INCREaSE 2023

Situations of water stress or even water scarcity are increasing in different regions of the planet, due to exponential population growth, the economic development model and/or climate change. One of the regions on the planet where climate change is causing increasingly recurrent situations of drought is southern Europe, in the Mediterranean basin. In parallel with this effect, an increase in the intensity and frequency of heavy rains is also observed, generating, for example, very significant impacts on urban environments. Rainwater harvesting systems (RWHS) in buildings are a sustainable solution that allows tackling these two effects of climate change, promoting a retention of water, which can be used for non-potable purposes and mitigating urban flooding. For this reason, RWHS are being implemented in several countries affected by climate change, such as Portugal, where the University of Aveiro promoted a study in two pilot buildings, described in this article, with the aim of assessing the feasibility installation of this system in new university buildings. The conclusions show high benefits not only from the point of view of adaptation to climate change, but also from the economic point of view, with payback periods between 10 and 12 years.

This paper describes a stormwater attenuation & enhanced infiltration system, comprising the construction of attenuation trenches, perforated pipes with gravel surround, integrated with large numbers of drilled vertical infiltrators installed through the base of the trenches.Combining the pressure head of the collected stormwater in the attenuation trenches, with the negative suction pressure within the unsaturated vadose zone, provides the differential pressure to force the water into the ground via these infiltrators. Furthermore, by installing vertical infiltrators, higher permeable ground strata are often encountered, particularly in anisotropic ground conditions where the horizontal permeability is much greater than the vertical permeability.Stormwater Attenuation & Enhanced Infiltration Systems (SAEIS) have been used regularly in the UK for many years, both to mitigate flooding, and to provide recharge to groundwater resources. With groundwater resources similarly in decline in Portugal, together with more frequent flooding conditions occurring during intense rainfall, such collection and enhanced infiltration systems would also be most beneficial to the hydrogeology and weather conditions of Portugal.Mathematical modelling is presented which simulates the water flow through the infiltrator system, and into the unsaturated soil strata. Combining the storage capacity of the attenuation trenches with a large number of infiltrators, produces a highly efficient attenuation and infiltration system that not only mitigates the impact of flooding but has no requirement for ongoing energy consumption.With stormwater collected, filtered, attenuated, and then infiltrated to the vadose zone, collected stormwater will eventually find its way down to the water table, and so mitigate drought conditions by supplementing the aquifer water resources.The stormwater attenuation & enhanced infiltration system (SAEIS) exemplifies true low carbon sustainability, and meets with the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs for Sustainable Development - Goal 6: Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.

Microplastics (MPs) awareness has been growing particularly after several alarming reports about “garbage patches” in the world. Plastics do not biodegrade in any meaningful way and, up to now, only a small percentage of plastic waste is recycled, being all the rest dumped in landfills, incinerated or simply not collected. The distribution of MPs within the water ecosystem depends on particle density and size and environmental characteristics, such as winds and currents. In the present study, different Portuguese industrial effluents were analysed and characterised to determine which MPs in the treated water released from wastewater treatment plants (WWTP), predominate and contribute the most to the environmental contamination of aquifers which, eventually, will end up in the coast of Continental Portugal. Overall, this work suggests strategies for MPs analysis in WWTP, thus allowing mapping of the different types of MPs prevalent in Portugal. The establishment of such database will enable the creation of reliable laboratory models to test new and green removal processes, based on the flocculation by, for instance, bio-based flocculants.

The application of efficient measures, in the Sorraia’s river valley, to mitigate the problems related to water resources management must be performed through preventive and structural measures, resulting from an integrated approach of methodologies, namely, hydrological, hydraulic, biophysical, ecological, landscape and social.Aiming to an integrated management of the land, a series of measures, mainly concerning the restoration of the hydrographic network, of the Sorraia’s valley, and the appropriate performance of the stream channels were proposed, applying mainly bioengineering techniques.In Sorraia’s river catchment changes in the dynamics of the thalwegs of the watercourses have been observed, with incisions of over 2.0 m in the last 10 years, being responsible for the lowering of the groundwater level, near the margins of watercourses, with very strong influence on river morphology, stability of the riverbanks and on the riparian vegetation.This work focuses on the preliminary phase of this restoration project, having as main objective the identification of major issues and experiences perceived by project team members and the lessons learned during the construction and to select the most adequate bioengineering restoration typologies for the Mediterranean climatic region, particularly for nonpermanent water courses.

