This thesis investigates two distinct but related optimization problems: bilevel and minmax problems, in the context of evolutionary algorithms (EAs). Bilevel optimization involves hierarchical decision-making, where decisions at the upper level are subject to constraints defined by the solutions of an optimization problem at the lower level. These problems are …
Hydrogen is a promising energy carrier in the emerging green energy landscape. It is environmentally friendly, transportable, and storable. The Solid Oxide Cell (SOC) system is a complex technology that enables the bidirectional conversion of hydrogen to energy. The label SOC entails solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) systems, which produce …
Cement production is one of the main contributors to mercury emissions in to the atmosphere. Many national and international legal i nstruments aim to control and reduce Hg emissions. Hg enters the cement production process as an impurity in fuels and raw materials, with the latter being the main source …
The analysis of drug residues in waste and environmental waters offers valuable insights into the epidemiological and environmental implications of drug use. This study employs a wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) approach to estimate the use of licit and illicit drugs and new psychoactive substances (NPS) among both general and specific populations. …
This thesis presents the simulation of approximated Gaussian process autoregressive models. Gaussian process models are a Bayesian nonparametric regression method, the main advantage of which is the quantification of uncertainty in closed-form. However, the closedform solution for the marginal likelihood results in a cubic computational complexity with respect to the …
Atmospheric mercury (Hg) plays an important role in the biogeochemical Hg cycle. Hg species in the atmosphere are present in very low concentrations. While gaseous elemental mercury (GEM) is relatively inert, gaseous oxidized (GOM) and particulate-bound (PBM) mercury are highly reactive. These characteristics of atmospheric Hg species make the speciation …
Contaminants of emerging concern (CECs), representing a subgroup of organic compounds of natural or synthetic origin, and their degradation and transformation products (TPs), with potentially harmful effects on humans, biota, and the environment, are the eco-exposome (EE) constituents of utmost importance. Their identification, quantification, and continued investigation into their environmental …
With the increasing use of electricity powered devices and processes in our daily lives, the need for the precise measurement of electrical currents across more than 15 decades from below nA to tens or hundreds of kA has become inevitable both for billing and more optimal energy distribution purposes as …
The interactions between gas molecules and a surface strongly affect the behaviour of systems in a large array of research fields, such as vacuum science and metrology, microfluidics, particle physics, and nuclear physics. In this work, focus is given to the momentum accommodation of gas molecules. The parameter used in …
Neutron activation analysis (NAA) is an analytical method used for determination of the elemental mass fractions in different samples. It is based on the measurement of characteristic radiation, usually γ-rays, emitted from radionuclides formed through the process of neutron irradiation of the target element. The k0-NAA method is an NAA …