to-energy conversion; the input waste mix consisted of 25% ASR, 25% refuse-derived fuel (RDF) and 50% wastewater treatment (WWT) sludge. All inputs and outputs were sampled and the concentration of the 17 PCDD/Fs with TEF-values was determined in order to obtain "PCDD/F fingerprints". The ASR contained approximately 9000 ng PCDD/Fs/kg(DW), six times more than the RDF and 10 times more than the WWT sludge. The fingerprint of ASR and RDF was dominated by HpCDD and OCDD, which accounted for 90% of the total PDDD/F content, whereas the WWT sludge contained relatively more HpCDFs and OCDF (together 70%). The flue gas cleaning residue (FGCR) and fly and boiler ash contained approximately 30,000 and 2500 ng PCDD/Fs/kg(DW), respectively. The fingerprints of these outputs were also dominated by HpCDFs and OCDF. The bottom ash contained only OCDD and OCDF, in total 8 ng PCDD/Fs/kg (DW). From the comparison of the bottom ash fingerprints with the fingerprints of the other output fractions and of the inputs, it could be concluded that the PCDD/Fs in the waste were destroyed and new PCDD/Fs were formed in the post combustion process by de novo synthesis. During the ASR-co-incineration, the PCDD/F congener concentrations in the fly and boiler ash, FGCR and flue gas were 1.25-10 times higher compared to the same output fractions generated during incineration of the usual waste mix (70% RDF and 30% WWT sludge). The concentration of the higher chlorinated PCDD/Fs increased most. As these congeners have the lowest TEF-factors, the total PCDD/F output, expressed in kg TEQ/year, of the FBC did not increase significantly when ASR was co-incinerated. Due to the relatively high copper levels in the ASR, the copper concentrations in the FBCs outputs increased. As copper catalysis the de novo syntheses, this could explain the increase in PCDD/F concentrations in these outputs.

The amount of different persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in the input of waste incinerators was compared to that in the output. Three cases were considered: a rotary kiln incinerating hazardous waste, a grate furnace incinerating municipal solid waste (MSW) and the same grate furnace co-incinerating plastics of waste of electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) and automotive shredder residue (ASR) with MSW. The mass balance for PCBs in the rotary kiln indicates that these POPs are destroyed effectively during incineration. The grate furnace can be a sink or source of PCDD/Fs and PCBs depending on the concentrations in the incinerated waste. In order to compare the total amount of POPs in input and output, a methodology was developed whereby the amount of POPs was weighed according to minimal risk doses (MRDs) or cancer potency factors. For both incinerators the PCDD/Fs, PCBs and polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are the main contributors to total weighed POP output. In MSW, the PCDD/Fs, PBDD/Fs and polybrominated diphenylethers (PBDEs) are the main contributors to the weighed POP input. The ratios of the weighed POP-input over -output clearly indicate that the rotary kiln incinerating hazardous waste is a weighed POP sink. The grate furnace incinerating MSW is a weighed POP sink or source depending on the POP-concentrations in the waste, but the difference between output and input is rather limited. When e.g. ASR and plastics of WEEE, containing high concentrations of PBDEs and PCBs, are co-incinerated in the grate furnace, it is clearly a weighed POP sink.

The European directive 2000/53/EC implies a "reuse and recovery" rate for end-of-life vehicles (ELVs) of 95% to be reached by the year 2015. One of the options to increase the actual average European "reuse and recovery" rate of approximately 78% (EU 15, 2008) is incineration of automotive shredder residue (ASR) with energy-recovery. The mass balance and the congener fingerprints for PCDD/Fs, dioxin-like PCBs, PCBs and PAHs in a real scale fluidized bed combustor (FBC) incinerating 25% ASR with 25% refuse derived fuel (RDF) and 50% waste water treatment sludge (WWT sludge) were investigated. The PCDD/F, dioxin-like PCB, PCB and PAH concentrations in this input waste mix were more than hundred times higher than in the usual waste feed of the incinerator (30% RFD and 70% WWT sludge). In the outputs of the FBC, however, the concentrations of these POP groups were comparable or only slightly higher than in the outputs generated during the incineration of the usual waste feed. The considered POPs in the waste were destroyed efficiently and the formation of new POPs during cooling of the flue gas appeared to a large extent independent of the POP concentrations in the incinerated waste.

