The objective of process intensification (PI) in the context of biorefining operations is to lead to a reduction in operation costs, feedstock and energy resources, greenhouse gas emissions and higher yields, while increasing operation safety, by concentrating on technologies which can intensify processing methods and create an integrated biorefinery concept. PI methods in general and specifically for biorefining operations have not featured strongly in the vast standards literature.
This year, Standards Norway celebrates its 100 year anniversary.
The new European Technical Committee CEN/TC 473 ‘Circular Economy’ will provide an arena for discussions and actions forward in implementing new standards for increased circularity. “A true circular economy is not achieved in organizations or nations alone, but through collaborative action and trans-sectoral consensus building,” says Laura Linnala, project manager at the Swedish Institute for Standards, SIS.
Autumn is just around the corner and SIST, the Slovenian Institute for Standardizatoin, are already working hard to organise a major international event to mark World Standards Day 2023. The event will take place on 16 October 2023 at the Congress Centre Brdo and will be called RAST Conference.
At their 20th Congress held in June 2023, the Austrian trade union and ETUC affiliate, ÖGB, adopted its action programme, which for the first time addresses standardization. The action programme notes in particular that the standard setting activities have increasingly expanded from industrial products to social, societal and socio-political fields.
The aim of the workshop is to publish a test method suitable for assessing the potential presence of trace chemicals in absorbent hygiene products (AHPs).
Agrivoltaics is a new development paradigm that may have wide margins for growth in the future: as the direction taken by the European Union shows, the production of energy from renewable sources should be increased, with a view to privileging sustainable solutions and reducing the reliance on fossil sources.
Travelators (also known as ‘moving walkways’) appeared over 20 years ago with the initial aim to facilitate the climbing of outdoor steep paths by children in skiing areas. Accidents on early installations led, in 2011, to the development of a first European standard, EN 15700, on the safety of travelators.
On 27 April, the European Commission proposed a Regulation on Standard Essential Patents (SEP) and launched a consultation for public feedback. CEN and CENELEC prepared a position paper in response to this consultation, outlining the role of the European Standardization System in SEP and proposing changes to the text to better reflect this role.
The refurbishment of buildings is the process of renovating, updating, or restoring an existing building to improve its condition. It is crucial not only for environmental considerations, but also for a variety of other reasons, ranging from saving costs to preserving cultural heritage and to enhancing safety.