The population growth and current consumption patterns, are increasing the pressure on the planet´s natural resources, including on water, that requires practices of more efficient management for sustaining the planet's biocapacity. Education is a very powerful tool for transforming current and future behaviors. This study was carried out in Algarve during 2021, to engage young people in improving the eco-efficiency of their school, family, and city. For this, the environment of a Basic School was used as a living lab, with students between 12 and 18 years old, and considering the consumption of water, energy and propane gas, the use of plastic water bottles and the calculation of the carbon balance in the school environment. Several activities were promoted using ICT with stakeholder’s collaboration to explore the importance of the efficient use of water, to reduce the Water Footprint (WF), to promote the consumption of tap water and reduce the plastics use. The external green spaces of the school building were characterized identifying and counting trees and shrubs. The carbon emissions related to the consumption of water, energy and propane gas in the school building were quantified and the carbon sequestration by plants was estimated. The WF of students was about 279 L. Several water losses were detected, and the proposed measures will save 270 L/ min of water in the taps and 16 L/ min in the showers. This school was responsible for the emission of 31 t CO2/year, and vegetation sequestered just 16% of those emissions.

Culatra is a small island located in the Ria Formosa Natural Park in the Algarve region at the south of Portugal, with a Mediterranean climate and facing an increasing water scarcity. The Culatra2030 Project is being developed in the island creating local actions to enhance circularity and improve the sustainability in the natural resources use. Drinking water consumed in Culatra is provided by the mainland, where it is extracted from aquatic ecosystems, treated, and transported to the island. The effluents produced on the island are drained and transported to the mainland where they are treated in a Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP). The transport of drinking water and effluents represents high energy consumption and therefore carbon emissions. The first stage of the Culatra2030 was to develop a Sustainable Energy Community, and since the last year we are studying measures to improve water circularity and eco-efficiency, avoiding the drinking water waste, and creating alternative water sources for non-potable uses. Two reference buildings have been chosen for community involvement, the Social Centre and the Primary School, where several educational actions were carried out e.g., the Water Footprint was calculated with teachers and young people, and some devices were installed to flow reducing on taps, showers and toilet flushers. The nexus drinking water /energy /carbon emissions was calculated before and after the installation of the flow reducers. The engagement of the local community on the sustainable water management was assessed through a survey prepared and distributed to families in collaboration with the island residents’ association.

In this research, heatwaves in Portugal were analysed using high-resolution daily minimum and maximum temperature data (Tmin and Tmax) from the European Reanalysis of Global Climate Observations (ERA5-Land) for the period from 1 October 1980 to 30 September 2021 (41 hydrological years) at four differentiated climatological locations in the country. The ERA5-Land temperature data were validated at the monthly level against ground-based observations from the Portuguese Institute for Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA), finding good agreement between the two data sets. Heatwaves were defined using the heatwave magnitude index (HWMI), which identifies a heatwave as a period of three or more consecutive days where temperatures exceed the daily threshold defined for the reference period. Additionally to an increasing trend in Tmin magnitude, more than 650 heatwave days of Tmin were identified at each of the four ERA5-Land locations, with the grid-point centred in the capital urban area, i.e., Lisbon, having the highest number of heatwave days. Regarding the heatwave days of Tmax, the locations with the highest occurrences, each with more than 830 d in the 41-year period, were in the north and interior. Both Tmin and Tmax heatwave occurrences were coupled with a kernel rate estimation technique for their annual frequency analysis. Overall, the results showed a clear increase in the frequency of heatwave days in Portugal, particularly for Tmax in the last two decades. This also evidenced geographical variations in the phenomenon’s occurrence, with the southern location experiencing a higher increase in heatwave days of Tmax than the northern and interior grid-points.