Common physicochemical treatment of industrial wastewater is not very efficient regarding the removal of the oxyanion forming elements selenium, molybdenum and antimony. An industrial case is described where effluents from the wet treatment of flue gases from a rotary kiln for the incineration of industrial waste, contain variable amounts of the elements mentioned. The effluent of the scrubbers is neutralized, coagulated and flocculated. Mercury is removed by precipitation with TMT. The installation shows satisfactory results, complying with the regulations for common cations. The effluent of the settling tank still contains variable concentrations of selenium, molybdenum and antimony and the overall removal efficiency is not reproducible for these elements. Laboratory experiments are presented for the removal by coprecipitation and the results are discussed. Possible treatment methods are selected and evaluated in a matrix that may help in the selection of methods for the simultaneous removal of oxyanion forming elements.

During the final phase of incubation, continuous recording and analysis of embryo sounds allow estimations about the percentage of hatched chickens. The objective of this study was to predict the time at which all eggs in an industrial incubator had passed the stage of internal pipping (IP100%). Chicken vocalization starts around day 19 when lung respiration commences. The amount of chicken vocalization increases during the hatching process, resulting in an increase of sound energy in the frequency range of 2500 to 3300 Hz. Using a standard microphone mounted inside the incubator, continuous sound recordings were processed to monitor the sound intensity during the hatching process. The method discussed in this article was assessed in an industrial-scale hatch setter (19,200 eggs) and repeated five times. The results show that the sound intensity signal results in a specific pattern that holds information about the stage of hatching. It was shown for five trials that the time at which automatic IP100% detection occurred was within +/-3 h of the manually observed time for IP100%. The results imply that real-time sound recording and analysis during incubation allow prediction of the hatch outcome in industrial incubators. Such an acoustic monitoring system might provide industrial users with valuable information for hatch management.

Since natural ventilation is a more energy friendly approach to provide effective ventilation, this technique is gaining more interest. The major problem of natural ventilation is lack of an accurate, continuous and online measuring and controlling technique for air change rates, which is crucial for monitoring emissions from buildings and for control of indoor air conditions. A literature review defined available techniques to measure the ventilation rate. The ventilation rate measured with the tracer gas method is compared with an accurate measurement of the ventilation rate in a laboratory test installation. Due to non-perfect mixing, large variations in ventilation rates are present depending on the sampling positions. In a mechanically ventilated test installation with accurate reference method, tracer gas experiments were performed to demonstrate the apparent difficulties. This research outlines the problems which are still apparent with the tracer gas technique. The errors in the ventilation rate for measurements inside the ventilated airspace can rise to 86% of the actual ventilation rate. (C) 2009 IAgrE. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Light intensity in swine buildings is regulated by European rules that define minimum standards for the welfare of pigs. This directive requires that "pigs must be kept in light with an intensity of at least 40 lux for a minimum period of eight hours per day" from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The objective of this study was to verify if the 40 lux light intensity level, as requested by EU rules for pig welfare, was achieved in a naturally versus artificially illuminated pig house under field conditions and to investigate the influence of the building structure on light intensity distribution within the building and the pens. Light intensity was monitored in an experimental swine facility comprising two different animal compartments in northern Italy During the four-month trial, light intensity was recorded continuously at a frequency of 1 min using sensors located 1.50 in above the floor along the central corridor As a second step, light intensity was measured in a three-dimensional grid at 0, 20, 75, 100, and 150 cm above the floor in six different positions within each pen to investigate how light was distributed in the pens at the heights of animals and humans. The results showed that, in the artificially illuminated areas, the light intensity required by EU rules for pig welfare was met a mean of 93% (89% in pens without dunging areas and 97% in pens with dunging areas) of the time between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. In the areas illuminated only by natural light, the required light intensity, level was achieved a mean of 41.5% of the time; in pens without dunging areas, the required light intensity level was never reached, while pens with dunging areas were, illuminated at 40 lux 83% of the time. In general, based on EU rules, natural lighting was insufficient compared to artificial lighting in pens with no openings other than windows. Wider windows, positioned closer to the floor, could improve the lighting of the pen, avoiding the use of artificial light. Analysis of the 3-D distribution of light intensity, performed under clear sky, conditions, revealed that light intensity at 150 cm height, as compared with lower heights, depends mostly on natural light coming from inlets and from the openings connecting the pens with the dunging areas. Nevertheless, even at this height, the light level remained very low (15 lux) and was totally insufficient for inspection of animals by the veterinarian or the farmer. For an identical light source, the 3-D distribution of light intensity in the compartment and in a pen depends on the type of pig building, the position of the pen in the building, and the presence of openings to the outside. The 3-D gradient of light intensity, or the variation of light intensity, measured in a single pen reached 3.98 lux m(-1), while the gradient in a compartment reached 4.45 lux m(-1), showing a non-honzogeneous light distribution in the building.

