Sample records for spontaneous deposition methanol

  1. Characterization and methanol electrooxidation studies of Pt(111)/Os surfaces prepared by spontaneous deposition.

    PubMed

    Johnston, Christina M; Strbac, Svetlana; Lewera, Adam; Sibert, Eric; Wieckowski, Andrzej

    2006-09-12

    Catalytic activity of the Pt(111)/Os surface toward methanol electrooxidation was optimized by exploring a wide range of Os coverage. Various methods of surface analyses were used, including electroanalytical, STM, and XPS methods. The Pt(111) surface was decorated with nanosized Os islands by spontaneous deposition, and the Os coverage was controlled by changing the exposure time to the Os-containing electrolyte. The structure of Os deposits on Pt(111) was characterized and quantified by in situ STM and stripping voltammetry. We found that the optimal Os surface coverage of Pt(111) for methanol electrooxidation was 0.7 +/- 0.1 ML, close to 1.0 +/- 0.1 Os packing density. Apparently, the high osmium coverage Pt(111)/Os surface provides more of the necessary oxygen-containing species (e.g., Os-OH) for effective methanol electrooxidation than the Pt(111)/Os surfaces with lower Os coverage (vs e.g., Ru-OH). Supporting evidence for this conjecture comes from the CO electrooxidation data, which show that the onset potential for CO stripping is lowered from 0.53 to 0.45 V when the Os coverage is increased from 0.2 to 0.7 ML. However, the activity of Pt(111)/Os for methanol electrooxidation decreases when the Os coverage is higher than 0.7 +/- 0.1 ML, indicating that Pt sites uncovered by Os are necessary for sustaining significant methanol oxidation rates. Furthermore, osmium is inactive for methanol electrooxidation when the platinum substrate is absent: Os deposits on Au(111), a bulk Os ingot, and thick films of electrodeposited Os on Pt(111), all compare poorly to Pt(111)/Os. We conclude that a bifunctional mechanism applies to the methanol electrooxidation similarly to Pt(111)/Ru, although with fewer available Pt sites. Finally, the potential window for methanol electrooxidation on Pt(111)/Os was observed to shift positively versus Pt(111)/Ru. Because of the difference in the Os and Ru oxophilicity under electrochemical conditions, the Os deposit provides fewer

  2. Atmospheric deposition of methanol over the Atlantic Ocean

    PubMed Central

    Yang, Mingxi; Nightingale, Philip D.; Beale, Rachael; Liss, Peter S.; Blomquist, Byron; Fairall, Christopher

    2013-01-01

    In the troposphere, methanol (CH3OH) is present ubiquitously and second in abundance among organic gases after methane. In the surface ocean, methanol represents a supply of energy and carbon for marine microbes. Here we report direct measurements of air–sea methanol transfer along a ∼10,000-km north–south transect of the Atlantic. The flux of methanol was consistently from the atmosphere to the ocean. Constrained by the aerodynamic limit and measured rate of air–sea sensible heat exchange, methanol transfer resembles a one-way depositional process, which suggests dissolved methanol concentrations near the water surface that are lower than what were measured at ∼5 m depth, for reasons currently unknown. We estimate the global oceanic uptake of methanol and examine the lifetimes of this compound in the lower atmosphere and upper ocean with respect to gas exchange. We also constrain the molecular diffusional resistance above the ocean surface—an important term for improving air–sea gas exchange models. PMID:24277830

  3. Atmospheric deposition of methanol over the Atlantic Ocean.

    PubMed

    Yang, Mingxi; Nightingale, Philip D; Beale, Rachael; Liss, Peter S; Blomquist, Byron; Fairall, Christopher

    2013-12-10

    In the troposphere, methanol (CH3OH) is present ubiquitously and second in abundance among organic gases after methane. In the surface ocean, methanol represents a supply of energy and carbon for marine microbes. Here we report direct measurements of air-sea methanol transfer along a ∼10,000-km north-south transect of the Atlantic. The flux of methanol was consistently from the atmosphere to the ocean. Constrained by the aerodynamic limit and measured rate of air-sea sensible heat exchange, methanol transfer resembles a one-way depositional process, which suggests dissolved methanol concentrations near the water surface that are lower than what were measured at ∼5 m depth, for reasons currently unknown. We estimate the global oceanic uptake of methanol and examine the lifetimes of this compound in the lower atmosphere and upper ocean with respect to gas exchange. We also constrain the molecular diffusional resistance above the ocean surface-an important term for improving air-sea gas exchange models.

  4. Beta amyloid deposition and neurofibrillary tangles spontaneously occur in the brains of captive cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus).

    PubMed

    Serizawa, S; Chambers, J K; Une, Y

    2012-03-01

    Alzheimer disease is a dementing disorder characterized pathologically by Aβ deposition, neurofibrillary tangles, and neuronal loss. Although aged animals of many species spontaneously develop Aβ deposits, only 2 species (chimpanzee and wolverine) have been reported to develop Aβ deposits and neurofibrillary tangles in the same individual. Here, the authors demonstrate the spontaneous occurrence of Aβ deposits and neurofibrillary tangles in captive cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus). Among 22 cheetahs examined in this study, Aβ deposits were observed in 13. Immunostaining (AT8) revealed abnormal intracellular tau immunoreactivity in 10 of the cheetahs with Aβ deposits, and they were mainly distributed in the parahippocampal cortex and CA1 in a fashion similar to that in human patients with Alzheimer disease. Ultrastructurally, bundles of straight filaments filled the neuronal somata and axons, consistent with tangles. Interestingly, 2 of the cheetahs with the most severe abnormal tau immunoreactivity showed clinical cognitive dysfunction. The authors conclude that cheetahs spontaneously develop age-related neurodegenerative disease with pathologic changes similar to Alzheimer disease.

  5. Temporal variations in rainwater methanol

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Felix, J. D.; Jones, S. B.; Avery, G. B.; Willey, J. D.; Mead, R. N.; Kieber, R. J.

    2014-10-01

    This work reports the first comprehensive analysis of methanol concentrations in rainwater. Methanol concentrations measured in 49 rain events collected between 28 August 2007 and 10 July 2008 in Wilmington, NC, USA, ranged from below the detection limit of 6 nM to 9.3 μM with a volume-weighted average concentration of 1 ± 0.2 μM. Methanol concentrations in rainwater were up to ~200 times greater than concentrations reported previously in marine waters, indicating wet deposition as a potentially significant source of methanol to marine waters. Assuming that these methanol concentrations are an appropriate proxy for global methanol rainwater concentrations, the global methanol wet deposition sink is estimated as 20 Tg yr-1, which implies that previous methanol budgets underestimate removal by precipitation. Methanol concentrations in rainwater did not correlate significantly with H+, NO3-, and NSS, which suggests that the dominant source of the alcohol to rainwater is not anthropogenic. However, methanol concentrations were strongly correlated with acetaldehyde, which has a primarily biogenic input. The methanol volume-weighted concentration during the summer (2.7 ± 0.9 μM) was ~3 times that of the winter (0.9 ± 0.2 μM), further promoting biogenic emissions as the primary cause of temporal variations of methanol concentrations. Methanol concentrations peaked in rainwater collected during the time period 12 p.m.-6 p.m. Peaking during this period of optimal sunlight implies a possible relationship with photochemical methanol production, but there are also increases in biogenic activity during this time period. Rain events with terrestrial origin had greater concentrations than those of marine origin, demonstrating the significance of the continental source of methanol in rainwater.

  6. Temporal and spatial variations in rainwater methanol

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Felix, J. D.; Jones, S. B.; Avery, G. B.; Willey, J. D.; Mead, R. N.; Kieber, R. J.

    2014-01-01

    This work reports the first detailed analysis of methanol concentrations in rainwater. Methanol concentrations measured in 49 rain events collected between 28 August 2007 to 10 July 2008 in Wilmington, NC, USA, ranged from below the detection limit of 6 nM to 9.3 μM with a volume weighted average concentration of 1.2 ± 0.2 μM. Methanol concentrations in rainwater were up to ~200× greater than concentrations observed in marine waters indicating wet deposition as a potential significant source to marine waters. Assuming these methanol concentrations are an appropriate proxy for global methanol rainwater concentrations the global methanol wet deposition sink is estimated as 20 Tg yr-1 which implies previous methanol budgets underestimate removal by precipitation. Methanol concentrations did not correlate with H+, NO3-, and NSS, which suggest that the dominant source of the alcohol to rainwater is not anthropogenic. However, methanol concentrations were strongly correlated with acetaldehyde which has a primarily biogenic input. Methanol volume weighted concentration during the growing season (1.5 + 0.3 μM) was more than double that of the non-growing season (0.7 + 0.1 μM), further promoting biogenic emissions as the primary cause of fluctuating methanol concentrations. Methanol concentrations peaked in rainwater collected between the time period 12:00-06:00 p.m. Peaking during this period of optimal sunlight implies a direct relationship to photochemical methanol production but there are also increases in biogenic activity during this time period. Rain events with terrestrial origins had higher concentrations than those of marine origin demonstrating the significance of the continental source of methanol in rainwater.

  7. Early Mars may have had a methanol ocean

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tang, Yan; Chen, Qianwang; Huang, Yujie

    2006-01-01

    The detection of gray crystalline hematite deposits on Mars by Thermal Emission Spectrometer (TES) has been used to argue for the presence of liquid water on Mars in the distant past. By methanol-thermal treatment of anhydrous FeCl 3 at low temperatures (70-160 °C), crystalline gray hematite with layered structure was synthesized, based on this result an alternative explanation for the origin of martian hematite deposits is suggested. Methane could be abundant in the early martian atmosphere; process such as photochemical oxidation of methane could result in the formation of ocean or pool of organic compounds such as methanol, which provides an environment for the formation of large-scale hematite deposits on Mars.

  8. Nickel as a catalyst for the electro-oxidation of methanol in alkaline medium

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Abdel Rahim, M. A.; Abdel Hameed, R. M.; Khalil, M. W.

    The use of Ni as a catalyst for the electro-oxidation of methanol in alkaline medium was studied by cyclic voltammetry. It was found that only Ni dispersed on graphite shows a catalytic activity towards methanol oxidation but massive Ni does not. Ni was dispersed on graphite by the electro-deposition from acidic NiSO 4 solution using potentiostatic and galvanostatic techniques. The catalytic activity of the C/Ni electrodes towards methanol oxidation was found to vary with the amount of electro-deposited Ni. The dependence of the oxidation current on methanol concentration and scan rate was discussed. It was concluded from the electro-chemical measurements and SEM analysis that methanol oxidation starts as Ni-oxide is formed on the electrode surface.

  9. Field emission from amorphous carbon films grown by electrochemical deposition using methanol liquid

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kiyota, H.; Higashi, M.; Kurosu, T.; Iida, M.

    2006-05-01

    The field emission from an amorphous carbon (a-C) film grown by electrochemical deposition has been studied. The deposition of the a-C film was accomplished by applying a direct-current potential to a substrate that was immersed in methanol. Both scanning electron microscopy and Raman results indicate that smooth and homogeneous a-C films are grown on specific substrates such as Ti and Al. Field emission measurements demonstrate excellent emission properties such as threshold fields as low as 5 V/μm. Enhancement factors are estimated to be in the range of 1300-1500; these are attributed to local field enhancements around sp2 carbon clusters that are embedded in the a-C films. Emission properties of a-C films grown on Si exhibit a current saturation under higher applied fields. These saturation characteristics are explained by effects of a potential barrier at the interface between the a-C film and the substrate. The interface barrier is reduced by formation of the Ti interfacial layer, suggesting that the formation of TiC decreases the contact resistance between the substrate and the a-C film. Therefore, an approach to use carbide formation at the interface is verified as useful to improve the emission properties of a-C films.

  10. Electrochemical characterization of Pt-Ru-Pd catalysts for methanol oxidation reaction in direct methanol fuel cells.

    PubMed

    Choi, M; Han, C; Kim, I T; An, J C; Lee, J J; Lee, H K; Shim, J

    2011-01-01

    PtRuPd nanoparticles on carbon black were prepared and characterized as electrocatalysts for methanol oxidation reaction in direct methanol fuel cells. Nano-sized Pd (2-4 nm) particles were deposited on Pt/C and PtRu/C (commercial products) by a simple chemical reduction process. The structural and physical information of the PtRuPd/C were confirmed by TEM and XRD, and their electrocatalytic activities were measured by cyclic voltammetry and linear sweep voltammetry. The catalysts containing Pd showed higher electrocatalytic activity for methanol oxidation reaction than the other catalysts. This might be attributed to an increase in the electrochemical surface area of Pt, which is caused by the addition of Pd; this results in increased catalyst utilization.

