A game theoretic approach to contract-based enviro-economic coordination of wood pellet supply chains for bioenergy production.

Wood pellets have gained global attention due to their economic availability and increasing demand for bioenergy as part of sustainable energy solutions. Management of the wood pellet supply chains, from feedstock harvesting to bioenergy conversion, is critical to ensure competitiveness in the energy markets. In this regard, wood pellets supply chain coordination can play a strategic role in enhancing the efficiency and reliability of bioenergy generation.

Impact of forest harvest intensity and transportation distance on biomass delivered costs within sustainable forest management - A case study in southeastern Canada.

This study compares the delivered cost of forest biomass and its associated GHG emissions for three sizes of biorefinery including 50,000 m (small scale), 250,000 m (medium scale), and 700,000 m (large scale). The proposed methodology in this study includes harvest intensity which is often overlooked. The Pontiac region located in the Province of Quebec (Southeastern Canada) is used as a case study due to the availability of data in this forestry biomass rich region.

Modeling and prediction of regional municipal solid waste generation and diversion in Canada using machine learning approaches.

The main objective of this study was to develop models for accurate prediction of municipal solid waste (MSW) generation and diversion based on demographic and socio-economic variables, with planned application of generating Canada-wide MSW inventories. Models were generated by mapping residential MSW quantities with socio-economic and demographic parameters of 220 municipalities in the province of Ontario, Canada. Two machine learning algorithms, namely decision trees and neural networks, were applied to build the models.

Electro-optic investigation of the surface trapping efficiency in n-alkanethiol SAM passivated GaAs(001).

The electro-optic characteristics of the semi-insulating and n(+)-type GaAs(001) surfaces passivated with n-alkanethiol self-assembled monolayers were investigated using Kelvin probe surface photovoltage (SPV) and photoluminescence (PL) techniques. Referencing the equilibrium surface barrier height established in an earlier report, SPV measurements demonstrated a significant (>100 mV) increase in the non-equilibrium band-bending potential observed under low-level photo-injection. Modeling of the SPV accounts for these observations in terms of a large (>10(4)) decrease in the hole/electron ratio of surface carrier capture cross-sections, which is suggested to result from the electrostatic potential of the interfacial dipole layer formed upon thiol chemisorption.

Surface dipole layer potential induced ir absorption enhancement in n-alkanethiol SAMs on GaAs(001).

The work function of n-alkanethiol self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) prepared on the GaAs(001) surface was measured using the Kelvin probe technique yielding the SAM 2D dipole layer potential (DLP). Direct n-dependent proportionality between the DLP values and the C-H stretching mode infrared (IR) absorption intensities was observed, which supports a correspondence of reported IR enhancements with the electrostatic properties of the interface. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy is also used to verify the work function measurements.