Data assimilation in a LOTOS-EUROS chemical transport model for Colombia using satellite measurements

When considering air quality, notably in South America, it seems that we are falling behind more developed regions in exacerbating the issue. This shortfall serves not just as observation, but as a warning, as air quality problems here are rapidly escalating. Nevertheless, by examining how other countries have addressed similar issues, we can...

Global impacts of aircraft emissions on air quality and nitrogen deposition

Global passenger air traffic has doubled in the 13 years prior to 2019, and is expected to double again over the next 20 years or so. Growing demand for aviation is met by a corresponding increase in jet fuel being burned by aircraft, releasing multiple pollutants into the atmosphere. Besides disturbing the Earth’s radiative balance, these...

Ensemble-based Data Assimilation For High-uncertainty systems: a case of study with Particulate Matter in the Aburra Valley

In order to avoid the adverse effects of air pollution, efforts have been made to monitor when air pollution reaches dangerous levels. A Chemical Transport Model (CTM) can simulate trace gases and particles concentration in specific areas. These models are not entirely reliable, owing to incomplete knowledge about emissions and meteorological...

Time Use and Travel Behaviour with Automated Vehicles

Automated vehicles (AVs) have been a dream for a long time. From science fiction in the 1930s to countless prototypes, extensive road testing, and first use cases at present, the technology has clearly come a long way. So too has the vision of practitioners and academics matured to recognise the various potential benefits (e.g., accessibility,...

Development of a nature-based Geo-engineering solution to reduce soil permeability in-situ

Stability of dikes is a national security issue for densely populated low-lying countries situated in delta areas, like the Netherlands. One of the dominant dike failuremechanisms in the Netherlands is piping, where high seepage flow rates transport sand particles and subsequently form a ’pipe’ under a dike structure. As such, one manner to...

Analysis and Remediation of the Salinized, Damour Coastal (Dolomitic) Limestone Aquifer in Lebanon

Coastal aquifer management has recently emerged as a main scope in groundwater hydrology, especially in arid and semi-arid zones. About two thirds of the human population are currently gathered close to shorelines relying on coastal groundwater resources. Worldwide, these systems are subject to quality deterioration due to a multitude of...

Field Experiments and Reactive Transport Modeling of Subsurface Arsenic Removal in Bangladesh

The principle of Subsurface Arsenic (As) Removal (SAR) is to extract anoxic groundwater, aerate it and reinject it. Oxygen in the injected water reacts with iron in the resident groundwater to form hydrous ferric oxide (HFO). Dissolved As sorbs onto the HFO, which allows for the extraction of groundwater with lower As concentrations.

Strategic Modeling of Global Container Transport Networks: Exploring the future of port-hinterland and maritime container transport networks

Uncertainties in future global trade flows due to changes in trade agreements, transport technologies or sustainability policies, will affect the patterns of global freight transport and, as a consequence, also affect the demand for major freight transport infrastructures such as ports and hinterland networks. Policy makers face the challenge of...

The origin of preferential flow and non-equilibrium transport in unsaturated heterogeneous porous systems

Stabilization of waste bodies of landfill is achieved by treating the waste body using irrigation, recycling of leachate combined with landfill gas extraction and/or aeration. In order for the regulators and landfill operators to agree on a required level of after care, a quantitative estimation of remaining long-term emission potential is...

Electrochemical lithium migration to mitigate alkali-silica reaction in existing concrete structures

Alkali-silica reaction (ASR) is a deterioration process that affects the durability of concrete structures worldwide. During the reaction, hydroxyl and alkali ions present in the pore solution react with reactive silica from the aggregate, forming a hygroscopic ASR gel. Alternatively, the silica structure is attacked by hydroxyl ions and the...

Logistics Chains in Freight Transport Modelling

The flow of trade is not equal to transport flows, mainly due to the fact that warehouses and distribution facilities are used as intermediary stops on the way from production locations to the points of consumption or further rework of goods. This thesis proposes a logistics chain model, which estimates empirically valid transport flows...

Very long term development of the Dutch Inland Waterway Transport System: Policy analysis, transport projections, shipping scenarios, and a new perspective on economic growth and future discounting

This thesis addresses how a new method for the evaluation of policies with a very long term impact on the Dutch Inland Waterway Transport (IWT) system can be developed. It proposes an outline for a very long term transport model, prepares a number of very long term scenarios, and indicates that a different perspective on economic growth and...

Experimental and numerical investigation of chloride ingress in cracked concrete

Chloride induced corrosion of reinforcing steel is recognized as the most common deterioration mechanism affecting reinforced concrete structures. As such, it has been in focus of research for more than thirty years. Numerous studies of chloride ingress, corrosion initiation, and corrosion propagation have been conducted. Most studies of...

Fractals and moving plumes

Pervaporation and vapour permeation of methanol and MTBE through a microporous methylated silica membrane

The combination of conventional unit operations with pervaporation or vapour permeation membrane separation processes offers opportunities for process intensification in terms of augmenting capacity and decreasing energy consumption of conventional unit operations. The MTBE production process is an often studied example of a so-called hybrid...