2) Fundaci6n Labein, Spain iiiiir 1. ABSTRACT The paper is an extended summary of the state-of-the-art report on Application of Nanotechnology in Construction, which is one of the main tasks of a European project -Towards the setting up of a Network of Excellence in Nanotechnology in Construction (NANOCONEX). The paper first presents background information and current developments of nanotechnology in general. Then, the current activities and awareness of nanotechnology in the construction industry are examined by analysing results of a survey of construction professionals and leading researchers in the field. This is followed by results of a desk study of nanotechnology development and activities focussing on key areas relevant to construction and the built environment.Examples of nanotechnology-enabled materials and products that are either on the market or ready to be adopted in the construction industry are provided. Finally, the future trend/potential and implications of nanotechnology development in construction are discussed. INTRODUCTION BackgroundNanotechnology has recently become one of the 'hottest' areas in research and development worldwide, and has also attracted considerable attention in the media and investment community. It is essentially about new ways of making things through understanding and control over the fundamental building blocks (i.e. atoms, molecules and nanostmctures) of all physical things. This is likely to change the way almost everything is designed and made [1]. With the backing of unprecedented funding, nanotechnology is fast emerging as the industrial revolution of the 21 st century [2]. What is nanotechnology?In contrast to other technologies, nanotechnology is much less well-defined and well-structured. Nano, which comes from the Greek word for dwarf, indicates a billionth. One nanometre is a billionth of a metre, that is, about 1/80,000 of the diameter of a human hair. Nanotechnology can best be considered as a 'catch-all' description of activities (any application of science and technology) at the nanometre scale that have applications in the real world [3]. Definitions of 'nanotechnology' vary, but it generally refers to understanding and manipulation of matter on the nanoscale, say, from 0.1 run to 100 nm.The significance and importance of controlling matter at the nanoscale is that at this scale different laws of physics come into play (quantum physics); traditional materials such as metals and ceramics show radically enhanced properties and new functionalities, the behaviour of surfaces starts to dominate the behaviour of bulk materials, and whole new

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Foodwaste (hereinafter, FW) is the most voluminous solid waste and its amount is growing rapidly all over the world. The turning of FW into biogas via anaerobic fermentation is widely recognized as an environmentally responsible and economically reasonable option. Based on the knowledge obtained from agricultural biogas stations, the current methods of FW fermentation management are based on balancing the ratio of total carbon and nitrogen. However, it was repeatedly and independently reported that the stability of this process is low, resulting in many concessions in terms of prolonged hydraulic retention time or reduced biogas yield. Hence, biochemical as well as economic performance of the process is balanced by mixing of FW with agricultural residues. FW samples of various origin were collected and biochemically analyzed. The data indicate that FW originating from homes and luxury restaurants tends to be lignocellulose-based, whereas the levels of crude fiber (25% up to 27%) are higher than those from agricultural feedstock (18%). In contrast, FW from school canteens and inexpensive restaurants tends to be starch-based with high levels of amyloids (21% up to 23%) and fat (5% up to 7%). A novel method better reflecting the bioavailability of carbon and nitrogen to anaerobic consortia is proposed. It is demonstrated that the previous optimization methods could somehow reflect the availability of nutrients in agricultural feedstock, as carbonaceous and nitrogen sources are relatively equally biodegradable. Nevertheless, the biodegradability of FW is considerably different, which is why higher amounts of proteins and lipids lead to increased levels of ammonia and sulfide, resulting in an inhibitory effect on the metabolism of anaerobic consortia. Optimizing the anaerobic fermentation of FW by the new method outperforms the previous technique and makes it possible to process FW more intensively, or, more precisely, with higher profitability and lower proportion of ballast agricultural feedstock.

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