The concept of a green building (GB) implies a building that has implemented several sustainable strategies to increase its resilience to climate change. These types of buildings are designed to be aligned with the climate and location where they stand. Therefore, the strategies used are highly dependent on the outdoor climate and may require changes in the future due to global warming. Evaluating the present energy performance in these buildings and predicting any changes in future climate scenarios is crucial to understand if the strategies adopted initially will maintain efficient. This research aims to predict the resilience of a GB to global warming. It predicts the impact of climate change and determines the thermal comfort and energy performance of a GB by comparing three future climate scenarios with present climate conditions. Hence, a university GB was simulated and calibrated with measured data. Then, to predict climate conditions in the 2050 s and 2090 s, several future weather files based on Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs) were used. The results show a reduction in heating energy use and an increase in cooling, leading to a combined impact increase in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of 17.8% (RCP 8.5). The overall energy use tends to remain almost constant through the different scenarios with a maximum predicted increase of 4% in GHG emissions. Similarly, the electricity production from the 625 m2 photovoltaic system in the GB slightly increases through the scenarios with an overall average of 2.17%. Finally, it is predicted that the case study GB maintains the required levels of thermal comfort over time given global warming.

Over the past 10 years, the record of oil spills per year has decreased. However, the size and quantity of oil tanker ships have been growing, which will increase the hazard of a spill. Thus, spill predictions are a crucial component of monitoring because they enable a more effective response to the accident by assessing the impact beforehand and better developing a strategy to mitigate the environmental impact. These predictions are provided by Lagrangian models. The model used in this work will be able to forecast the geographical and temporal propagation of the oil spill slick with the support of the hydrodynamic and atmospheric forcing from external numerical models, which are required to compute these processes. The objective of this work is to construct a Python-based Early Warning System that will serve as the link between the user and the oil spill model. The MOHID Lagrangian module will be adapted to the region of Cartagena Bay, Colombia, as well as for the Algarve Coast, to assess oil spills events and test the adaptability of the tool. Furthermore, the operational models BASIC and SOMA will supply the hydrodynamic and atmospheric forcing for the simulations. The results in this paper showed the high level of adaptability of the tool, as well as its simplicity being adapted to users without deep knowledge in ocean modelling.

The use of wastes from agro-industrial activities is an environmental and economic diversification challenge within the circular economy action plan of the European Union. This paper shows a process of design and manufacture some insolation acoustic screens, whose composites came from by-products of the agricultural industry, such as cork/dust powder (agrocomposites). A bibliographic search had been carried out in which the different eco-friendly materials and processes actually used in bioconstruction and acoustic sectors were compiled. Sound absorption had been calculated according to the norm UNE-EN ISO 10534-2:2002, this property was compared with insulating materials that are currently used in buildings, with the aim of finding eco-friendly solutions for bioconstruction (e.g. Polyisocyanurate, PIR). For sound absorption test, the specimens were cylindrical with a diameter of 40 mm and different thicknesses over the acoustic impedance tube (Kundt Tube), furthermore, they were coated with an acoustic veil made by Carbocal® provided by AB Azucarera using an adhesive provided by major producers. The use of Carbocal appears to achieve improvements in the normal incidence absorption coefficient (α), using the core formed by the agrocomposite based on cork powder (CoP), a high viscosity resin, and a lower thickness than the synthetic PIR material.

Chimney draft affects the proper operation of heating devices. The burning rate of fuel, the efficiency of heating devices, and the number of pollutants in the exhaust depend on this parameter. This determines the amount of emission of harmful substances into the atmosphere, including e.g. particle matter. Appropriate chimney draft has an impact on reducing the concentration of harmful substances emitted in exhaust gases into the atmosphere during the operation of heating devices. This article presents experimental studies showing differences in the concentration of pollutants emitted to the atmosphere during the operation of a wood stove. The analyses were performed for a stove connected to a chimney with a natural draft and to a fan – which changed the draft depending on the stage of fuel combustion. The main attention in the performed analyses was focused on the concentration of particle matter emitted with exhaust gases. Tests have shown that equipping the chimney with a fan generating a variable chimney draft can reduce the particle matter emission of pollutants into the atmosphere. As part of the tests, in addition to particle matter, the concentrations of CO, NOx were measured. These studies may be the beginning of a new approach to reducing pollutants emitted to the atmosphere during solid fuel combustion, and as result, better protection of the environment.

