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The reduction in energy demand for heating and cooling with insulation materials increases the material related environmental impact. Thus, implementing low embodied energy materials may equilibrate this trade-off. Actual trends in passive house postulate bio-based materials as an alternative to conventional ones. Despite that, the implementation of those insulators should be carried out with a deeper analysis due to their hygroscopic properties. The moisture transfer, the associated condensation risk and the energy consumption for seven biobased materials and polyurethane for a building-like cubicle are analysed. The performance is evaluated combining a software application to model the cubicle (EnergyPlus) and a tool to optimize its performance (jEPlus). The novelty of this optimization approach is to include and evaluate the effects of moisture in these insulation materials, taking into account the mass transfer through the different layers and the evaporation of the different materials. This methodology helps optimise the insulation type and thickness verifying the condensation risk, preventing the deterioration of the materials. The total cost of the different solutions is quantified, and the environmental impact is determined using the life cycle assessment methodology. The effect of climate conditions and the envelope configuration, as well as the risk of condensation, are quantified. The results show that cost and environmental impact can be reduced if bio-based materials are used instead of conventional ones, especially in semiarid climates. Condensation risk occurs for large thicknesses and in humid climates. In our case studies, hemp offered the most balanced solution. ; The authors would like to acknowledge financial support from the Spanish Government (CTQ2016-77968-C3-1-P, ENE2015-64117-C5-1-R, ENE2015-64117-C5-3-R, MINECO/FEDER, UE). The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Commission Seventh Framework Programme under grant agreement no. PIRSES-GA-2013-610692 (INNOSTORAGE). This project has received funding the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Program under grant agreement No 657466 (INPATH-TES). This article has been possible with the support of the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (MINECO) and the Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV) (FJCI-2016-28789). Authors would like to acknowledge the Brazilian Government for their support by the CNPq (National Council for Scientific and Technological Development). M.P. would like to thank the Brazilian Education Ministry for the financial support received under the PNPD/Capes fellowship. L.F.C. would like to thank the Catalan Government for the quality accreditation given to her research group GREA (2014 SGR 123).

Resumo Os indicadores de desempenho socioeconômico-ambiental constituem uma importante ferramenta para o monitoramento e tomada de decisão na gestão das cidades, visando um desenvolvimento urbano mais sustentável. A ISO 37120 representa um marco na padronização dos indicadores de sustentabilidade, possibilitando a comparação entre diferentes localidades. O objetivo do presente estudo é a aplicação da ISO 37120 para o Rio de Janeiro e a análise tanto deste processo quanto do desempenho do município no cenário latino-americano. Para o cálculo dos indicadores da capital fluminense, foi realizada uma extensa pesquisa documental. A comparação se deu com cidades da América Latina que já haviam aplicado a norma e a partir dos indicadores essenciais normalizados e agrupados segundo os eixos da sustentabilidade. A aplicação da norma revelou fragilidades na obtenção de dados para o Rio de Janeiro e conseguiu identificar os pontos fortes e fracos da cidade em relação às demais.

Abstract The socio-economic-environmental performance indicators have proved to be an important tool for monitoring and deciding in the management of cities, aiming at a more sustainable urban development. ISO 37120 represents a milestone in the standardization of sustainability indicators, enabling the comparison between different locations. The purpose of this study is to apply ISO 37120 to Rio de Janeiro and to analize both this process and the city's performance in the Latin American scenario. There was an extensive documentary research to calculate the indicators of Rio de Janeiro. The comparison was made among Latin American cities that already had applied the standard and was based on standardized core indicators grouped according to sustainability axes. The application of the standard revealed weaknesses in obtaining data for Rio de Janeiro and managed to identify the city's strengths and weaknesses in comparison with the others.

ABSTRACT: Explosives are widely used in extraction of ores, melts and fuels and in the safe and economical demolition of structures. These applications demonstrate the value of explosives to society and the reason why they are manufactured worldwide despite the hazard of their preparation. Hence, this paper focuses on the manufactory of the military explosive Hexogen (also known as RDX). The characteristics of the process are described by the analysis of a specify manufactory plant. The chosen analysis tool is the Hazard and Operability Study - HazOp. Historically, this methodology has been applied at chemical industries and is used in industrial process operability analysis. This study analyses seven critical nodes in the RDX manufacturing process, identifies several deviations, and causes and consequences. From these results, improvements in the units are suggested and actual conditions discussed. It is important to remark that this work is an initial approach to analysis of the manufacturing process of RDX using the HazOp methodology.