news March 2022

news@ifisc.uib-csic.es

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IFISC News - The World-Wide Waste Web, the network through which our garbage travels

by ifisc＠ifisc.uib-csic.es

The World-Wide Waste Web, the network through which our garbage travels A group of researchers from IFISC (UIB-CSIC) led by Dr. Ernesto Estrada, has identified the list of countries with the highest risk of saturating their waste management capacity. The article, published in Nature Communications, has reconstructed the world-wide waste web, a set of global exchange networks between countries that import and export waste. The researchers defined a separate web for each of the waste types analyzed using data from the BaC (Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal) online database and matched it with each country's individual capacity to manage such waste. Between 7 and 10 billion tons of waste are produced annually worldwide. This includes between 300 and 500 million tons of hazardous waste, whether corrosive, flammable or toxic. Some of this waste does not stay in its country of origin and travels through the world-wide waste web to be processed elsewhere. This is done, on the one hand, to dispose of the waste more economically in the case of waste exporting countries, and on the other hand, to have easy access to materials collected by recycling these wastes in the case of waste importing countries. That is why the world-wide waste web is a directional and weighted network, i.e., waste travels from country A to B, but not the other way around or in the same quantity as from A to C, for example. This characteristic is evident in the great asymmetry in the import and export of hazardous waste between developed (typically exporting) and developing (typically importing) countries. However, the capacity to process these wastes is not the same for all countries, and many of them run the risk of becoming congested, i.e. importing more waste than they are able to manage without compromising the environment. To quantify this, the researchers used the Enviromental Performance Index (EPI), a ranking that indicates "which countries are best addressing the environmental challenges facing each nation" and provides information on capacity to manage different types of waste. This index, together with the structure of the world-wide waste web, makes it possible to identify those countries with a high risk of quickly becoming congested if their EPI does not match the amount of hazardous waste they import. Of the 57 countries that are at high risk, 29 of them are in Africa, 16 in Asia, 5 in the Americas, 4 in Europe and 3 in Oceania. The impact of these countries at high risk of congestion can be verified by analyzing chemical fingerprints, chemical elements generated by waste that leave quantifiable traces in the environment in the form of heavy metals, volatile organic compounds or persistent organic pollutants. Regarding the structure of the world-wide waste web, the study states that the density of connections has decreased between 2001 and 2019, in addition to observing that many countries are becoming either exclusively waste importers (such as Mexico) or exclusively exporters (such as China). The authors conclude that this study opens the door to more efficient hazardous waste management and allows the implementation of measures to ensure better control of hazardous waste.Johann H. Martínez, Sergi Romero, José J. Ramasco, and Ernesto Estrada. The world-wide waste web. Nat. Comm. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-28810-xCSICAgencia SINC http://ifisc.uib-csic.es/en/news/world-wide-waste-web-network-through-which…

1 year, 5 months

IFISC News - IFISC Poster Party 2022

by ifisc＠ifisc.uib-csic.es

IFISC Poster Party 2022 The IFISC Poster Party is an annual activity where PhD students and postdoctoral researchers of IFISC present their research in a poster format. In a relaxed atmosphere, you can get to know first-hand what the young researchers a IFISC are working on. This year, again due to health restrictions for the Covid-19 pandemic, the Poster Party changes its format. For one whole week (until March 25), the posters of the participants will be hung in the IFISC hallways as usual, but an online modality will be added: the posters will be also available for viewing through this page. To replace the explanations of the authors themselves, each of them has prepared a short video explaining the research carried out and the conclusions of the study. Questions to the authors could be done personally in their offices/desks or via email. Voting for the best poster in each category will be done through an online form that will remain open until March 25 at noon. IFISC Poster Week 2022 http://ifisc.uib-csic.es/en/news/ifisc-poster-party-2022/

1 year, 6 months

IFISC News - Voces, CSIC Balears: Quantum physics, thermoelectricity and nanoconductors

by ifisc＠ifisc.uib-csic.es

Voces, CSIC Balears: Quantum physics, thermoelectricity and nanoconductors IFISC (UIB-CSIC) and the Institutional Representation of CSIC in the Balearic Islands join forces and create "Voces, CSIC Balears", a bimonthly podcast for the dissemination of science. Through interviews with scientists working at CSIC's centres in the Balearic Islands (IMEDEA CSIC-UIB, IFISC UIB-CSIC and ICTS SOCIB), it aims to increase the visibility of the science carried out in the region. The 20th episode of "Voices, CSIC Balears" features Rosa López. Rosa has a degree in theoretical physics from the Autonomous University of Madrid and a PhD in physics from the Institute of Materials Science of Madrid. Rosa is currently a professor in the Department of Physics at the University of the Balearic Islands and a permanent researcher at IFISC. She is part of three research projects related to quantum transport and topological materials: QTEP, MACTOPE and QuTTNAQMa. Física cuántica, termoelectricidad y nanoconductores | VOCES, CSIC BALEARS #20 http://ifisc.uib-csic.es/en/news/voces-csic-balears-quantum-physics-thermoe…

1 year, 6 months

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news March 2022