This work reports a comparison of three different mathematical models used to evaluate the performance of a thermoelectric module: a linear model that relies on the assumption of temperature-independent thermoelectric properties and two nonlinear models that account for the temperature dependence of the properties. The linear model solves analytically the equations for the conservation of energy, electric potential and electric charge. The nonlinear models solve the conservation equations using either the homotopy perturbation method or the finite volume method. The models are applied to a commercial thermoelectric module and compared with the performance data provided by the manufacturer. The results demonstrate that the temperature dependence of the material properties, as well as the electrical contact resistances, must be taken into account to obtain accurate predictions. The assumption of constant properties is reasonable at low temperatures of operation, where the variation of the thermoelectric properties with temperature is negligible, but at high temperatures, this assumption overestimates the performance. Both non-linear models yield a good agreement with each other and with the data obtained from the manufacturer.

This work describes the challenges to create a local energy community at Culatra Island, a small coastal community located in the south of Portugal. Although the creation of local energy communities is recently possible in Portugal after the transposition of the EU directive to the national law, there are no real case studies to follow. The study starts by describing the Portuguese legal framework for these communities, including the defined energy sharing methodologies. Subsequently, it researches into the specific context of Culatra Island, exploring both consumption patterns and renewable energy production. The aim is to propose an energy sharing scheme that prioritizes energy costs reduction for the community while increasing the energy sustainability of island, ensuring fairness and proportionality among the community members. A new economic model is proposed to maximize consumption of locally produced energy, demonstrating how members can simultaneously benefit from discounts on energy bills and invest on increasing future production and energy self-sufficiency. The model will guarantee greater savings for the members during a temporary horizon of decades and can be further replicated on other local energy communities with different social, economic and environmental conditions.

Vector sensors are appealing for monitoring underwater noise due to its inherent directivity. While acoustic pressure sensors are ambiguous in all directions, vector sensors permit the aquisition of directional information through the measurement of particle velocity, which enables the possibility of azimuth tracking of underwater noise sources.Underwater acoustic systems based on vector sensors can play an interesting role in Marine Protected Areas where integrated marine observatories are needed to assess the evolution of the environmental state. The MARREAL marine observatory is a marine observatory equipped with a number of sensors and subsystems, including an acoustic acquisition system made of four hydrophones and a vector sensor. The observatory was deployed in September 2022 in Sagres, Portugal, near the Baleeira Port which is accessed by fisher boats and recreational boats. This paper shows preliminary results on azimuth estimation of boats passing in the deployment area, obtained independently with a 4-hydrophone planar array and a vector sensor. The results indicate that a single vector sensor can provide fair results on azimuth tracking of boats passing in the area. At high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) the vector sensor is able to yield results similar to those obtained with the planar array. When the SNR is low the planar array outperforms the vector sensor with actual processing methods used.

The use of chitosan as a sustainable alternative in food packaging has been studied due to its biodegradable and antibacterial properties. To increase the resistance of chitosan, an alternative is to incorporate natural fibers such as sisal into the polymeric matrix, resulting in a more resistant composite material. However, the precise evaluation of the mechanical properties of these biomaterials is a challenge, considering their non-homogeneity and the number of variables that interfere with the model. With the evolution of microprocessors, performing complex calculations has become a less exhausting task and allows for better analysis. Nevertheless, creating an algorithm capable of verifying the veracity of a hypothesis is a complex task that requires the elaboration of new propositions by an expert. It is in this context that the work in development arises. Using techniques of artificial intelligence and computer vision, it aims to extract information from sisal fibers with a chitosan matrix to efficiently evaluate not only the macrostructure but also the microstructure of these materials, providing more concise information. It is possible to estimate the elastic modulus with the volumetric fraction of the phases, verify the critical length of the fiber and the load supported per phase. The algorithms used for this solution were k-Means, Mask RCNN and U-Net. It is important to emphasize that, being generic models, it is expected that in future stages of the project it will be possible to develop more comprehensive solutions with applications in the construction and industry sectors.