  11. Controllable pt nanoparticle deposition on carbon nanotubes as an anode catalyst for direct methanol fuel cells.

    PubMed

    Mu, Yongyan; Liang, Hanpu; Hu, Jinsong; Jiang, Li; Wan, Lijun

    2005-12-01

    We report a novel process to prepare well-dispersed Pt nanoparticles on CNTs. Pt nanoparticles, which were modified by the organic molecule triphenylphosphine, were deposited on multiwalled carbon nanotubes by the organic molecule, which acts as a cross linker. By manipulating the relative ratio of Pt nanoparticles and multiwalled carbon nanotubes in solution, Pt/CNT composites with different Pt content were achieved. The so-prepared Pt/CNT composite materials show higher electrocatalytic activity and better tolerance to poisoning species in methanol oxidation than the commercial E-TEK catalyst, which can be ascribed to the high dispersion of Pt nanoparticles on the multiwalled carbon nanotube surface.

  12. Bimetallic Nickel/Ruthenium Catalysts Synthesized by Atomic Layer Deposition for Low-Temperature Direct Methanol Solid Oxide Fuel Cells.

    PubMed

    Jeong, Heonjae; Kim, Jun Woo; Park, Joonsuk; An, Jihwan; Lee, Tonghun; Prinz, Fritz B; Shim, Joon Hyung

    2016-11-09

    Nickel and ruthenium bimetallic catalysts were heterogeneously synthesized via atomic layer deposition (ALD) for use as the anode of direct methanol solid oxide fuel cells (DMSOFCs) operating in a low-temperature range. The presence of highly dispersed ALD Ru islands over a porous Ni mesh was confirmed, and the Ni/ALD Ru anode microstructure was observed. Fuel cell tests were conducted using Ni-only and Ni/ALD Ru anodes with approximately 350 μm thick gadolinium-doped ceria electrolytes and platinum cathodes. The performance of fuel cells was assessed using pure methanol at operating temperatures of 300-400 °C. Micromorphological changes of the anode after cell operation were investigated, and the content of adsorbed carbon on the anode side of the operated samples was measured. The difference in the maximum power density between samples utilizing Ni/ALD Ru and Pt/ALD Ru, the latter being the best catalyst for direct methanol fuel cells, was observed to be less than 7% at 300 °C and 30% at 350 °C. The improved electrochemical activity of the Ni/ALD Ru anode compared to that of the Ni-only anode, along with the reduction of the number of catalytically active sites due to agglomeration of Ni and carbon formation on the Ni surface as compared to Pt, explains this decent performance.

  13. Optimizing the deposition of hydrogen evolution sites on suspended semiconductor particles using on-line photocatalytic reforming of aqueous methanol solutions.

    PubMed

    Busser, G Wilma; Mei, Bastian; Muhler, Martin

    2012-11-01

    The deposition of hydrogen evolution sites on photocatalysts is a crucial step in the multistep process of synthesizing a catalyst that is active for overall photocatalytic water splitting. An alternative approach to conventional photodeposition was developed, applying the photocatalytic reforming of aqueous methanol solutions to deposit metal particles on semiconductor materials such as Ga₂O₃ and (Ga₀.₆ Zn₀.₄)(N₀.₆O₀.₄). The method allows optimizing the loading of the co-catalysts based on the stepwise addition of their precursors and the continuous online monitoring of the evolved hydrogen. Moreover, a synergetic effect between different co-catalysts can be directly established. Copyright © 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  14. A simple preparation of very high methanol tolerant cathode electrocatalyst for direct methanol fuel cell based on polymer-coated carbon nanotube/platinum

    PubMed Central

    Yang, Zehui; Nakashima, Naotoshi

    2015-01-01

    The development of a durable and methanol tolerant electrocatalyst with a high oxygen reduction reaction activity is highly important for the cathode side of direct methanol fuel cells. Here, we describe a simple and novel methodology to fabricate a practically applicable electrocatalyst with a high methanol tolerance based on poly[2,2′-(2,6-pyridine)-5,5′-bibenzimidazole]-wrapped multi-walled carbon nanotubes, on which Pt nanoparticles have been deposited, then coated with poly(vinylphosphonic acid) (PVPA). The polymer coated electrocatalyst showed an ~3.3 times higher oxygen reduction reaction activity compared to that of the commercial CB/Pt and methanol tolerance in the presence of methanol to the electrolyte due to a 50% decreased methanol adsorption on the Pt after coating with the PVPA. Meanwhile, the peroxide generation of the PVPA coated electrocatalyst was as low as 0.8% with 2 M methanol added to the electrolyte, which was much lower than those of the non-PVPA-coated electrocatalyst (7.5%) and conventional CB/Pt (20.5%). Such a high methanol tolerance is very important for the design of a direct methanol fuel cell cathode electrocatalyst with a high performance. PMID:26192397

  15. A simple preparation of very high methanol tolerant cathode electrocatalyst for direct methanol fuel cell based on polymer-coated carbon nanotube/platinum.

    PubMed

    Yang, Zehui; Nakashima, Naotoshi

    2015-07-20

    The development of a durable and methanol tolerant electrocatalyst with a high oxygen reduction reaction activity is highly important for the cathode side of direct methanol fuel cells. Here, we describe a simple and novel methodology to fabricate a practically applicable electrocatalyst with a high methanol tolerance based on poly[2,2'-(2,6-pyridine)-5,5'-bibenzimidazole]-wrapped multi-walled carbon nanotubes, on which Pt nanoparticles have been deposited, then coated with poly(vinylphosphonic acid) (PVPA). The polymer coated electrocatalyst showed an ~3.3 times higher oxygen reduction reaction activity compared to that of the commercial CB/Pt and methanol tolerance in the presence of methanol to the electrolyte due to a 50% decreased methanol adsorption on the Pt after coating with the PVPA. Meanwhile, the peroxide generation of the PVPA coated electrocatalyst was as low as 0.8% with 2 M methanol added to the electrolyte, which was much lower than those of the non-PVPA-coated electrocatalyst (7.5%) and conventional CB/Pt (20.5%). Such a high methanol tolerance is very important for the design of a direct methanol fuel cell cathode electrocatalyst with a high performance.

  16. Infrared Spectra and Thermodynamic Properties of Co2/Methanol Ices

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Maté, Belén; Gálvez, Óscar; Herrero, Víctor J.; Escribano, Rafael

    2009-01-01

    Ices of mixtures of carbon dioxide and methanol have been studied in a range of temperatures relevant for star-forming regions, comets, polar caps of planets and satellites, and other solar system bodies. We have performed temperature-programmed desorption measurements and recorded IR spectra of various types of samples. The presence of two slightly different structures of CO2 is manifest. A distorted CO2 structure is characterized by bandshifts between 5 cm-1 (ν3) and 10 cm-1 (ν2) with respect to normal CO2. If the samples are heated above 130 K, the distorted CO2 sublimates and only the normal structure remains. The latter can stay trapped until the sublimation of crystalline methanol (150 K). The desorption energy (E d ~ 20 kJ mol-1) of CO2 from methanol ice, and the specific adsorption surface area (6 m2 g-1) of amorphous CH3OH ice, have been determined. CO2 does not penetrate into crystalline ice. Whereas the desorption energy is similar to that of CO2/H2O samples, the specific surface of methanol is much smaller than that of amorphous solid water (ASW). The interaction of CO2 molecules with water and methanol is similar but ices of CH3OH are much less porous than ASW. The inclusion of CO2 into previously formed ices containing these two species would take place preferentially into ASW. However, in processes of simultaneous deposition, methanol ice can admit a larger amount of CO2 than water ice. CO2/CH3OH ices formed by simultaneous deposition admit two orders of magnitude more CO2 than sequentially deposited ices. These findings can have direct relevance to the interpretation of observations from protostellar environments (e.g., RAFGL7009S) and comet nuclei.

  17. Reduction of methanol crossover by thin cracked metal barriers at the interface between membrane and electrode in direct methanol fuel cells

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kim, Sungjun; Jang, Segeun; Kim, Sang Moon; Ahn, Chi-Yeong; Hwang, Wonchan; Cho, Yong-Hun; Sung, Yung-Eun; Choi, Mansoo

    2017-09-01

    This work reports the successful reduction in methanol crossover by creating a thin cracked metal barrier at the interface between a Nafion® membrane and an electrode in direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs). The cracks are generated by simple mechanical stretching of a metal deposited Nafion® membrane as a result of the elastic mismatch between the two attached surfaces. The cracked metal barriers with varying strains (∼0.5 and ∼1.0) are investigated and successfully incorporated into the DMFC. Remarkably, the membrane electrode assembly with the thin metal crack exhibits comparable ohmic resistance as well as reduction of methanol crossover, which enhanced the device performance.

  18. SnS2 Thin Film Deposition by Spray Pyrolysis

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jaber, Abdallah Yahia; Alamri, Saleh Noaiman; Aida, Mohammed Salah

    2012-06-01

    Tin disulfide (SnS2) thin films have been synthesized using a simplified spray pyrolysis technique using a perfume atomizer. The films were deposited using two different solutions prepared by the dilution of SnCl2 and thiourea in distilled water and in methanol. The obtained films have a microcrystalline structure. The film deposited using methanol as the solvent is nearly stochiometric SnS2 with a spinel phase having a (001) preferential orientation. The film prepared with an aqueous solution is Sn-rich. Scanning electronic microscopy (SEM) images reveal that the film deposited with the aqueous solution is rough and is formed with large wires. However, the film deposited with methanol is dense and smooth. Conductivity measurements indicate that the aqueous solution leads to an n-type semiconductor, while methanol leads to a p-type semiconductor.

  19. Carbon nanotubes based methanol sensor for fuel cells application.

    PubMed

    Kim, D W; Lee, J S; Lee, G S; Overzet, L; Kozlov, M; Aliev, A E; Park, Y W; Yang, D J

    2006-11-01

    An electrochemical sensor is built using vertically grown multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) micro-array to detect methanol concentration in water. This study is done for the potential use of the array as methanol sensor for portable units of direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs). Platinum (Pt) nanoparticles electro-deposited CNTs (Pt/CNTs) electrode shows high sensitivity in the measurement of methanol concentration in water with cyclic voltammetry (CV) measurement at room temperature. Further investigation has also been undertaken to measure the concentration by changing the amount of the mixture of methanol and formic acid in water. We compared the performance of our micro array sensor built with Pt/CNTs electrodes versus that of Pt wire electrode using CV measurement. We found that our Pt/CNTs array sensor shows high sensitivity and detects methanol concentrations in the range of 0.04 M to 0.10 M. In addition, we found that co-use of formic acid as electrolyte enables us to measure up to 1.0 M methanol concentration.

  20. Methanol-Tolerant Platinum-Palladium Catalyst Supported on Nitrogen-Doped Carbon Nanofiber for High Concentration Direct Methanol Fuel Cells

    PubMed Central

    Kim, Jiyoung; Jang, Jin-Sung; Peck, Dong-Hyun; Lee, Byungrok; Yoon, Seong-Ho; Jung, Doo-Hwan

    2016-01-01

    Pt-Pd catalyst supported on nitrogen-doped carbon nanofiber (N-CNF) was prepared and evaluated as a cathode electrode of the direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC). The N-CNF, which was directly synthesized by the catalytic chemical vapor deposition from acetonitrile at 640 °C, was verified as having a change of electrochemical surface properties such as oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activities and the electrochemical double layer compared with common carbon black (CB). To attain the competitive oxygen reduction reaction activity with methanol tolerance, the Pt and Pd metals were supported on the CB or the N-CNF. The physical and electrochemical characteristics of the N-CNF–supported Pt-Pd catalyst were examined and compared with catalyst supported on the CB. In addition, DMFC single cells using these catalysts as the cathode electrode were applied to obtain I-V polarization curves and constant current operating performances with high-concentration methanol as the fuel. Pt-Pd catalysts had obvious ORR activity even in the presence of methanol. The higher power density was obtained at all the methanol concentrations when it applied to the membrane electrode assembly (MEA) of the DMFC. When the N-CNF is used as the catalyst support material, a better performance with high-concentration methanol is expected. PMID:28335275

  1. Methanol-Tolerant Platinum-Palladium Catalyst Supported on Nitrogen-Doped Carbon Nanofiber for High Concentration Direct Methanol Fuel Cells.