In storage rooms for agricultural products, there are losses due to poor temperature distribution. To control temperature distributions in process rooms filled with obstacles, a three dimensional dynamic model is required to calculate the three dimensional dynamic responses product temperature distribution in three dimensions as a response to changes in process inputs such as ventilation rate and inlet temperature. In this study, a data-based mechanistic model for temperature responses at different positions in both airspace and obstacles was developed. In the first step, plastic balls with known characteristics were used as obstacles. During the experiments, step increases in air inlet temperature were applied while the airspace temperature and the air inside the balls were recorded. The simplified refined instrument variable algorithm was used as model parameter identification tool to obtain the best model order and parameters. Using model compacting, several physically meaningful parameters were found to represent the temperature distribution between the products and the airspace.A third-order transfer function developed from the air inlet and airspace temperature data enabled the dynamic response of airspace temperature to be explained. A local volumetric fresh air concentration beta(1) was determined from the temperature distribution in the airspace with a high coefficient of determination R-2 > 0.99 and a low error 0.1 degrees C.A first-order transfer function model proved to be sufficiently good in describing the heat transfer from airspace to obstacles with a high statistical significance (R-2>0.99). In this model, a parameter related to the heat transfer coefficient alpha(2) was found to represent the temperature distribution between the obstacles.The values of beta(1) and alpha(2) in the model could be used to design a control system for real time monitoring and the online adaptive control of the temperature distribution in the process room in three dimensions. (c) 2007 IAgrE. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Despite the augmented safety offered by wearing a cyclist crash helmet, many cyclists still refuse to wear one because of the thermal discomfort that comes along with wearing it. In this paper, a method is described that quantifies the ventilation characteristics of a helmet using tracer gas experiments. A Data-Based Mechanistic model was applied to provide a physically meaningful description of the dominant internal dynamics of mass transfer in the imperfectly mixed fluid under the helmet. By using a physical mass balance, the local ventilation efficiency could be described by using a single input-single output system. Using this approach, ventilation efficiency ranging from 0.06 volume refreshments per second (s(-1)) at the side of the helmet to 0.22s(-1) at the rear ventilation opening were found on the investigated helmet. The zones at the side were poorly ventilated. The influence of the angle of inclination on ventilation efficiency was dependent on the position between head and helmet. General comfort of the helmet can be improved by increasing the ventilation efficiency of fresh air at the problem zones.

The performance of climate control systems in vehicles becomes more and more important, especially against the background of the important relationship between compartment climate and driver mental condition and, thus, traffic safety. The performance of two different types of climate control systems, an un-air-conditioned heating/cooling device (VW) and an air-conditioning climate control unit (BMW), is compared using modern and practical evaluation techniques quantifying both the dynamic 3-D temperature distribution and the local air refreshment rate. Both systems suffer from considerable temperature gradients: temperature gradients in the U-AC (VW) car up to 8-9 degrees C are encountered, while the AC (BMW) delivers clear improvement resulting in temperature gradients of 5-6 degrees C. The experiments clearly demonstrate the effect of the presence of even a single passenger on the thermal regime, increasing the existing thermal discrepancies in the compartment with 15% independent of ventilation rate. Furthermore, in terms of air refreshment rates in the vehicle compartment, an air-conditioning unit halves the air refreshment time at all positions in the vehicle cabin, delivering a significant improvement in terms of human comfort. Similarly, extra air inlets in the back compartment of a car deliver progress in terms of cabin refreshment rate (93 s down to 50 s).

In addition to production, physiology, and health, behavior is an important issue with respect to animal welfare when evaluating novel housing systems. Behavioral characteristics are usually evaluated by audio-visual observation done by a human observer present on the scene. This method is time consuming, expensive, subjective, and prone to human error Automated objective surveillance, by means of inexpensive cameras and image-processing techniques, has the ability to generate data that provide an objective measure of behavior without disturbing the animals. The specific purpose of this study was to develop a fully automatic on-line image-processing technique to quantify the behavior of a single laying hen as opposed to the current human visual observation. The image-processing system is based on the principle that the classification of behavior can be translated into classification of time series of different postures of the hen. The hens postures can be recognized in the camera image. The classification of the hen behavior is performed by dynamic analysis of a set of measurable parameters, which are calculated front the images using iniage-processing techniques. The parameters were chosen based on their computational demands and analysis of their discriminative power regarding the different types of a specific behavior A first implementation of the system allowed us to identification, three different types of individual behavior (standing, walking, and scratching). The objective of further investigation will be the classification of up to 15 different types of behavior, such as pecking, eating, drinking, wing stretching, etc.