The heritage related to the artisanal production of ceramic building materials, was officially recognized in 1999 by ICOMOS, with the “Charter of Vernacular Built Heritage”. From the beginning of the XX century, the Santa Catarina clay soil gain expression in the Algarve region, since several small and family factures, start to produce artisanal ceramic products for building construction. These products were mainly roof tiles, floor tiles and solid bricks. With the industrialization, the factories were abandoned and just a few survive, pursuing the goal of maintaining the tradition alive. Nowadays, with the growing demand for ecological and sustainable materials, with a strong aesthetic value, the return of this ceramic tiles opens new possibilities of growth and expansion in the construction sector, as well as in the region. In fact, this traditional ceramic industry is in danger of disappearing, being including in the “Red List of Crafts in the Algarve”. It is urgent to preserve this heritage and the know-how of the professionals in this industry. Santa Catarina tiles requires no special maintenance, they are fireproof, resistant to shock and temperature gradients, resistant to sunlight even in places of great exposure. Ceramic tiles are also versatile and made with natural and ecological clay soils. It is hoped that, with this work, it will be possible to sensitize decision-makers and stockholders to its importance, maintaining this local culture so that the future generations can discover, enjoy, and perpetuate it.

Nowadays, outdoor swimming pools are equipments that integrate villas, as well as multifamily buildings or tourist complexes. Architects and engineers have been working on the development of innovative solutions that can reduce the environmental impacts of swimming pools. The selection of the construction process for a swimming pool, even a small one, depends on a series of determining factors, namely, architectural design, soil type, functionalities, aesthetics, durability, budget, and construction time. Regarding the covering system, there are several solutions in the market with quite different costs. The option for one of these solutions depends on the architectural solution, as well as the main expected performance for the cover, for example, for winter hibernation, all year round for fall protection, water temperature maintenance. This article presents a synthesis of the main constructive processes and covering systems for outdoor swimming pools. In addition, it also presents a comparative analysis of economic, technical and sustainability factors for the solutions listed to systematize and facilitate decision-making for those who want to install a swimming pool.

In this work it is presented a pilot study of an accessible, smart and sustainable bus stop was developed to be located at Faro International Airport, in Algarve, Portugal. Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) are a fundamental tool for sustainable and inclusive territories, being determinant for tourist destinations. As a result, a communicative stop/shelter module is proposed which will incorporate information to passengers and provide aid to people with reduced mobility, such as, timetable, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, QR code, NFC technology, digital interactive panel, information panel in real time, points for charging mobile devices via a USB port, presence sensors and lighting intensity control. The operationality of all these equipment demands intensive energy consume. In order to promote the use of renewable energy in urban furniture, a photovoltaic system solution is studied for power-supply this inclusive and smart bus stop. At the existing bus stop of the Faro International Airport, local measurements of radiations were developed with a pyranometer. Several approaches in the integration of photovoltaic energy have been explored, demonstrating that the best solution is not a stand-alone system, but a smaller photovoltaic installation with the backing of the public power grid for periods of low photovoltaic production. The conclusions presented are based on economic analysis and environmental performance, particularly on avoided CO2 emissions, in order to ensure the sustainability of the recommended solution.

The Building Information Modelling (BIM) methodology presents as a basic concept the centralization of all information created along the development of a construction design. In the occupation building phase, the maintenance activity has been improved concerning the retrieving of data within the database of the BIM model associated to the building, and the handling of data used in a maintenance perspective. The establishment of adequate maintenance strategy concerning a building requires a deep knowledge regarding the durability of the materials, mainly the degradation perdition of the materials, and naturally, the costs involved. The study illustrate how to act over a set of the most used as finishing of wall facades and roof terraces. In order to to support the estimation of the useful life of the selected materials, two Dynamo scripts were created. The developed approach, allows engineers, in an early design stage, to prepare adequate maintenance plans, based on the knowledge of durability, useful lifetime and the degradation perdition of the materials. The work contributes positively to the implementation of BIM in the maintenance activity, with relevance to the high potential of the Dynamo tool when information management within BIM models is required.