    PubMed

    Kim, Jiyoung; Jang, Jin-Sung; Peck, Dong-Hyun; Lee, Byungrok; Yoon, Seong-Ho; Jung, Doo-Hwan

    2016-08-15

    Pt-Pd catalyst supported on nitrogen-doped carbon nanofiber (N-CNF) was prepared and evaluated as a cathode electrode of the direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC). The N-CNF, which was directly synthesized by the catalytic chemical vapor deposition from acetonitrile at 640 °C, was verified as having a change of electrochemical surface properties such as oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activities and the electrochemical double layer compared with common carbon black (CB). To attain the competitive oxygen reduction reaction activity with methanol tolerance, the Pt and Pd metals were supported on the CB or the N-CNF. The physical and electrochemical characteristics of the N-CNF-supported Pt-Pd catalyst were examined and compared with catalyst supported on the CB. In addition, DMFC single cells using these catalysts as the cathode electrode were applied to obtain I-V polarization curves and constant current operating performances with high-concentration methanol as the fuel. Pt-Pd catalysts had obvious ORR activity even in the presence of methanol. The higher power density was obtained at all the methanol concentrations when it applied to the membrane electrode assembly (MEA) of the DMFC. When the N-CNF is used as the catalyst support material, a better performance with high-concentration methanol is expected.

  2. Controllable deposition of platinum nanoparticles on single-wall carbon nanohorns as catalyst for direct methanol fuel cells.

    PubMed

    Niu, Ben; Xu, Wei; Guo, Zhengduo; Zhou, Nengzhi; Liu, Yang; Shi, Zujin; Lian, Yongfu

    2012-09-01

    Uniform and well dispersed platinum nanoparticles were successfully deposited on single-walled carbon nanohorns with the assistance of 4,4-dipydine and ion liquids, respectively. In particular, the size of platinum nanoparticles could be controlled in a very narrow range (2.2 to 2.5 nm) when ion liquids were applied. The crystalline nature of these platinum nanoparticles was confirmed by high resolution transmission electron microscopy observation and X-ray power diffraction analysis, and two species of platinum Pt(0) and Pt(II) were detected by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Electrochemical studies revealed that thus obtained nanocomposites had much better electrocatalytic activity for the methanol oxidation than those prepared with carbon nanotubes as supporter.

  3. Fabrication and Characterization of a Micro Methanol Sensor Using the CMOS-MEMS Technique.

    PubMed

    Fong, Chien-Fu; Dai, Ching-Liang; Wu, Chyan-Chyi

    2015-10-23

    A methanol microsensor integrated with a micro heater manufactured using the complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS)-microelectromechanical system (MEMS) technique was presented. The sensor has a capability of detecting low concentration methanol gas. Structure of the sensor is composed of interdigitated electrodes, a sensitive film and a heater. The heater located under the interdigitated electrodes is utilized to provide a working temperature to the sensitive film. The sensitive film prepared by the sol-gel method is tin dioxide doped cadmium sulfide, which is deposited on the interdigitated electrodes. To obtain the suspended structure and deposit the sensitive film, the sensor needs a post-CMOS process to etch the sacrificial silicon dioxide layer and silicon substrate. The methanol senor is a resistive type. A readout circuit converts the resistance variation of the sensor into the output voltage. The experimental results show that the methanol sensor has a sensitivity of 0.18 V/ppm.

  4. Fabrication and Characterization of a Micro Methanol Sensor Using the CMOS-MEMS Technique

    PubMed Central

    Fong, Chien-Fu; Dai, Ching-Liang; Wu, Chyan-Chyi

    2015-01-01

    A methanol microsensor integrated with a micro heater manufactured using the complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS)-microelectromechanical system (MEMS) technique was presented. The sensor has a capability of detecting low concentration methanol gas. Structure of the sensor is composed of interdigitated electrodes, a sensitive film and a heater. The heater located under the interdigitated electrodes is utilized to provide a working temperature to the sensitive film. The sensitive film prepared by the sol-gel method is tin dioxide doped cadmium sulfide, which is deposited on the interdigitated electrodes. To obtain the suspended structure and deposit the sensitive film, the sensor needs a post-CMOS process to etch the sacrificial silicon dioxide layer and silicon substrate. The methanol senor is a resistive type. A readout circuit converts the resistance variation of the sensor into the output voltage. The experimental results show that the methanol sensor has a sensitivity of 0.18 V/ppm. PMID:26512671

  5. An ecosystem-scale perspective of the net land methanol flux. Synthesis of micrometeorological flux measurements

    DOE PAGES

    Wohlfahrt, G.; Amelynck, C.; Ammann, C.; ...

    2015-07-09

    Methanol is the second most abundant volatile organic compound in the troposphere and plays a significant role in atmospheric chemistry. While there is consensus about the dominant role of living plants as the major source and the reaction with OH as the major sink of methanol, global methanol budgets diverge considerably in terms of source/sink estimates, reflecting uncertainties in the approaches used to model and the empirical data used to separately constrain these terms. Here we compiled micrometeorological methanol flux data from eight different study sites and reviewed the corresponding literature in order to provide a first cross-site synthesis ofmore » the terrestrial ecosystem-scale methanol exchange and present an independent data-driven view of the land–atmosphere methanol exchange. Our study shows that the controls of plant growth on production, and thus the methanol emission magnitude, as well as stomatal conductance on the hourly methanol emission variability, established at the leaf level, hold across sites at the ecosystem level. Unequivocal evidence for bi-directional methanol exchange at the ecosystem scale is presented. Deposition, which at some sites even exceeds methanol emissions, represents an emerging feature of ecosystem-scale measurements and is likely related to environmental factors favouring the formation of surface wetness. Methanol may adsorb to or dissolve in this surface water and eventually be chemically or biologically removed from it. Management activities in agriculture and forestry are shown to increase local methanol emission by orders of magnitude; however, they are neglected at present in global budgets. While contemporary net land methanol budgets are overall consistent with the grand mean of the micrometeorological methanol flux measurements, we caution that the present approach of simulating methanol emission and deposition separately is prone to opposing systematic errors and does not allow for full advantage to be

  6. An ecosystem-scale perspective of the net land methanol flux: synthesis of micrometeorological flux measurements

    PubMed Central

    Wohlfahrt, G.; Amelynck, C.; Ammann, C.; Arneth, A.; Bamberger, I.; Goldstein, A. H.; Gu, L.; Guenther, A.; Hansel, A.; Heinesch, B.; Holst, T.; Hörtnagl, L.; Karl, T.; Laffineur, Q.; Neftel, A.; McKinney, K.; Munger, J. W.; Pallardy, S. G.; Schade, G. W.; Seco, R.; Schoon, N.

    2015-01-01

    Methanol is the second most abundant volatile organic compound in the troposphere and plays a significant role in atmospheric chemistry. While there is consensus about the dominant role of living plants as the major source and the reaction with OH as the major sink of methanol, global methanol budgets diverge considerably in terms of source/sink estimates reflecting uncertainties in the approaches used to model, and the empirical data used to separately constrain these terms. Here we compiled micrometeorological methanol flux data from eight different study sites and reviewed the corresponding literature in order to provide a first cross-site synthesis of the terrestrial ecosystem-scale methanol exchange and present an independent data-driven view of the land–atmosphere methanol exchange. Our study shows that the controls of plant growth on the production, and thus the methanol emission magnitude, and stomatal conductance on the hourly methanol emission variability, established at the leaf level, hold across sites at the ecosystem-level. Unequivocal evidence for bi-directional methanol exchange at the ecosystem scale is presented. Deposition, which at some sites even exceeds methanol emissions, represents an emerging feature of ecosystem-scale measurements and is likely related to environmental factors favouring the formation of surface wetness. Methanol may adsorb to or dissolve in this surface water and eventually be chemically or biologically removed from it. Management activities in agriculture and forestry are shown to increase local methanol emission by orders of magnitude; they are however neglected at present in global budgets. While contemporary net land methanol budgets are overall consistent with the grand mean of the micrometeorological methanol flux measurements, we caution that the present approach of simulating methanol emission and deposition separately is prone to opposing systematic errors and does not allow taking full advantage of the rich

  7. Molecular Active Sites in Heterogeneous Ir-La/C-Catalyzed Carbonylation of Methanol to Acetates.

    PubMed

    Kwak, Ja Hun; Dagle, Robert; Tustin, Gerald C; Zoeller, Joseph R; Allard, Lawrence F; Wang, Yong

    2014-02-06

    We report that when Ir and La halides are deposited on carbon, exposure to CO spontaneously generates a discrete molecular heterobimetallic structure, containing an Ir-La covalent bond that acts as a highly active, selective, and stable heterogeneous catalyst for the carbonylation of methanol to produce acetic acid. This catalyst exhibits a very high productivity of ∼1.5 mol acetyl/mol Ir·s with >99% selectivity to acetyl (acetic acid and methyl acetate) without detectable loss in activity or selectivity for more than 1 month of continuous operation. The enhanced activity can be mechanistically rationalized by the presence of La within the ligand sphere of the discrete molecular Ir-La heterobimetallic structure, which acts as a Lewis acid to accelerate the normally rate-limiting CO insertion in Ir-catalyzed carbonylation. Similar approaches may provide opportunities for attaining molecular (single site) behavior similar to homogeneous catalysis on heterogeneous surfaces for other industrial applications.

  8. Facet-specific interaction between methanol and TiO2 probed by sum-frequency vibrational spectroscopy.

    PubMed

    Yang, Deheng; Li, Yadong; Liu, Xinyi; Cao, Yue; Gao, Yi; Shen, Y Ron; Liu, Wei-Tao

    2018-04-24

    The facet-specific interaction between molecules and crystalline catalysts, such as titanium dioxides (TiO 2 ), has attracted much attention due to possible facet-dependent reactivity. Using surface-sensitive sum-frequency vibrational spectroscopy, we have studied how methanol interacts with different common facets of crystalline TiO 2 , including rutile(110), (001), (100), and anatase(101), under ambient temperature and pressure. We found that methanol adsorbs predominantly in the molecular form on all of the four surfaces, while spontaneous dissociation into methoxy occurs preferentially when these surfaces become defective. Extraction of Fermi resonance coupling between stretch and bending modes of the methyl group in analyzing adsorbed methanol spectra allows determination of the methanol adsorption isotherm. The isotherms obtained for the four surfaces are nearly the same, yielding two adsorbed Gibbs free energies associated with two different adsorption configurations singled out by ab initio calculations. They are ( i ) ∼-20 kJ/mol for methanol with its oxygen attached to a low-coordinated surface titanium, and ( ii ) ∼-5 kJ/mol for methanol hydrogen-bonded to a surface oxygen and a neighboring methanol molecule. Despite similar adsorption energetics, the Fermi resonance coupling strength for adsorbed methanol appears to depend sensitively on the surface facet and coverage.

  9. Mass-produced multi-walled carbon nanotubes as catalyst supports for direct methanol fuel cells.

    PubMed

    Jang, In Young; Park, Ki Chul; Jung, Yong Chae; Lee, Sun Hyung; Song, Sung Moo; Muramatsu, Hiroyuki; Kim, Yong Jung; Endo, Morinobu

    2011-01-01

    Commercially mass-produced multi-walled carbon nanotubes, i.e., VGNF (Showa Denko Co.), were applied to support materials for platinum-ruthenium (PtRu) nanoparticles as anode catalysts for direct methanol fuel cells. The original VGNFs are composed of high-crystalline graphitic shells, which hinder the favorable surface deposition of the PtRu nanoparticles that are formed via borohydride reduction. The chemical treatment of VGNFs with potassium hydroxide (KOH), however, enables highly dispersed and dense deposition of PtRu nanoparticles on the VGNF surface. This capability becomes more remarkable depending on the KOH amount. The electrochemical evaluation of the PtRu-deposited VGNF catalysts showed enhanced active surface areas and methanol oxidation, due to the high dispersion and dense deposition of the PtRu nanoparticles. The improvement of the surface deposition states of the PtRu nanoparticles was significantly due to the high surface area and mesorporous surface structure of the KOH-activated VGNFs.

  10. Study of catalysis for solid oxide fuel cells and direct methanol fuel cells

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jiang, Xirong

    Fuel cells offer the enticing promise of cleaner electricity with lower environmental impact than traditional energy conversion technologies. Driven by the interest in power sources for portable electronics, and distributed generation and automotive propulsion markets, active development efforts in the technologies of both solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) and direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) devices have achieved significant progress. However, current catalysts for fuel cells are either of low catalytic activity or extremely expensive, presenting a key barrier toward the widespread commercialization of fuel cell devices. In this thesis work, atomic layer deposition (ALD), a novel thin film deposition technique, was employed to apply catalytic Pt to SOFC, and investigate both Pt skin catalysts and Pt-Ru catalysts for methanol oxidation, a very important reaction for DMFC, to increase the activity and utilization levels of the catalysts while simultaneously reducing the catalyst loading. For SOFCs, we explored the use of ALD for the fabrication of electrode components, including an ultra-thin Pt film for use as the electrocatalyst, and a Pt mesh structure for a current collector for SOFCs, aiming for precise control over the catalyst loading and catalyst geometry, and enhancement in the current collect efficiency. We choose Pt since it has high chemical stability and excellent catalytic activity for the O2 reduction reaction and the H2 oxidation reaction even at low operating temperatures. Working SOFC fuel cells were fabricated with ALD-deposited Pt thin films as an electrode/catalyst layer. The measured fuel cell performance reveals that comparable peak power densities were achieved for ALD-deposited Pt anodes with only one-fifth of the Pt loading relative to a DC-sputtered counterpart. In addition to the continuous electrocatalyst layer, a micro-patterned Pt structure was developed via the technique of area selective ALD. By coating yttria-stabilized zirconia, a

  11. Ion-Ice Astrochemistry: Barrierless Low-Energy Deposition Pathways to HCOOH, CH3OH, and CO2 on Icy Grain Mantles from Precursor Cations

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Woon, David E.