In literature, local mean age of air is used as an important index to evaluate indoor air quality in ventilated rooms. In this research, a data-based mechanistic approach is used to model the spatial–temporal mass distribution in an imperfectly mixed forced ventilated installation. A first-order transfer function model has proved to be sufficiently good in describing the mass transfer dynamics (Rt2=0.987) of the system. Furthermore, it was possible to fully understand the physical meaning of the model parameter. The parameter is found to be an inverse of the age of air. This Data-Based Modelling approach proved to be more robust when dealing with measurement noise. Finally, the modelled age of air was validated with a classical step up determination of the age of air for experimental data. Good correlation (Rt2=0.77) was found between both results, which proved the physical background of the model parameter.

This paper outlines development of a low order model that can be used for control purposes and quantification of ventilation performance in ventilated systems. First informative pollutant transport data is generated using numerical simulations. Later on, identification procedures are followed to build a low order transfer function model from the CFD generated input–output data. The obtained results demonstrate that first order model can sufficiently describe the dominant mass transfer dynamics in the ventilated air space. Afterwards classical mass balance equation is used to explain the objectively formulated model in a meaningful manner. The developed model is compact in structure and accurate in nature making it an ideal input for model based controller algorithm development. Furthermore its model parameter is found to be an inverse of the local mean age of air. Therefore the model can also be used to assess ventilation performance.

In this paper a data based mechanistic (DBM) model is proposed using a simplified heat balance formulation for modelling the temperature distribution inside a full scale ventilated room. The model has a number of parameters which are physically meaningful and determined using time temperature data obtained from experiments for several inlet air flow rates. At the inlet a step input in air temperature is applied and temperature responses at 36 sensor locations were recorded. For all ventilation rates used, the parameters of the model are extracted using statistical identification technique. Later, model based predictive control (MBPC) algorithm is developed to control temperature profiles on pre-selected sensor locations. The developed DBM model is compact in structure and found to capture the temperature distribution with high accuracy. The MBPC, which is distinguished by explicit use of process models, is robust for disturbance and noise effects. Besides it has high tracking capability of the reference trajectory.

An on-line mathematical approach was used to model the 3-D spatio-temporal temperature distribution in an imperfectly mixed forced ventilated room. A second-order model proved to be a sufficiently good description of the temperature dynamics (R-2 = 0.929) of the system for control purposes. Furthermore, it was possible to fully understand the physical meaning of the second order model structure. Using this model, a model-based predictive controller ( MBPC) was developed for a single input single output (SISO) system. The controller was able to accurately control the mean temperature level of four spatial points in the room, and to robustly react to a random local disturbance signal. The results presented in this paper show that MBPC using data-based mechanistic modelling can be of significant importance in the development of a new generation of climate controllers.

It is known that there can be a significant temperature difference between the position of the climate controller sensor (room temperature) and the animal-occupied zone (AOZ) in a pig room. This study explores the advantages of using AOZ temperature in climate control. The objectives were: (1) to evaluate a current climate control system in a practical room with ground channel ventilation for weaned piglets by comparing AOZ and room temperature, and (2) to determine advantages of control of the heating system based on AOZ temperature by a model-based predictive (MBP) controller. Comparison of AOZ and room temperature showed that during the first 10 days of the two experimental batches, AOZ temperature was lower and showed greater fluctuations than room temperature, most likely due to the switching of the heating system (on/off). Animals close to the sensor could disturb the AOZ measurement. This was not the case during colder nights, when animals moved away from the sensor and the measured AOZ temperature was a good indicator of the air temperature around the animals. The data for those periods were suitable,for use in this climate control study, but when applying the system in practice the disturbing effect needs to be prevented by better protection of the AOZ sensor For the second objective, the course of the AOZ temperature was modeled based on data for five nights when the heating switched on and off several times (goodness of fit R-t(2) = 0.77). One of the models was integrated in a simulated MBP controller that uses the model to predict future AOZ temperature; the controller switches the heating system on before the AOZ gets too cold and off before it gets too warm. The simulated AOZ temperature was more stable during an 11h cold period; the standard deviation was reduced from 0.44 degrees C to 0.18 degrees C.

To provide good health, safety and comfort, a ventilation system need to provide an adequate supply of fresh air to the building occupants. The supplied fresh air is used to dilute airborne contaminants to threshold limits. Since the older the air is, the greater is its contaminant concentration, knowledge of the local mean residence time or the local mean age of air (T) is of great importance. This parameter, which is defined as the mean time elapsed by all the particles arriving at a point of consideration since entering the room, can be used to quantify ventilation effectiveness and indoor air quality of ventilated systems. This paper reports a new modelling approach that is used to quantify ventilation effectiveness.