The Building Information Modeling (BIM) methodology have been applied in all sectors of the construction activity, involving distinct professional working in collaborative way on the development of a global design, building process, and the management and maintenance requirements. The present research analyses the capabilities of BIM on the support of the building management, considering the energetic efficiency related to building exterior walls and floors. The most common exterior walls applied in a current building were selected. A representative parametric object for each wall was defined, associated with relevant parameters related with the energetic simulation, incrementing the wall’s and floor’s libraries of the BIM software, Revit (Autodesk). All the information introduced in the model, by the insertion of updated values into the new parameters, allows the plugin Green Building Studio (Autodesk), to evaluate the energy consume, supporting a comparative analyses between several alternative façade solutions. The study brings knowledge of applying BIM functionalities in a energetic simulation analyses.

Due to environmental protection, new material solutions are sought that, can replace typical materials used in the construction of culverts and small bridges (steel, reinforced concrete). Ultra-high performance concrete appears to be a more environmentally friendly material as it allows the use of a lower thickness of the structural element than in the case of typical concrete. The paper presents finite element modelling of a thin-walled arch structure made of ordinary concrete and ultra-high performance fibre reinforced concrete (UHPFRC). The arched concrete structure is designed for small bridges and culverts. Four different types of concrete were used, two ordinaries (models I and II) and two UHPFRC (models III and IV). In addition, two arch thicknesses were used (5 cm and 12 cm). Ordinary concrete was not reinforced, and UHPFRC was made with the addition of glass (model III) and steel (model IV) fibres. The obtained results are of a practical nature but still require additional research.

The Construction industry is currently facing major challenges, trying to adapt itself to the growing concern with problems related to concepts of sustainability and reduction of the impact on global warming. The production of Portland cement is associated with the production of high amounts of CO2, a product that is frequently blamed for the general temperature increase in the planet. In order to try to minimize the impact of this concrete constituent, research has been carried out in order to reduce the amount of Portland clinker present in the concrete. The reduction of the clinker content in concrete can be obtained through its total or partial replacement by alternative materials, namely residues from other industries. This replacement also makes it possible to contribute to sustainability in Construction, allowing the implementation of the circular economy concept, with the reduction of waste, and the amount of natural resources and raw materials used. This communication analyzes and compares the performance of mortars produced with two types of cement (CEM I and CEM III), analyzing the influence of partial replacement of the binder by a residue from the processing industry of natural stone (stone cutting sludge) on the performance of mortars in the presence of water.

Over the last decades the construction of swimming pools for recreation activities has grown exponentially, especially in the countries of southern Europe where tourism is one of the main economic activities. In Portugal, swimming pools are located in hotels and resorts but mostly in villas, where they reach hundreds, or even thousands. They can be considered a leisure equipment, but require considerable amounts of energy to operate. The energy requirements of such pools are especially relevant when, to keep the water temperature comfortable beyond summer months, heating systems are used during long periods of the year. At this level, conventional systems used to heat the water commonly make use of non-renewables forms of energy, which besides imposing high energy costs, cause a negative environmental impact. In this scope, the approach here presented describes the implementation of a sustainable swimming pool. In order to improve the energy of such pools two goals should be considered. The first goal is to suppress non-environment friendly systems and, then, find out how to integrate different solar energy collecting systems, either to heat the water directly or to allow thermal storage for later usage. At this level Phase Change Materials can be used. In order to fully implement it, some relevant issues need to be solved beforehand, as for instance the individual and integrated systems’ efficiency, the control methods to operate them and, of course, the investment costs. One second goal is to reduce energy losses, through a pool cover that besides energy saving, allows safety and easy operation. This paper evaluates and compares different solutions that allow heating the water of swimming pools using renewable energy sources, to increase their utilization throughout the year.

