Norsk Elektro Optikk (Norway)

In the ICARUS project, European partners collaborate to develop and scale innovative technologies for recovering and refining secondary raw materials from silicon photovoltaic (PV) manufacturing. The production of photovoltaic modules generates significant quantities of waste, particularly silicon kerf, graphite, and silica residues from ingot and wafer manufacturing. ICARUS aims to transform these waste streams into high‐value secondary materials suitable for reintegration into the PV value chain and other industrial applications. Four industrial pilot‐scale processes are developed, targeting the purification and reuse of these materials. Results from the pilots demonstrate both the technical feasibility and economic potential of substituting these recovered materials for virgin and critical raw materials. This work provides a viable pathway toward a more resource‐efficient and circular PV manufacturing industry.

Here, we present a novel micro Total Analysis System (μTAS) for the measurement of poly cyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) and other aromatic hydrocarbons (AHs) in water at ng/L levels in situ and in real time (IMiRO). The μTAS is based on in-line membrane extraction followed by detection of extracted aromatic substances with fluorescence. An offshore field demonstration of the method was conducted close to produced water (PW) discharged in the North Sea. PW was monitored with the IMiRO μTAS and compared to results from a simultaneously conducted independent tracer release experiment, where fluorescein was added to the PW as a tracer. The μTAS monitoring and fluorescein tracer experiment showed similar ability to track the dispersion of the PW plume in space, depth, and time. Moreover, the method detected the sum of phenanthrenes and the sum of heavier PAHs with limits of detection down to 6 ng/L, with a response time of 6 min. The novel μTAS system opens up for in situ real-time discharge monitoring of both permitted and accidental oil or PW releases from oil platforms as well as other sources. Such monitoring can also be used to test and verify dispersion models used for environmental risk assessment.

As a requirement for nuclear power plant life extension beyond 40 years, some additional Aging Management Programs (AMP) for passive equipment have to be implemented. This article presents an overview of Cable-Aging Management Program (CAMP) activities. The program defines basic rules and initial activities for the identification of adverse operation environment parameters that could lead to the accelerated aging of specific materials. Samples of cables are selected based on nuclear safety and electrical equipment criticality for inspection and testing, to check functionality and prevent unexpected failure during normal operation. Acceptance criteria for environment parameters and diagnostic testing have been set. Initial visual inspection of cable conditions in an adverse environment and testing of sampled cables and environment yield results for on-time preventive measures. The first cable aging management program in Slovenia has been operating since 2010, and its experience could be adapted to other companies for which cables are key components.

Today, quantification of diffuse dust emissions from large production halls are often estimations based on relatively few spatially and temporally constrained manual measurements in ventilators, wall- and roof openings. Results are used to extrapolate an average operation-related discharge throughout the year where considerable variation in both the quantity, duration, and location will rarely give a representative picture of the emission situation over the year. A new generation of open path instruments for continuous dust monitoring are being developed by NEO Monitors AS. Its improved measuring technology based on a divergent laser aims to significantly increase path length capability while keeping the detection limit low. Stability, robustness, and general ease of use are also significantly enhanced. However, as with current laser-based solutions, calibration and verification relies on reliable gravimetric reference measurements, either in lab or at site installation. Data from existing laser technology for shorter paths is used to identify limitations and challenges related to emissions monitoring that occur through the building’s ventilation openings in the ceiling. Gravimetric reference measurements have been carried out to verify the dust levels reported by the laser installation.KeywordsDustFugitiveDiffuseEmissionLaserTransmissionMeasurementVerificationCalibrationOpenLongPath

Humanity benefits from the achievements of modern technology, but man cannot avoid pain, long-term suffering, and spiritual problems. In modern society, as in all eras, man still raises fundamental questions of being: What is the meaning of life? What is spirituality? How to solve spiritual problems? Therefore, spiritual counselling or assistance is receiving more and more attention. Its needs and benefits are undoubtedly noticeable, because spiritual assistance tries to respond to the spiritual needs of people today, and to be a landmark in spreading spiritual well-being. Although spiritual counselling in Lithuania is still searching for explicit boundaries of function and definition, it is becoming quite clear that it is not the same as psychological counselling. Of course, spiritual counselling is not so far from psychological counselling, as they both have some features in common. However, the priority of a spiritual counsellor is existential questions and the search for answers to queries about the meaning of life, suffering, death, love, etc. Spiritual counselling tries to approach a person through the prism of faith. A unique element in spiritual counselling is not the methods used by the counsellors, but their personality, their world-view, faith, values, and attitude towards other people. Therefore, in order to substantiate the identity and importance of spiritual counselling, this article aims to reveal the essence and meaning of spiritual counselling.

Insect monitoring is critical to improve our understanding and ability to preserve and restore biodiversity, sustainably produce crops, and reduce vectors of human and livestock disease. Conventional monitoring methods of trapping and identification are time consuming and thus expensive. Automation would significantly improve the state of the art. Here, we present a network of distributed wireless sensors that moves the field towards automation by recording backscattered near-infrared modulation signatures from insects. The instrument is a compact sensor based on dual-wavelength infrared light emitting diodes and is capable of unsupervised, autonomous long-term insect monitoring over weather and seasons. The sensor records the backscattered light at kHz pace from each insect transiting the measurement volume. Insect observations are automatically extracted and transmitted with environmental metadata over cellular connection to a cloud-based database. The recorded features include wing beat harmonics, melanisation and flight direction. To validate the sensor’s capabilities, we tested the correlation between daily insect counts from an oil seed rape field measured with six yellow water traps and six sensors during a 4-week period. A comparison of the methods found a Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient of 0.61 and a p-value = 0.0065, with the sensors recording approximately 19 times more insect observations and demonstrating a larger temporal dynamic than conventional yellow water trap monitoring.

The drone airborne electromagnetic survey method has been used for several years for tunnel route survey and landslide survey, and the ground-based airborne receiving method (called D-GREATEM) has been put into practical use. We have newly developed a transmitter that can be mounted on a drone, and obtained the resistivity structure by using two drones towed by a transmitter and a receiver, which are flown simultaneously to measure the resistivity structure (called D-TEM). The survey was carried out in the Sino region with the aim of understanding the structure and hydraulic properties of fan-shaped sand and gravel, which are the sources of groundwater recharge in the Nobi Plain, alluvial clay that causes groundwater overburden, and faults that can regulate groundwater flow. In order to capture the seasonal changes of groundwater, the study was carried out forth, in the high rainfall season (September-October) and in the low rainfall season (December) in 2019 and 2020. We report the results of the comparison of the results by the two survey methods, D-GREATEM and D-TEM, and discuss the characteristics and limitations of each survey method, the estimation of geological and hydraulic structures, and the influence of measurement conditions.

Assess the joint capabilities of emerging telescopes for near-Earth objects (NEOs) survey and characterization, and what they will add to the current capabilities or replace. NASA telescopes in prime mission, in development, or under study, and requested for this assessment, include: - The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) - The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) - The Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST) - The Near-Earth Object Camera (NEOCam). Also requested for this assessment is the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST), an 8.4-meter ground-based telescope in development by the National Science Foundation and Department of Energy (DOE), with the capability to discover and catalogue NEOs.