    2011-01-01

    A new family of very favorable reaction pathways is explored involving the deposition of ions on icy grain mantles with very low energies. Quantum chemical cluster calculations at the MP2/6-31+G** level in 4H2O clusters and at the B3LYP/6-31+G** level in 17H2O clusters indicate that HCO+ and CH3 + are able to react spontaneously with one of the water molecules in the cluster to form protonated formic acid (HCOOH2 +) and protonated methanol (CH3OH2 +), respectively. It is furthermore found that these initial adducts spontaneously transfer their excess protons to the cluster to form neutral formic acid and methanol, plus solvated hydronium, H3O+. In the final case, if a CO molecule is bound to the surface of the cluster, OH+ may react with it to form protonated carbon dioxide (HCO2 +), which then loses its proton to yield CO2 and H3O+. In the present model, all of these processes were found to occur with no barriers. Discussion includes the analogous gas phase processes, which have been considered in previous studies, as well as the competitive abstraction pathway for HCO(+) + H2O.

  12. Electrocatalytic performance of Pt nanoparticles sputter-deposited on indium tin oxide toward methanol oxidation reaction: The particle size effect

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ting, Chao-Cheng; Chao, Chih-Hsuan; Tsai, Cheng Yu; Cheng, I.-Kai; Pan, Fu-Ming

    2017-09-01

    We sputter-deposited Pt nanoparticles with an average size ranging from 2.0 nm to 8.5 nm on the indium-tin oxide (ITO) glass substrate, and studied the effect of the size of Pt nanoparticles on electrocatalytic activity of the Pt/ITO electrode toward methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) in acidic solution. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) reveals an interfacial oxidized Pt layer present between Pt nanoparticles and the ITO substrate, which may modify the surface electronic structure of Pt nanoparticles and thus influences the electrocatalytic properties of the Pt catalyst toward MOR. According to electrochemical analyses, smaller Pt nanoparticles exhibit slower kinetics for CO electrooxidation and MOR. However, a smaller particle size enables better CO tolerance because the bifunctional mechanism is more effective on smaller Pt nanoparticles. The electrocatalytic activity decays rapidly for Pt nanoparticles with a size smaller than 3 nm and larger than 8 nm. The rapid activity decay is attributed to Pt dissolution for smaller nanoparticles and to CO poisoning for larger ones. Pt nanoparticles of 5-6 nm in size loaded on ITO demonstrate a greatly improved electrocatalytic activity and stability compared with those deposited on different substrates in our previous studies.

  13. Methanol Oxidation on Pt3Sn(111) for Direct Methanol Fuel Cells: Methanol Decomposition.

    PubMed

    Lu, Xiaoqing; Deng, Zhigang; Guo, Chen; Wang, Weili; Wei, Shuxian; Ng, Siu-Pang; Chen, Xiangfeng; Ding, Ning; Guo, Wenyue; Wu, Chi-Man Lawrence

    2016-05-18

    PtSn alloy, which is a potential material for use in direct methanol fuel cells, can efficiently promote methanol oxidation and alleviate the CO poisoning problem. Herein, methanol decomposition on Pt3Sn(111) was systematically investigated using periodic density functional theory and microkinetic modeling. The geometries and energies of all of the involved species were analyzed, and the decomposition network was mapped out to elaborate the reaction mechanisms. Our results indicated that methanol and formaldehyde were weakly adsorbed, and the other derivatives (CHxOHy, x = 1-3, y = 0-1) were strongly adsorbed and preferred decomposition rather than desorption on Pt3Sn(111). The competitive methanol decomposition started with the initial O-H bond scission followed by successive C-H bond scissions, (i.e., CH3OH → CH3O → CH2O → CHO → CO). The Brønsted-Evans-Polanyi relations and energy barrier decomposition analyses identified the C-H and O-H bond scissions as being more competitive than the C-O bond scission. Microkinetic modeling confirmed that the vast majority of the intermediates and products from methanol decomposition would escape from the Pt3Sn(111) surface at a relatively low temperature, and the coverage of the CO residue decreased with an increase in the temperature and decrease in partial methanol pressure.

  14. Application of green chemistry techniques to prepare electrocatalysts for direct methanol fuel cells.

    PubMed

    Shimizu, Kenichi; Wang, Joanna S; Wai, Chien M

    2010-03-25

    A series of green techniques for synthesizing carbon nanotube-supported platinum nanoparticles and their high electrocatalytic activity toward methanol fuel cell applications are reported. The techniques utilize either the supercritical fluid carbon dioxide or water as a medium for depositing platinum nanoparticles on surfaces of multiwalled or single-walled carbon nanotubes. The catalytic properties of the carbon nanotubes-supported Pt nanoparticle catalysts prepared by four different techniques are compared for anodic oxidation of methanol and cathodic reduction of oxygen using cyclic voltammetry. One technique using galvanic exchange of Pt(2+) in water with zerovalent iron present on the surfaces of as-grown single-walled carbon nanotubes produces a Pt catalyst that shows an unusually high catalytic activity for reduction of oxygen but a negligible activity for oxidation of methanol. This fuel-selective catalyst may have a unique application as a cathode catalyst in methanol fuel cells to alleviate the problems caused by crossover of methanol through the polymer electrolyte membrane.

  15. Platinum-gold nanoclusters as catalyst for direct methanol fuel cells.

    PubMed

    Giorgi, L; Giorgi, R; Gagliardi, S; Serra, E; Alvisi, M; Signore, M A; Piscopiello, E

    2011-10-01

    Nanosized platinum-gold alloys clusters have been deposited on gas diffusion electrode by sputter deposition. The deposits were characterized by FE-SEM, TEM and XPS in order to verify the formation of alloy nanoparticles and to study the influence of deposition technique on the nanomorphology. The deposition by sputtering process allowed a uniform distribution of metal particles on porous surface of carbon supports. Typical island growth mode was observed with the formation of a dispersed metal nanoclusters (mean size about 5 nm). Cyclic voltammetry was used to determine the electrochemical active surface and the electrocatalytic performance of the PtAu electrocatalysts for methanol oxidation reaction. The data were re-calculated in the form of mass specific activity (MSA). The sputter-catalyzed electrodes showed higher performance and stability compared to commercial catalysts.

  16. Coke formation and carbon atom economy of methanol-to-olefins reaction.

    PubMed

    Wei, Yingxu; Yuan, Cuiyu; Li, Jinzhe; Xu, Shutao; Zhou, You; Chen, Jingrun; Wang, Quanyi; Xu, Lei; Qi, Yue; Zhang, Qing; Liu, Zhongmin

    2012-05-01

    The methanol-to-olefins (MTO) process is becoming the most important non-petrochemical route for the production of light olefins from coal or natural gas. Maximizing the generation of the target products, ethene and propene, and minimizing the production of byproducts and coke, are major considerations in the efficient utilization of the carbon resource of methanol. In the present work, the heterogeneous catalytic conversion of methanol was evaluated by performing simultaneous measurements of the volatile products generated in the gas phase and the confined coke deposition in the catalyst phase. Real-time and complete reaction profiles were plotted to allow the comparison of carbon atom economy of methanol conversion over the catalyst SAPO-34 at varied reaction temperatures. The difference in carbon atom economy was closely related with the coke formation in the SAPO-34 catalyst. The confined coke compounds were determined. A new type of confined organics was found, and these accounted for the quick deactivation and low carbon atom economy under low-reaction-temperature conditions. Based on the carbon atom economy evaluation and coke species determination, optimized operating conditions for the MTO process are suggested; these conditions guarantee high conversion efficiency of methanol. Copyright © 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  17. Recent Studies on Methanol Crossover in Liquid-Feed Direct Methanol Fuel Cells

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Valdez, T. I.; Narayanan, S. R.

    2000-01-01

    In this work, the effects of methanol crossover and airflow rates on the cathode potential of an operating direct methanol fuel cell are explored. Techniques for quantifying methanol crossover in a fuel cell and for separating the electrical performance of each electrode in a fuel cell are discussed. The effect of methanol concentration on cathode potential has been determined to be significant. The cathode is found to be mass transfer limited when operating on low flow rate air and high concentrations of methanol. Improvements in cathode structure and operation at low methanol concentration have been shown to result in improved cell performance.

  18. U.S. Army Methanol-Fueled Administrative Vehicle Demonstration Program

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1989-08-01

    for either fuel when compared with published production specifications. iii Also, four Chevrolet vehicles, two each with L-4 engines and two with V-6...With Manufacturer’s Production Specifications ... 217 G CRC Deposit Ratings for Inspected Vehicles ...................... 235 Viii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS...vehicles within the Government’s administrative fleet and to stimulate further the production and use of methanol-fueled vehicles. This program was

  19. Chemical Evolution of Interstellar Methanol Ice Analogs upon Ultraviolet Irradiation: The Role of the Substrate

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ciaravella, A.; Jiménez-Escobar, A.; Cosentino, G.; Cecchi-Pestellini, C.; Peres, G.; Candia, R.; Collura, A.; Barbera, M.; Di Cicca, G.; Varisco, S.; Venezia, A. M.

    2018-05-01

    An important issue in the chemistry of interstellar ices is the role of dust materials. In this work, we study the effect of an amorphous water-rich magnesium silicate deposited onto ZnSe windows on the chemical evolution of ultraviolet-irradiated methanol ices. For comparison, we also irradiate similar ices deposited onto bare ZnSe windows. Silicates are produced at relatively low temperatures exploiting a sol–gel technique. The chemical composition of the synthesized material reflects the forsterite stoichiometry. Si–OH groups and magnesium carbonates are incorporated during the process. The results show that the substrate material does affect the chemical evolution of the ice. In particular, the CO2/CO ratio within the ice is larger for methanol ices deposited onto the silicate substrate as a result of concurrent effects: the photolysis of carbonates present in the adopted substrate as a source of CO2, CO, and carbon and oxygen atoms; reactions of water molecules and hydroxyl radicals released from the substrate with the CO formed in the ice by the photolysis of the methanol ice; and changes in the structure and energy of the silicate surface by ultraviolet irradiation, leading to more favorable conditions for chemical reactions or catalysis at the grain surface. The results of our experiments allow such chemical effects contributed by the various substrate material components to be disentangled.

  20. Methanol Fuel Cell

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Voecks, G. E.

    1985-01-01

    In proposed fuel-cell system, methanol converted to hydrogen in two places. External fuel processor converts only part of methanol. Remaining methanol converted in fuel cell itself, in reaction at anode. As result, size of fuel processor reduced, system efficiency increased, and cost lowered.

  1. Methanol-tolerant cathode catalyst composite for direct methanol fuel cells

    DOEpatents

    Zhu, Yimin; Zelenay, Piotr

    2006-09-05

    A direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) having a methanol fuel supply, oxidant supply, and its membrane electrode assembly (MEA) formed of an anode electrode and a cathode electrode with a membrane therebetween, a methanol oxidation catalyst adjacent the anode electrode and the membrane, an oxidant reduction catalyst adjacent the cathode electrode and the membrane, comprises an oxidant reduction catalyst layer of Pt.sub.3Cr/C so that oxidation at the cathode of methanol that crosses from the anode through the membrane to the cathode is reduced with a concomitant increase of net electrical potential at the cathode electrode.

  2. Methanol-Tolerant Cathode Catalyst Composite For Direct Methanol Fuel Cells

    DOEpatents

    Zhu, Yimin; Zelenay, Piotr

    2006-03-21

    A direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) having a methanol fuel supply, oxidant supply, and its membrane electrode assembly (MEA) formed of an anode electrode and a cathode electrode with a membrane therebetween, a methanol oxidation catalyst adjacent the anode electrode and the membrane, an oxidant reduction catalyst adjacent the cathode electrode and the membrane, comprises an oxidant reduction catalyst layer of a platinum-chromium alloy so that oxidation at the cathode of methanol that crosses from the anode through the membrane to the cathode is reduced with a concomitant increase of net electrical potential at the cathode electrode.