Housing starts have never recovered from the Great Recession and therefore the lack of inventory has driven up pricing resulting in a crisis of affordable options in the market. Both the United States (US) and Portuguese housing markets are experiencing this crisis driven by high costs of financing, land, materials, labor, and a limited supply chain. Emergent technologies provide one solution to labor, material and lack of production and 3D concrete printing (3DCP) promises solutions, reduces waste, and improves quality. Yet few studies discuss drivers of and barriers to this emerging technology, especially catered to specific markets. This work aims to develop a common set of attributes affecting the diffusion of 3D printing, comparing international market needs and differing factors that could both hinder and bolster the adoption of 3D concrete printing technology. This paper considers only additive manufacturing when referring to 3DCP and analysis is derived from a distillation of various types of media and the lack of empirical work is a limitation for the industry.

The construction industry is a sector whose development generates impacts on the environment, through the generation of waste and the consumption of raw materials and energy. From this fact, it is important to use materials that generate less environmental impact and bear characteristics equivalent and performance equivalent to current materials. The objective of this work was to diagnose the main sustainable materials existing in Brazil and Portugal for use in construction and to apply the methodology proposed in this work, which analyses several indicators of the sustainability of the materials, resulting in a quantitative analysis of the materials surveyed together with a qualitative analysis of legislation and best practices in both countries. The materials analysis methodology consisted of creating a spreadsheet in which grades were assigned to these materials, and, subsequently, a simple arithmetic average was calculated. Still, for the analysis of legislation, the inductive method was adopted. The results consisted of ranking the materials analysed through notes and proposals for incentives in which practices, systems and consolidated agencies in Brazil and Portugal were analysed, adapted and improved for the Brazilian reality and to answered to the gaps in the classic processes of evaluation of sustainable materials used in construction.

This article presents an overview of passive solar dryers, an ancient technique that may be revived for food drying capacities below one ton/day. The art of dehydrating food has existed for centuries and was developed to preserve food by extracting its water content, thus delaying its natural deterioration. This article reviews traditional solar dryers and proposes a verification parameter k, parametrising the solar collector’s size by the drying capacity. The modelling and parametrisation of the k constant allowed the evaluation of the examples of traditional models from the literature systematically. Results showed that 80% of the evaluated constructed solar dryers might underperform due to lower solar collecting surfaces than those projected by the k parameter.

Food is discarded at every step of the food chain. Consumers are responsible for around 35% of all food waste. For consumers, food service providers, governments, and international organizations and institutions, it is becoming increasingly essential to tackle this issue. In recent years, just a few studies on food waste, addressing food services in canteens, have been published. The overall objectives of this study were to estimate the amount of food waste in one of the canteens at the Universidade do Algarve (UAlg), to understand the current practices at the university in relation to food waste, and to develop a method to reduce food waste in university canteens, which are used both by students and by administrative and academic staff. This research looked at the food waste at the UAlg’s canteen on Campus of Penha, Faro, Portugal, which comprised 483 meals. Food waste per item during the preparation stage varied from 1% (fish) to 78% (collard), with a total wastage rate of 9%, according to the statistics. Based on weighing, 11%, 21%, 24%, and 13% of the given food will be wasted for soup, meals, salad, and dessert, respectively. With additional classification, there were differences in meal types and variation among various meal variants. Because the amount of edible food waste for various types and variety meals ranges from 57% to 91%, UAlg Social Services and the canteen management team should apply every strategy to reduce food waste as soon as feasible.

Consumers are increasingly interested in food safety, enhancing the demand level and thereafter the rising attention of the authorities and producers. The Hazzard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) System is of compulsory application since 2006 and can effectively ensure food safety and quality, contributing to expand to new markets, and improve the management level of the manufacturers. The objective of this project was to implement the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points system to the goat’s yoghurt production process of a small plant. To guarantee the safety of yoghurt production, the biological, chemical, and physical hazards that may exist in its production process were identified. Twenty-eight of the total hazards identified in this study were considered as significant, having been subjected to a Decision Tree to determine the Critical Control Points (CCP). After this analysis, only pasteurization was considered as CCP. Milk and yoghurt storage were considered Control Points (CP). After that, the critical limits, monitoring processes, corrective measures, records, and verifications steps were established. The results of the hazard analysis showed that most of the chemical hazards could be effectively controlled by an effective supplier selection. Relatively to the main microbiological hazards – Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella and E. coli – specific control measures must be implemented, namely temperature control, particularly in the pasteurization process. Hazard analysis was the opportunity to determine the best choice of these specific control measures.