  3. Synthesis of noble metal/carbon nanotube composites in supercritical methanol.

    PubMed

    Sun, Zhenyu; Fu, Lei; Liu, Zhimin; Han, Buxing; Liu, Yunqi; Du, Jimin

    2006-03-01

    A simple and efficient route has been employed to deposit noble metal nanoparticles (Pt, Ru, Pt-Ru, Rh, Ru-Sn) onto carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in supercritical methanol solution. In this method, the inorganic metallic salts acted as metal precursors, and methanol as solvent as well as reductant for the precursors. The as-prepared nanocomposites were structurally and morphologically characterized by X-ray diffraction spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analyses. It was demonstrated that the CNTs were decorated by crystalline metal nanoparticles with uniform sizes and a narrow particle size distribution. The size and loading content of the nanoparticles on CNTs could be tuned by manipulating reaction parameters. Furthermore, the formation mechanism of the composites was also discussed.

  4. A nitrogen-doped graphene film prepared by chemical vapor deposition of a methanol mist containing methylated melamine resin

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mizuno, T.; Takizawa, M.; Tsuchiya, B.; Jinno, M.; Bandow, S.

    2013-11-01

    The effect of nitrogen doping on the sheet resistivity of a graphene film is systematically studied by changing the doping concentration. The nitrogen-doped graphene film is grown on a Cu foil by chemical vapor deposition using an ultrasonically generated methanol mist containing methylated melamine resin (simply called ‘melamine’). Using this method, it is found that the magnitude of the sheet resistivity is controllable by changing the melamine concentration. Increasing the melamine concentration up to ˜0.03 % causes a decrease of the sheet resistivity. We explain this by the substitutional doping of nitrogen atoms. A further increase in melamine concentration causes an increase of the sheet resistivity. This increase may be caused by the formation of pyridinic or pyrrolic N instead of substitutional N. Electron energy loss spectroscopy analyses for the carbon K-edge indicate a decrease of π ∗ character with increasing melamine concentration up to 0.08 % and then it recovers for higher concentration. This is due to a separation of the graphitic region and the defective region at high melamine concentration.

  5. Integrated anode structure for passive direct methanol fuel cells with neat methanol operation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wu, Huijuan; Zhang, Haifeng; Chen, Peng; Guo, Jing; Yuan, Ting; Zheng, Junwei; Yang, Hui

    2014-02-01

    A microporous titanium plate based integrated anode structure (Ti-IAS) suitable for passive direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) fueled with neat methanol is reported. This anode structure incorporates a porous titanium plate as a methanol mass transfer barrier and current collector, pervaporation film for passively vaporizing methanol, vaporous methanol cavity for evenly distributing fuel, and channels for carbon dioxide venting. With the effective control of methanol delivery rate, the Ti-IAS based DMFC allows the direct use of neat methanol as the fuel source. In the meantime, the required water for methanol-oxidation reaction at the anode can also be fully recovered from the cathode with the help of the highly hydrophobic microporous layer in the cathode. DMFCs incorporating this new anode structure exhibit a power density as high as 40 mW cm-2 and a high volumetric energy density of 489 Wh L-1 operating with neat methanol and at 25 °C. Importantly, no obvious performance degradation of the passive DMFC system is observed after more than 90 h of continuous operation. The experimental results reveal that the compact DMFC based on the Ti-IAS exhibits a substantial potential as power sources for portable applications.

  6. Thin Film Catalyst Layers for Direct Methanol Fuel Cells

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Witham, C. K.; Chun, W.; Ruiz, R.; Valdez, T. I.; Narayanan, S. R.

    2000-01-01

    One of the primary obstacles to the widespread use of the direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) is the high cost of the catalyst. Therefore, reducing the catalyst loading well below the current level of 8-12 mg/cm 2 would be important to commercialization. The current methods for preparation of catalyst layers consisting of catalyst, ionomer and sometimes a hydrophobic additive are applied by either painting, spraying, decal transfer or screen printing processes. Sputter deposition is a coating technique widely used in manufacturing and therefore particularly attractive. In this study we have begun to explore sputtering as a method for catalyst deposition. Present experiments focus on Pt-Ru catalyst layers for the anode.

  7. Genetic and physical analyses of Methylobacterium organophilum XX genes encoding methanol oxidation

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Machlin, S.M.; Tam, P.E.; Bastien, C.A.

    When allyl alcohol was used as a suicide substrate, spontaneous mutants and UV light- and nitrous acid-generated mutants of Methylobacterium organophilum XX were selected which grew on methylamine but not on methanol. There was no detectable methanol dehydrogenase (MDH) activity in crude extracts of these mutants, yet Western blots revealed that some mutants still produced MDH protein. Complementation of 50 mutants by a cosmid gene bank of M. organophilum XX demonstrated that three major regions of the genome, each of which was separated by a minimum of 40 kilobases, were required for expression of active MDH. By subcloning and Tn5more » insertion mutagenesis of subcloned fragments, at least 11 genes clustered within these three regions were subsequently identified. The identity of the MDH structural gene, which was initially determined by hybridization to the structural gene of Methylobacterium sp. strain AM1, was confirmed by Western blot analysis of an MDH-..beta..-galactosidase fusion protein.« less

  8. Method for making methanol

    DOEpatents

    Mednick, R. Lawrence; Blum, David B.

    1987-01-01

    Methanol is made in a liquid-phase methanol reactor by entraining a methanol-forming catalyst in an inert liquid and contacting said entrained catalyst with a synthesis gas comprising hydrogen and carbon monoxide.

  9. High performance methanol-oxygen fuel cell with hollow fiber electrode

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Lawson, Daniel D. (Inventor); Ingham, John D. (Inventor)

    1983-01-01

    A methanol/air-oxygen fuel cell including an electrode formed by open-ended ion-exchange hollow fibers having a layer of catalyst deposited on the inner surface thereof and a first current collector in contact with the catalyst layer. A second current collector external of said fibers is provided which is immersed along with the hollow fiber electrode in an aqueous electrolyte body. Upon passage of air or oxygen through the hollow fiber electrode and introduction of methanol into the aqueous electrolyte, a steady current output is obtained. Two embodiments of the fuel cell are disclosed. In the first embodiment the second metal electrode is displaced away from the hollow fiber in the electrolyte body while in the second embodiment a spiral-wrap electrode is provided about the outer surface of the hollow fiber electrode.

  10. Short-term inhalation toxicity of methanol, gasoline, and methanol/gasoline in the rat.

    PubMed

    Poon, R; Chu, I; Bjarnason, S; Vincent, R; Potvin, M; Miller, R B; Valli, V E

    1995-01-01

    Four- to five-week-old male and female Sprague Dawley rats were exposed to vapors of methanol (2500 ppm), gasoline (3200 ppm), and methanol/gasoline (2500/3200 ppm, 570/3200 ppm) six hours per day, five days per week for four weeks. Control animals were exposed to filtered room air only. Depression in body weight gain and reduced food consumption were observed in male rats, and increased relative liver weight was detected in rats of both sexes exposed to gasoline or methanol/gasoline mixtures. Rats of both sexes exposed to methanol/gasoline mixtures had increased relative kidney weight and females exposed to gasoline and methanol/gasoline mixtures had increased kidney weight. Decreased serum glucose and cholesterol were detected in male rats exposed to gasoline and methanol/gasoline mixtures. Decreased hemoglobin was observed in females inhaling vapors of gasoline and methanol/gasoline at 570/3200 ppm. Urine from rats inhaling gasoline or methanol/gasoline mixtures had up to a fourfold increase in hippuric acid, a biomarker of exposure to the toluene constituent of gasoline, and up to a sixfold elevation in ascorbic acid, a noninvasive biomarker of hepatic response. Hepatic mixed-function oxidase (aniline hydroxylase, aminopyrine N-demethylase and ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase) activities and UDP-glucuronosyltransferase activity were elevated in rats exposed to gasoline and methanol/gasoline mixtures. Histopathological changes were confined to very mild changes in the nasal passages and in the uterus, where decreased incidence or absence of mucosal and myometrial eosinophilia was observed in females inhaling gasoline and methanol/gasoline at 570/3200 ppm. It was concluded that gasoline was largely responsible for the adverse effects, the most significant of which included depression in weight gain in the males, increased liver weight and hepatic microsomal enzyme activities in both sexes, and suppression of uterine eosinophilia. No apparent interactive effects

  11. A selective electrocatalyst–based direct methanol fuel cell operated at high concentrations of methanol

    PubMed Central

    Feng, Yan; Liu, Hui; Yang, Jun

    2017-01-01

    Owing to the serious crossover of methanol from the anode to the cathode through the polymer electrolyte membrane, direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) usually use dilute methanol solutions as fuel. However, the use of high-concentration methanol is highly demanded to improve the energy density of a DMFC system. Instead of the conventional strategies (for example, improving the fuel-feed system, membrane development, modification of electrode, and water management), we demonstrate the use of selective electrocatalysts to run a DMFC at high concentrations of methanol. In particular, at an operating temperature of 80°C, the as-fabricated DMFC with core-shell-shell Au@Ag2S@Pt nanocomposites at the anode and core-shell Au@Pd nanoparticles at the cathode produces a maximum power density of 89.7 mW cm−2 at a methanol feed concentration of 10 M and maintains good performance at a methanol concentration of up to 15 M. The high selectivity of the electrocatalysts achieved through structural construction accounts for the successful operation of the DMFC at high concentrations of methanol. PMID:28695199

  12. A selective electrocatalyst-based direct methanol fuel cell operated at high concentrations of methanol.

    PubMed

    Feng, Yan; Liu, Hui; Yang, Jun

    2017-06-01

    Owing to the serious crossover of methanol from the anode to the cathode through the polymer electrolyte membrane, direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) usually use dilute methanol solutions as fuel. However, the use of high-concentration methanol is highly demanded to improve the energy density of a DMFC system. Instead of the conventional strategies (for example, improving the fuel-feed system, membrane development, modification of electrode, and water management), we demonstrate the use of selective electrocatalysts to run a DMFC at high concentrations of methanol. In particular, at an operating temperature of 80°C, the as-fabricated DMFC with core-shell-shell Au@Ag 2 S@Pt nanocomposites at the anode and core-shell Au@Pd nanoparticles at the cathode produces a maximum power density of 89.7 mW cm -2 at a methanol feed concentration of 10 M and maintains good performance at a methanol concentration of up to 15 M. The high selectivity of the electrocatalysts achieved through structural construction accounts for the successful operation of the DMFC at high concentrations of methanol.

  13. Methanol partial oxidation reformer

    DOEpatents

    Ahmed, Shabbir; Kumar, Romesh; Krumpelt, Michael

    1999-01-01

    A partial oxidation reformer comprising a longitudinally extending chamber having a methanol, water and an air inlet and an outlet. An igniter mechanism is near the inlets for igniting a mixture of methanol and air, while a partial oxidation catalyst in the chamber is spaced from the inlets and converts methanol and oxygen to carbon dioxide and hydrogen. Controlling the oxygen to methanol mole ratio provides continuous slightly exothermic partial oxidation reactions of methanol and air producing hydrogen gas. The liquid is preferably injected in droplets having diameters less than 100 micrometers. The reformer is useful in a propulsion system for a vehicle which supplies a hydrogen-containing gas to the negative electrode of a fuel cell.

  14. Methanol partial oxidation reformer

    DOEpatents

    Ahmed, Shabbir; Kumar, Romesh; Krumpelt, Michael

    2001-01-01

    A partial oxidation reformer comprising a longitudinally extending chamber having a methanol, water and an air inlet and an outlet. An igniter mechanism is near the inlets for igniting a mixture of methanol and air, while a partial oxidation catalyst in the chamber is spaced from the inlets and converts methanol and oxygen to carbon dioxide and hydrogen. Controlling the oxygen to methanol mole ratio provides continuous slightly exothermic partial oxidation reactions of methanol and air producing hydrogen gas. The liquid is preferably injected in droplets having diameters less than 100 micrometers. The reformer is useful in a propulsion system for a vehicle which supplies a hydrogen-containing gas to the negative electrode of a fuel cell.

  15. Design and Operation of an Electrochemical Methanol Concentration Sensor for Direct Methanol Fuel Cell Systems

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Narayanan, S. R.; Valdez, T. I.; Chun, W.

    2000-01-01

    The development of a 150-Watt packaged power source based on liquid feed direct methanol fuel cells is being pursued currently at the Jet propulsion Laboratory for defense applications. In our studies we find that the concentration of methanol in the fuel circulation loop affects the electrical performance and efficiency the direct methanol fuel cell systems significantly. The practical operation of direct methanol fuel cell systems, therefore, requires accurate monitoring and control of methanol concentration. The present paper reports on the principle and demonstration of an in-house developed electrochemical sensor suitable for direct methanol fuel cell systems.

  16. Methanol partial oxidation reformer

    DOEpatents

    Ahmed, S.; Kumar, R.; Krumpelt, M.

    1999-08-17

    A partial oxidation reformer is described comprising a longitudinally extending chamber having a methanol, water and an air inlet and an outlet. An igniter mechanism is near the inlets for igniting a mixture of methanol and air, while a partial oxidation catalyst in the chamber is spaced from the inlets and converts methanol and oxygen to carbon dioxide and hydrogen. Controlling the oxygen to methanol mole ratio provides continuous slightly exothermic partial oxidation reactions of methanol and air producing hydrogen gas. The liquid is preferably injected in droplets having diameters less than 100 micrometers. The reformer is useful in a propulsion system for a vehicle which supplies a hydrogen-containing gas to the negative electrode of a fuel cell. 7 figs.

  17. Methanol partial oxidation reformer

    DOEpatents

    Ahmed, S.; Kumar, R.; Krumpelt, M.

    1999-08-24

    A partial oxidation reformer is described comprising a longitudinally extending chamber having a methanol, water and an air inlet and an outlet. An igniter mechanism is near the inlets for igniting a mixture of methanol and air, while a partial oxidation catalyst in the chamber is spaced from the inlets and converts methanol and oxygen to carbon dioxide and hydrogen. Controlling the oxygen to methanol mole ratio provides continuous slightly exothermic partial oxidation reactions of methanol and air producing hydrogen gas. The liquid is preferably injected in droplets having diameters less than 100 micrometers. The reformer is useful in a propulsion system for a vehicle which supplies a hydrogen-containing gas to the negative electrode of a fuel cell. 7 figs.

  18. Transesterification of waste vegetable oil under pulse sonication using ethanol, methanol and ethanol-methanol mixtures.

    PubMed

    Martinez-Guerra, Edith; Gude, Veera Gnaneswar

    2014-12-01

    This study reports on the effects of direct pulse sonication and the type of alcohol (methanol and ethanol) on the transesterification reaction of waste vegetable oil without any external heating or mechanical mixing. Biodiesel yields and optimum process conditions for the transesterification reaction involving ethanol, methanol, and ethanol-methanol mixtures were evaluated. The effects of ultrasonic power densities (by varying sample volumes), power output rates (in W), and ultrasonic intensities (by varying the reactor size) were studied for transesterification reaction with ethanol, methanol and ethanol-methanol (50%-50%) mixtures. The optimum process conditions for ethanol or methanol based transesterification reaction of waste vegetable oil were determined as: 9:1 alcohol to oil ratio, 1% wt. catalyst amount, 1-2 min reaction time at a power output rate between 75 and 150 W. It was shown that the transesterification reactions using ethanol-methanol mixtures resulted in biodiesel yields as high as >99% at lower power density and ultrasound intensity when compared to ethanol or methanol based transesterification reactions. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. The Methanol Economy Project

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Olah, George; Prakash, G. K.

    2014-02-01

    The Methanol Economy Project is based on the concept of replacing fossil fuels with methanol generated either from renewable resources or abundant natural (shale) gas. The full methanol cycle was investigated in this project, from production of methanol through bromination of methane, bireforming of methane to syngas, CO 2 capture using supported amines, co-electrolysis of CO 2 and water to formate and syngas, decomposition of formate to CO 2 and H 2, and use of formic acid in a direct formic acid fuel cell. Each of these projects achieved milestones and provided new insights into their respective fields.

  20. Methanol incorporation in clathrate hydrates and the implications for oil and gas pipeline flow assurance and icy planetary bodies

    PubMed Central

    Shin, Kyuchul; Udachin, Konstantin A.; Moudrakovski, Igor L.; Leek, Donald M.; Alavi, Saman; Ratcliffe, Christopher I.; Ripmeester, John A.

    2013-01-01

    One of the best-known uses of methanol is as antifreeze. Methanol is used in large quantities in industrial applications to prevent methane clathrate hydrate blockages from forming in oil and gas pipelines. Methanol is also assigned a major role as antifreeze in giving icy planetary bodies (e.g., Titan) a liquid subsurface ocean and/or an atmosphere containing significant quantities of methane. In this work, we reveal a previously unverified role for methanol as a guest in clathrate hydrate cages. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and NMR experiments showed that at temperatures near 273 K, methanol is incorporated in the hydrate lattice along with other guest molecules. The amount of included methanol depends on the preparative method used. For instance, single-crystal XRD shows that at low temperatures, the methanol molecules are hydrogen-bonded in 4.4% of the small cages of tetrahydrofuran cubic structure II hydrate. At higher temperatures, NMR spectroscopy reveals a number of methanol species incorporated in hydrocarbon hydrate lattices. At temperatures characteristic of icy planetary bodies, vapor deposits of methanol, water, and methane or xenon show that the presence of methanol accelerates hydrate formation on annealing and that there is unusually complex phase behavior as revealed by powder XRD and NMR spectroscopy. The presence of cubic structure I hydrate was confirmed and a unique hydrate phase was postulated to account for the data. Molecular dynamics calculations confirmed the possibility of methanol incorporation into the hydrate lattice and show that methanol can favorably replace a number of methane guests. PMID:23661058

  1. Methanol incorporation in clathrate hydrates and the implications for oil and gas pipeline flow assurance and icy planetary bodies.

    PubMed

    Shin, Kyuchul; Udachin, Konstantin A; Moudrakovski, Igor L; Leek, Donald M; Alavi, Saman; Ratcliffe, Christopher I; Ripmeester, John A

    2013-05-21

    One of the best-known uses of methanol is as antifreeze. Methanol is used in large quantities in industrial applications to prevent methane clathrate hydrate blockages from forming in oil and gas pipelines. Methanol is also assigned a major role as antifreeze in giving icy planetary bodies (e.g., Titan) a liquid subsurface ocean and/or an atmosphere containing significant quantities of methane. In this work, we reveal a previously unverified role for methanol as a guest in clathrate hydrate cages. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and NMR experiments showed that at temperatures near 273 K, methanol is incorporated in the hydrate lattice along with other guest molecules. The amount of included methanol depends on the preparative method used. For instance, single-crystal XRD shows that at low temperatures, the methanol molecules are hydrogen-bonded in 4.4% of the small cages of tetrahydrofuran cubic structure II hydrate. At higher temperatures, NMR spectroscopy reveals a number of methanol species incorporated in hydrocarbon hydrate lattices. At temperatures characteristic of icy planetary bodies, vapor deposits of methanol, water, and methane or xenon show that the presence of methanol accelerates hydrate formation on annealing and that there is unusually complex phase behavior as revealed by powder XRD and NMR spectroscopy. The presence of cubic structure I hydrate was confirmed and a unique hydrate phase was postulated to account for the data. Molecular dynamics calculations confirmed the possibility of methanol incorporation into the hydrate lattice and show that methanol can favorably replace a number of methane guests.

  2. MnO2/CNT supported Pt and PtRu nanocatalysts for direct methanol fuel cells.

    PubMed

    Zhou, Chunmei; Wang, Hongjuan; Peng, Feng; Liang, Jiahua; Yu, Hao; Yang, Jian

    2009-07-07

    Pt/MnO2/carbon nanotube (CNT) and PtRu/MnO2/CNT nanocomposites were synthesized by successively loading hydrous MnO2 and Pt (or PtRu alloy) nanoparticles on CNTs and were used as anodic catalysts for direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs). The existence of MnO2 on the surface of CNTs effectively increases the proton conductivity of the catalyst, which then could remarkably improve the performance of the catalyst in methanol electro-oxidation. As a result, Pt/MnO2/CNTs show higher electrochemical active surface area and better methanol electro-oxidation activity, compared with Pt/CNTs. As PtRu alloy nanoparticles were deposited on the surface of MnO2/CNTs instead of Pt, the PtRu/MnO2/CNT catalyst shows not only excellent electro-oxidation activity to methanol with forward anodic peak current density of 901 A/gPt but also good CO oxidation ability with lower preadsorbed CO oxidation onset potential (0.33 V vs Ag/AgCl) and peak potential (0.49 V vs Ag/AgCl) at room temperature.

  3. Biofiltration of methanol vapor

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Shareefdeen, Z.; Baltzis, B.C.; Oh, Youngsook

    1993-03-05

    Biofiltration of solvent and fuel vapors may offer a cost-effective way to comply with increasingly strict air emission standards. An important step in the development of this technology is to derive and validate mathematical models of the biofiltration process for predictive and scaleup calculations. For the study of methanol vapor biofiltration, an 8-membered bacterial consortium was obtained from methanol-exposed soil. The bacteria were immobilized on solid support and packed into a 5-cm diameter, 60-cm-high column provided with appropriate flowmeters and sampling ports. The solid support was prepared by mixing two volumes of peat with three volumes of perlite particles. Twomore » series of experiments were performed. In the first, the inlet methanol concentration was kept constant while the superficial air velocity was varied from run to run. In the second series, the air flow rate (velocity) was kept constant while the inlet methanol concentration was varied. The unit proved effective in removing methanol at rates up to 112.8 g h[sup [minus]1] m[sup [minus]3] packing. A mathematical model has been derived and validated. The model described and predicted experimental results closely. Both experimental data and model predictions suggest that the methanol biofiltration process was limited by oxygen diffusion and methanol degradation kinetics.« less

  4. Liquid phase methanol reactor staging process for the production of methanol

    DOEpatents

    Bonnell, Leo W.; Perka, Alan T.; Roberts, George W.

    1988-01-01

    The present invention is a process for the production of methanol from a syngas feed containing carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and hydrogen. Basically, the process is the combination of two liquid phase methanol reactors into a staging process, such that each reactor is operated to favor a particular reaction mechanism. In the first reactor, the operation is controlled to favor the hydrogenation of carbon monoxide, and in the second reactor, the operation is controlled so as to favor the hydrogenation of carbon dioxide. This staging process results in substantial increases in methanol yield.

  5. California methanol assessment. Volume 2: Technical report

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Otoole, R.; Dutzi, E.; Gershman, R.; Heft, R.; Kalema, W.; Maynard, D.

    1983-01-01

    Energy feedstock sources for methanol; methanol and other synfuels; transport, storage, and distribution; air quality impact of methanol use in vehicles, chemical methanol production and use; methanol utilization in vehicles; methanol utilization in stationary applications; and environmental and regulatory constraints are discussed.

  6. Aerobic methanol-oxidizing bacteria in soil.

    PubMed

    Kolb, Steffen

    2009-11-01

    Methanol is an atmospheric compound that is primarily released from plant polymers and impacts ozone formation. The global methanol emission rate from terrestrial ecosystems is of the same order of magnitude (4.9 x 10(12) mol year(-1)) as that of methane (10 x 10(12) mol year(-1)). The major proportion of the annual plant-released methanol does not enter the atmosphere, but may be reoxidized by biological methanol oxidation, which is catalyzed by methanol-oxidizing prokaryotes. Fifty-six aerobic methanol-oxidizing species have been isolated from soils. These methylotrophs belong to the Alpha-, Beta-, and Gammaproteobacteria, Verrucomicrobia, Firmicutes, and Actinobacteria. Their ecological niches are determined by oxygen and methanol concentration, temperature, pH, the capability to utilize nitrate as an electron acceptor, and the spectrum of nitrogen sources and utilizable multicarbon substrates. Recently discovered interactions with eukaryotes indicate that their ecological niches may not solely be defined by physicochemical parameters. Nonetheless, there are still gaps in knowledge; based on global methanol budgets, methanol oxidation in soil is important, but has not been addressed adequately by biogeochemical studies. Ratios of above-ground and soil-internal methanol oxidation are not known. The contribution to methanol-oxidation by aerobic and anaerobic methylotrophs in situ also needs further research.

  7. Towards neat methanol operation of direct methanol fuel cells: a novel self-assembled proton exchange membrane.

    PubMed

    Li, Jing; Cai, Weiwei; Ma, Liying; Zhang, Yunfeng; Chen, Zhangxian; Cheng, Hansong

    2015-04-18

    We report here a novel proton exchange membrane with remarkably high methanol-permeation resistivity and excellent proton conductivity enabled by carefully designed self-assembled ionic conductive channels. A direct methanol fuel cell utilizing the membrane performs well with a 20 M methanol solution, very close to the concentration of neat methanol.

  8. Endogenous Methanol Regulates Mammalian Gene Activity

    PubMed Central

    Komarova, Tatiana V.; Petrunia, Igor V.; Shindyapina, Anastasia V.; Silachev, Denis N.; Sheshukova, Ekaterina V.; Kiryanov, Gleb I.; Dorokhov, Yuri L.