Spoilage dynamics and safety of fresh deep-water pink shrimp, Parapenaeus longirostris, are of paramount importance for its storage and commercialization in good sanitary conditions, owing to its high perishability and limited shelf life. This study focused on the analysis of physicochemical indices, microbiota growth and sensory analysis during storage of deep-water pink shrimp in ice at 5 °C. The specimens were kept for 13 d in a perforated plastic box covered with ice that allowed the melted water to drain; new ice was added every 8–12 h. A sensory analysis panel assessed several attributes to develop a species-specific, 14-demerit points Quality Index Method (QIM) scheme. Water content remained at ca. 80% and water activity values ranged 0.98–1.00 during the experiment, confirming the high perishability potential of the samples. Unexpectedly, there were no significant changes in the concentrations of TVBN and TMA during this storage trial. Despite this, the abundances of mesophilic and psychrotrophic bacteria increased consistently from ca. 3.0–3.5 log CFU/g to about 6.9–7.4 log CFU/g. The absence of increase in nitrogen-based compounds despite microbiota proliferation might be related to a leaching process due to melting ice (that needs to be further experimented). Moreover, Enterobacteriaceae were not present in any of the samples analyzed, indicating good sanitary and hygienic conditions during handling and storage and safety of samples. Data suggests that deep-water pink shrimp should not be stored in ice at 5 °C more than 7 days before consumption. Food safety is critical to food security and public health, thus relevant to United Nations’ SDG 1 (No poverty) and SDG 2 (Zero hunger).

Ethanal or acetaldehyde is a natural compound of fermentations. The Portuguese legislation imposes, to the Arbutus unedo L. fruit distillate a maximum limit of 40 g/hl of pure alcohol (p.a.) to this compound. Although the main causes of its formation are known, different fruits fermentation have detailed specifications that can enhance its formation. The aim of this study was to investigate possible processes to reduce this compound before distillation (part I) and after distillation (part II). In this study to reduce ethanal or acetaldehyde before distillation, nine fermentations were planned. Three fermentations using 25% fruits harvested from the ground (A), three fermentations using 25% arbutus pricked from birds (B) and three fermentations where only whole harvested fruits from the tree where used (C). To reduce acetaldehyde after distillation 3 batches (D, E and F) from the same producer, all with acetaldehyde excess were used. The samples were placed in a bath at 35 °C with 50 r.p.m agitation, during two hours. As main results, from part I, when the fermentations use only fruits whole harvested picked from the tree (C), the ethanal or acetaldehyde content is 28.6 ± 3.8 g/hl p.a., in the other case the compound exceed significantly the law limits. After distillation, part II, in the first half hour ethanal or acetaldehyde present a reduction of 12.8 ± 4.9 g/hl p.a.in all batch (D, E and F). Ethanol has a reduction 1.2 ± 0.2% vol. in all the samples, every half hour. Ethyl acetate is also reduced, methanol decreases in the first half hour, higher alcohols and acidity tend to increase over time.

It has been explored the potential utilisation of combined high-pressure processing (HPP) and chitosan edible films with or without clove essential oil (CEO) in order to improve quality (oxidative, sensorial) of rainbow trout fillets at 4 ºC over 22 days in comparison with untreated samples or cooked and HPP alone.The optimal CEO concentration was determined previously through total phenol and antioxidant capacity determination. Films up 20 gkg−1 of CEO did not show significantly higher phenolics compounds and antioxidant capacity. Both traditional cooking and HPP reduced the spoilage as reflected from TVBN results when compared to the control. HPP had less impact on lipid oxidation (TBARS, hexanal concentration and rancid odour) and produced lower colour changes (L* and a* parameters) than cooking. However, some significant changes occurred in pressurised samples. In this sense, application of chitosan films to pressurised samples reduced lipid oxidation and colour alteration. The use of 20 gKg−1 CEO-chitosan films showed a further improvement in oxidative parameters compared to that obtained with chitosan alone. Nevertheless, the remaining odour from the CEO can be a limitation in their application in fresh fish but it could be added to marinated seafood.