    2014-01-01

    We recently showed that methanol emitted by wounded plants might function as a signaling molecule for plant-to-plant and plant-to-animal communications. In mammals, methanol is considered a poison because the enzyme alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) converts methanol into toxic formaldehyde. However, the detection of methanol in the blood and exhaled air of healthy volunteers suggests that methanol may be a chemical with specific functions rather than a metabolic waste product. Using a genome-wide analysis of the mouse brain, we demonstrated that an increase in blood methanol concentration led to a change in the accumulation of mRNAs from genes primarily involved in detoxification processes and regulation of the alcohol/aldehyde dehydrogenases gene cluster. To test the role of ADH in the maintenance of low methanol concentration in the plasma, we used the specific ADH inhibitor 4-methylpyrazole (4-MP) and showed that intraperitoneal administration of 4-MP resulted in a significant increase in the plasma methanol, ethanol and formaldehyde concentrations. Removal of the intestine significantly decreased the rate of methanol addition to the plasma and suggested that the gut flora may be involved in the endogenous production of methanol. ADH in the liver was identified as the main enzyme for metabolizing methanol because an increase in the methanol and ethanol contents in the liver homogenate was observed after 4-MP administration into the portal vein. Liver mRNA quantification showed changes in the accumulation of mRNAs from genes involved in cell signalling and detoxification processes. We hypothesized that endogenous methanol acts as a regulator of homeostasis by controlling the mRNA synthesis. PMID:24587296

  9. Direct methanol fuel cell and system

    DOEpatents

    Wilson, Mahlon S.

    2004-10-26

    A fuel cell having an anode and a cathode and a polymer electrolyte membrane located between anode and cathode gas diffusion backings uses a methanol vapor fuel supply. A permeable polymer electrolyte membrane having a permeability effective to sustain a carbon dioxide flux equivalent to at least 10 mA/cm.sup.2 provides for removal of carbon dioxide produced at the anode by reaction of methanol with water. Another aspect of the present invention includes a superabsorpent polymer material placed in proximity to the anode gas diffusion backing to hold liquid methanol or liquid methanol solution without wetting the anode gas diffusion backing so that methanol vapor from the liquid methanol or liquid methanol-water solution is supplied to the membrane.

  10. 37 GHz Methanol Masers : Horsemen of the Apocalypse for the Class II Methanol Maser Phase?

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ellingsen, S. P.; Breen, S. L.; Sobolev, A. M.; Voronkov, M. A.; Caswell, J. L.; Lo, N.

    2011-12-01

    We report the results of a search for class II methanol masers at 37.7, 38.3, and 38.5 GHz toward a sample of 70 high-mass star formation regions. We primarily searched toward regions known to show emission either from the 107 GHz class II methanol maser transition, or from the 6.035 GHz excited OH transition. We detected maser emission from 13 sources in the 37.7 GHz transition, eight of these being new detections. We detected maser emission from three sources in the 38 GHz transitions, one of which is a new detection. We find that 37.7 GHz methanol masers are only associated with the most luminous 6.7 and 12.2 GHz methanol maser sources, which in turn are hypothesized to be the oldest class II methanol sources. We suggest that the 37.7 GHz methanol masers are associated with a brief evolutionary phase (of 1000-4000 years) prior to the cessation of class II methanol maser activity in the associated high-mass star formation region.

  11. Effect of sorbed methanol, current, and temperature on multicomponent transport in nafion-based direct methanol fuel cells.

    PubMed

    Rivera, Harry; Lawton, Jamie S; Budil, David E; Smotkin, Eugene S

    2008-07-24

    The CO2 in the cathode exhaust of a liquid feed direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) has two sources: methanol diffuses through the membrane electrode assembly (MEA) to the cathode where it is catalytically oxidized to CO2; additionally, a portion of the CO2 produced at the anode diffuses through the MEA to the cathode. The potential-dependent CO2 exhaust from the cathode was monitored by online electrochemical mass spectrometry (ECMS) with air and with H2 at the cathode. The precise determination of the crossover rates of methanol and CO2, enabled by the subtractive normalization of the methanol/air to the methanol/H2 ECMS data, shows that methanol decreases the membrane viscosity and thus increases the diffusion coefficients of sorbed membrane components. The crossover of CO2 initially increases linearly with the Faradaic oxidation of methanol, reaches a temperature-dependent maximum, and then decreases. The membrane viscosity progressively increases as methanol is electrochemically depleted from the anode/electrolyte interface. The crossover maximum occurs when the current dependence of the diffusion coefficients and membrane CO2 solubility dominate over the Faradaic production of CO2. The plasticizing effect of methanol is corroborated by measurements of the rotational diffusion of TEMPONE (2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-4-piperidone N-oxide) spin probe by electron spin resonance spectroscopy. A linear inverse relationship between the methanol crossover rate and current density confirms the absence of methanol electro-osmotic drag at concentrations relevant to operating DMFCs. The purely diffusive transport of methanol is explained in terms of current proton solvation and methanol-water incomplete mixing theories.

  12. Role of Co-Vapors in Vapor Deposition Polymerization

    PubMed Central

    Lee, Ji Eun; Lee, Younghee; Ahn, Ki-Jin; Huh, Jinyoung; Shim, Hyeon Woo; Sampath, Gayathri; Im, Won Bin; Huh, Yang–Il; Yoon, Hyeonseok

    2015-01-01

    Polypyrrole (PPy)/cellulose (PPCL) composite papers were fabricated by vapor phase polymerization. Importantly, the vapor-phase deposition of PPy onto cellulose was assisted by employing different co-vapors namely methanol, ethanol, benzene, water, toluene and hexane, in addition to pyrrole. The resulting PPCL papers possessed high mechanical flexibility, large surface-to-volume ratio, and good redox properties. Their main properties were highly influenced by the nature of the co-vaporized solvent. The morphology and oxidation level of deposited PPy were tuned by employing co-vapors during the polymerization, which in turn led to change in the electrochemical properties of the PPCL papers. When methanol and ethanol were used as co-vapors, the conductivities of PPCL papers were found to have improved five times, which was likely due to the enhanced orientation of PPy chain by the polar co-vapors with high dipole moment. The specific capacitance of PPCL papers obtained using benzene, toluene, water and hexane co-vapors was higher than those of the others, which is attributed to the enlarged effective surface area of the electrode material. The results indicate that the judicious choice and combination of co-vapors in vapor-deposition polymerization (VDP) offers the possibility of tuning the morphological, electrical, and electrochemical properties of deposited conducting polymers. PMID:25673422

  13. Acute methanol toxicity in minipigs

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Dorman, D.C.; Dye, J.A.; Nassise, M.P.

    1993-01-01

    The pig has been proposed as a potential animal model for methanol-induced neuro-ocular toxicosis in humans because of its low liver tetrahydrofolate levels and slower rate of formate metabolism compared to those of humans. To examine the validity of this animal model, 12 4-month-old female minipigs (minipig YU) were given a single oral dose of water or methanol at 1.0, 2.5, or 5.0 g/kg body wt by gavage (n = 3 pigs/dose). Dose-dependent signs of acute methanol intoxication, which included mild CNS depression, tremors, ataxia, and recumbency, developed within 0.5 to 2.0 hr, and resolved by 52 hr. Methanol- andmore » formate-dosed pigs did not develop optic nerve lesions, toxicologically significant formate accumulation, or metabolic acidosis. Based on results following a single dose, female minipigs do not appear to be overtly sensitive to methanol and thus may not be a suitable animal model for acute methanol-induced neuroocular toxicosis.« less

  14. Preparation of Carbon-Platinum-Ceria and Carbon-Platinum-Cerium catalysts and its application in Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cell: Hydrogen, Methanol, and Ethanol

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Guzman Blas, Rolando Pedro

    This thesis is focused on fuel cells using hydrogen, methanol and ethanol as fuel. Also, in the method of preparation of catalytic material for the anode: Supercritical Fluid Deposition (SFD) and impregnation method using ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) as a chelating agent. The first part of the thesis describes the general knowledge about Hydrogen Polymer Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (HPEMFC),Direct Methanol Fuel Cell (DMFC) and Direct Ethanol Fuel Cell (DEFC), as well as the properties of Cerium and CeO2 (Ceria). The second part of the thesis describes the preparation of catalytic material by Supercritical Fluid Deposition (SFD). SFD was utilized to deposit Pt and ceria simultaneously onto gas diffusion layers. The Pt-ceria catalyst deposited by SFD exhibited higher methanol oxidation activity compared to the platinum catalyst alone. The linear sweep traces of the cathode made for the methanol cross over study indicate that Pt-Ceria/C as the anode catalyst, due to its better activity for methanol, improves the fuel utilization, minimizing the methanol permeation from anode to cathode compartment. The third and fourth parts of the thesis describe the preparation of material catalytic material Carbon-Platinum-Cerium by a simple and cheap impregnation method using EDTA as a chelating agent to form a complex with cerium (III). This preparation method allows the mass production of the material catalysts without additional significant cost. Fuel cell polarization and power curves experiments showed that the Carbon-Platinum-Cerium anode materials exhibited better catalytic activity than the only Vulcan-Pt catalysts for DMFC, DEFC and HPEMFC. In the case of Vulcan-20%Pt-5%w Cerium, this material exhibits better catalytic activity than the Vulcan-20%Pt in DMFC. In the case of Vulcan-40% Pt-doped Cerium, this material exhibits better catalytic activity than the Vulcan-40% Pt in DMFC, DEFC and HPEMFC. Finally, I propose a theory that explains the reason why the

  15. Theoretical Insights into Direct Methane to Methanol Conversion over Supported Dicopper Oxo Nanoclusters

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Doan, Hieu A.; Li, Zhanyong; Farha, Omar K.

    In this study, the prospect of using copper oxide nanoclusters grown by atomic layer deposition on a porphyrin support for selective oxidation of methane to methanol was examined by means of density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Ab initio thermodynamic analysis indicates that an active site in the form of Cu(μ-O)Cu can be stabilized by activation in O2 at 465K. Furthermore, a moderate methane activation energy barrier (Ea=54kJ/mol) is predicted, and the hydrogen abstraction activity of the active site could be attributed to the radical character of the bridging oxygen. Methanol extraction in this system is limited by a thermodynamic barriermore » to desorption of ΔG=57kJ/mol at 473K; however, desorption can be facilitated by the addition of water in a “stepped conversion” process. Overall, our results indicate similar activity between porphyrin-supported copper oxide nanoclusters and existing Cu-exchanged zeolites and provide a computational proof-of-concept for utilizing functionalized organic linkers in metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) for selective oxidation of methane to methanol.« less

  16. Theoretical Insights into Direct Methane to Methanol Conversion over Supported Dicopper Oxo Nanoclusters

    DOE PAGES

    Doan, Hieu A.; Li, Zhanyong; Farha, Omar K.; ...

    2018-04-08

    In this study, the prospect of using copper oxide nanoclusters grown by atomic layer deposition on a porphyrin support for selective oxidation of methane to methanol was examined by means of density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Ab initio thermodynamic analysis indicates that an active site in the form of Cu(μ-O)Cu can be stabilized by activation in O2 at 465K. Furthermore, a moderate methane activation energy barrier (Ea=54kJ/mol) is predicted, and the hydrogen abstraction activity of the active site could be attributed to the radical character of the bridging oxygen. Methanol extraction in this system is limited by a thermodynamic barriermore » to desorption of ΔG=57kJ/mol at 473K; however, desorption can be facilitated by the addition of water in a “stepped conversion” process. Overall, our results indicate similar activity between porphyrin-supported copper oxide nanoclusters and existing Cu-exchanged zeolites and provide a computational proof-of-concept for utilizing functionalized organic linkers in metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) for selective oxidation of methane to methanol.« less

  17. Metal accumulation strategies in plants spontaneously inhabiting Zn-Pb waste deposits.

    PubMed

    Wójcik, Małgorzata; Sugier, Piotr; Siebielec, Grzegorz

    2014-07-15

    Metal (Zn, Pb, Cd, Cu, Ni, Cr) accumulation in shoots of 38 plant species spontaneously colonizing three Zn-Pb waste deposits in southern Poland was studied in order to find out if the age of the waste (30-130 years) or its type (slag or flotation residues) influence metal content in plants and to identify species potentially suitable for biomonitoring and phytoremediation. The total metal concentrations in the waste upper layers ranged from 7300 to 171,790 mg kg(-1) for Zn, from 1390 to 22,265 mg kg(-1) for Pb, and from 66 to 1,464 mg kg(-1) for Cd, whereas CaCl2-extracted fractions accounted for 0.034-0.11 %, 0.005-0.03 %, and 0.28-0.62 % of total Zn, Pb and Cd concentrations, respectively. The concentrations of Cu, Ni, and Cr in substrates and in plants were low and ranged within the background values. Metal accumulation in plant shoots was poorly correlated with both total and CaCl2-extracted forms of metals in the substrate and was highly variable among species and also specimens of the same species. The highest mean concentrations of Zn, Pb and Cd were found in Anthyllis vulneraria L. (901.5 mg kg(-1)), Echium vulgare L. (116.92 mg kg(-1)), and Hieracium piloselloides Vill. (26.86 mg kg(-1)), respectively. Besides Reseda lutea L., no species appeared to be a good indicator of polymetallic environment pollution based on chemical analysis of shoots; however, metal accumulation in the whole plant communities of a particular contaminated area might be an accurate tool for assessment of metal transfer to vegetation irrespective of the type or age of the waste. All the species studied developed a metal exclusion strategy, thus exhibiting potential for phytostabilization of metalliferous wastelands. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  18. Enhancement of the catalytic activity of Pt nanoparticles toward methanol electro-oxidation using doped-SnO2 supporting materials

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Merati, Zohreh; Basiri Parsa, Jalal

    2018-03-01

    Catalyst supports play important role in governing overall catalyst activity and durability. In this study metal oxides (SnO2, Sb and Nb doped SnO2) were electrochemically deposited on titanium substrate (Ti) as a new support material for Pt catalyst in order to electro-oxidation of methanol. Afterward platinum nanoparticles were deposited on metal oxide film via electro reduction of platinum salt in an acidic solution. The surface morphology of modified electrodes were evaluated by field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX) techniques. The electro-catalytic activities of prepared electrodes for methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) and oxidation of carbon monoxide (CO) absorbed on Pt was considered with cyclic voltammetry. The results showed high catalytic activity for Pt/Nb-SnO2/Ti electrode. The electrochemical surface area (ECSA) of a platinum electro-catalyst was determined by hydrogen adsorption. Pt/Nb-SnO2/Ti electrode has highest ECSA compared to other electrode resulting in high activity toward methanol electro-oxidation and CO stripping experiments. The doping of SnO2 with Sb and Nb improved ECSA and MOR activity, which act as electronic donors to increase electronic conductivity.

  19. Encapsulation of photosensitizer into multilayer microcapsules by combination of spontaneous deposition and heat-induced shrinkage for photodynamic therapy.

    PubMed

    Han, Yuanyuan; Bu, Jing; Zhang, Yuying; Tong, Weijun; Gao, Changyou

    2012-10-01

    Annealing of PDADMAC/PSS multilayer microcapsules assembled on PSS-doped CaCO(3) particles at 80 °C for 30 min reduces their size dramatically from 6.9 ± 0.3 to 3.1 ± 0.5 µm. Methylene blue molecules are encapsulated by spontaneous deposition and post-annealing with a concentration of 22 mg · mL(-1), which is 1000 times higher than the feeding value. The unreleased MB molecules are retained stably for a long time, which are then protected by the capsules against reductive enzymes and keep their photodynamic activity. The viability of HeLa cells incubated with the MB-loaded capsules decreases sharply from ≈ 75 (dark cytotoxicity) to ≈ 20% after irradiation with a laser at 671 nm and 60 J · cm(-2) for 75 s. Copyright © 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  20. Thermodynamics of R-(+)-2-(4-Hydroxyphenoxy)propanoic Acid Dissolution in Methanol, Ethanol, and Methanol-Ethanol Mixture

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Liu, Wei; Ma, Jinju; Yao, Xinding; Fang, Ruina; Cheng, Liang

    2018-05-01

    The solubilities of R-(+)-2-(4-hydroxyphenoxy)propanoic acid (D-HPPA) in methanol, ethanol and various methanol-ethanol mixtures are determined in the temperature range from 273.15 to 323.15 K at atmospheric pressure using a laser detecting system. The solubilities of D-HPPA increase with increasing mole fraction of ethanol in the methanol-ethanol mixtures. Experimental data were correlated with Buchowski-Ksiazczak λ h equation and modified Apelblat equation; the first one gives better approximation for the experimental results. The enthalpy, entropy and Gibbs free energy of D-HPPA dissolution in methanol, ethanol and methanol-ethanol mixtures were also calculated from the solubility data.

  1. Synthesis of Magnetite Nanoparticles and Its Application As Electrode Material for the Electrochemical Oxidation of Methanol

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shah, Muhammad Tariq; Balouch, Aamna; Panah, Pirah; Rajar, Kausar; Mahar, Ali Muhammad; Khan, Abdullah; Jagirani, Muhammad Saqaf; Khan, Humaira

    2018-06-01

    In this study, magnetite (Fe3O4) nanoparticles were synthesized by a simple and facile chemical co-precipitation method at ambient laboratory conditions. The synthesized Fe3O4 nanostructures were characterized for their morphology, size, crystalline structure and component analysis using field emission scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, x-ray diffraction and electron dispersive x-ray spectroscopy. The Fe3O4 nanoparticles showed semi-spherical geometry with an average particle diameter up to 14 nm. The catalytic properties of Fe3O4 nanoparticles were evaluated for electrochemical oxidation of methanol. For this purpose, the magnetite NPs were coated on the surface of an indium tin oxide (ITO) electrode and used as a working electrode in the electrochemical oxidation of methanol. The effect of potential scan rate, the concentration of methanol, the volume of electrolyte and catalyst (Fe3O4 NPs) deposition volume was studied to get high peak current densities for methanol oxidation. The stability and selectivity of the fabricated electrode (Fe3O4/ITO) were also assessed during the electrochemical process. This study revealed that the Fe3O4/ITO electrode was highly stable and selective towards methanol electrochemical oxidation in basic (KOH) media. Bare ITO and Fe3O4 NPs modified glassy (Fe3O4/GCE) electrodes were also tested in the electro-oxidation study of methanol, but their peak current density responses were very low as compared to the Fe3O4/ITO electrode, which showed high electrocatalytic activity towards methanol oxidation under similar conditions. We hope that Fe3O4 nanoparticles (NPs) will be an alternative for methanol oxidation as compared to the expensive noble metals (Pt, Au, and Pd) for energy generation processes.

  2. Hydrogen and methanol exchange processes for (TMP)Rh-OCH3(CH3OH) in binary solutions of methanol and benzene.

    PubMed

    Sarkar, Sounak; Li, Shan; Wayland, Bradford B

    2011-04-18

    Tetramesityl porphinato rhodium(III) methoxide ((TMP)Rh-OCH(3)) binds with methanol in benzene to form a 1:1 methanol complex ((TMP)Rh-OCH(3)(CH(3)OH)) (1). Dynamic processes are observed to occur for the rhodium(III) methoxide methanol complex (1) that involve both hydrogen and methanol exchange. Hydrogen exchange between coordinated methanol and methoxide through methanol in solution results in an interchange of the environments for the non-equivalent porphyrin faces that contain methoxide and methanol ligands. Interchange of the environments of the coordinated methanol and methoxide sites in 1 produces interchange of the inequivalent mesityl o-CH(3) groups, but methanol ligand exchange occurs on one face of the porphyrin and the mesityl o-CH(3) groups remain inequivalent. Rate constants for dynamic processes are evaluated by full line shape analysis for the (1)H NMR of the mesityl o-CH(3) and high field methyl resonances of coordinated methanol and methoxide groups in 1. The rate constant for interchange of the inequivalent porphyrin faces is associated with hydrogen exchange between 1 and methanol in solution and is observed to increase regularly with the increase in the mole fraction of methanol. The rate constant for methanol ligand exchange between 1 and the solution varies with the solution composition and fluctuates in a manner that parallels the change in the activation energy for methanol diffusion which is a consequence of solution non-ideality from hydrogen bonded clusters.

  3. Indonesia to build methanol plant

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Alperowicz, N.

    1992-08-05

    P.T. Kaltim Methanol Industri (Jakarta), a company set up to build a new methanol plant in Indonesia, expects to award contracts for the construction of a new plant, Indonesia's second methanol unit, by the end of this year. P.T. Kaltim Methanol is a private company owned by P.T. Humpuss, an industrial group active in transport, airlines, and shipping of LNG and methanol. The 2,000-m.t./day plant will be built at Bontang, Kalimantan Island, close to the fertilizer producer P.T. Pupuk Kaltim and near the country's largest natural gas reserves. The site is also a deepsea port, handy for transportation of readymore » product. Three groups are in discussions with the investor on plant supply as well as methanol offtake deals. They are H G/Kockner; John Brown/Davy/Lucky Goldstar, offering the ICI process independently; and Lurgi/Metallgesellschaft (MG), proposing the Lurgi process. At least 60% of the output is expected to be exported, and both ICI and MG are understood to be interested in selling product from the future plant. Japan, Southeast Asia, and the US are targeted.« less

  4. Fatal methanol poisoning: features of liver histopathology.

    PubMed

    Akhgari, Maryam; Panahianpour, Mohammad Hadi; Bazmi, Elham; Etemadi-Aleagha, Afshar; Mahdavi, Amirhosein; Nazari, Saeed Hashemi

    2013-03-01

    Methanol poisoning has become a considerable problem in Iran. Liver can show some features of poisoning after methanol ingestion. Therefore, our concern was to examine liver tissue histopathology in fatal methanol poisoning cases in Iranian population. In this study, 44 cases of fatal methanol poisoning were identified in a year. The histological changes of the liver were reviewed. The most striking features of liver damage by light microscopy were micro-vesicular steatosis, macro-vesicular steatosis, focal hepatocyte necrosis, mild intra-hepatocyte bile stasis, feathery degeneration and hydropic degeneration. Blood and vitreous humor methanol concentrations were examined to confirm the proposed history of methanol poisoning. The majority of cases were men (86.36%). In conclusion, methanol poisoning can cause histological changes in liver tissues. Most importantly in cases with mean blood and vitreous humor methanol levels greater than 127 ± 38.9 mg/dL more than one pathologic features were detected.

  5. Air breathing direct methanol fuel cell

    DOEpatents

    Ren, Xiaoming

    2002-01-01

    An air breathing direct methanol fuel cell is provided with a membrane electrode assembly, a conductive anode assembly that is permeable to air and directly open to atmospheric air, and a conductive cathode assembly that is permeable to methanol and directly contacting a liquid methanol source.

  6. Enhanced methanol utilization in direct methanol fuel cell

    DOEpatents

    Ren, Xiaoming; Gottesfeld, Shimshon

    2001-10-02

    The fuel utilization of a direct methanol fuel cell is enhanced for improved cell efficiency. Distribution plates at the anode and cathode of the fuel cell are configured to distribute reactants vertically and laterally uniformly over a catalyzed membrane surface of the fuel cell. A conductive sheet between the anode distribution plate and the anodic membrane surface forms a mass transport barrier to the methanol fuel that is large relative to a mass transport barrier for a gaseous hydrogen fuel cell. In a preferred embodiment, the distribution plate is a perforated corrugated sheet. The mass transport barrier may be conveniently increased by increasing the thickness of an anode conductive sheet adjacent the membrane surface of the fuel cell.

  7. Methanol May Function as a Cross-Kingdom Signal

    PubMed Central

    Dorokhov, Yuri L.; Komarova, Tatiana V.; Petrunia, Igor V.; Kosorukov, Vyacheslav S.; Zinovkin, Roman A.; Shindyapina, Anastasia V.; Frolova, Olga Y.; Gleba, Yuri Y.

    2012-01-01

    Recently, we demonstrated that leaf wounding results in the synthesis of pectin methylesterase (PME), which causes the plant to release methanol into the air. Methanol emitted by a wounded plant increases the accumulation of methanol-inducible gene mRNA and enhances antibacterial resistance as well as cell-to-cell communication, which facilitates virus spreading in neighboring plants. We concluded that methanol is a signaling molecule involved in within-plant and plant-to-plant communication. Methanol is considered to be a poison in humans because of the alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH)-mediated conversion of methanol into toxic formaldehyde. However, recent data showed that methanol is a natural compound in normal, healthy humans. These data call into question whether human methanol is a metabolic waste product or whether methanol has specific function in humans. Here, to reveal human methanol-responsive genes (MRGs), we used suppression subtractive hybridization cDNA libraries of HeLa cells lacking ADH and exposed to methanol. This design allowed us to exclude genes involved in formaldehyde and formic acid detoxification from our analysis. We identified MRGs and revealed a correlation between increases in methanol content in the plasma and changes in human leukocyte MRG mRNA levels after fresh salad consumption by volunteers. Subsequently, we showed that the methanol generated by the pectin/PME complex in the gastrointestinal tract of mice induces the up- and downregulation of brain MRG mRNA. We used an adapted Y-maze to measure the locomotor behavior of the mice while breathing wounded plant vapors in two-choice assays. We showed that mice prefer the odor of methanol to other plant volatiles and that methanol changed MRG mRNA accumulation in the mouse brain. We hypothesize that the methanol emitted by wounded plants may have a role in plant-animal signaling. The known positive effect of plant food intake on human health suggests a role for physiological methanol in

  8. California methanol assessment. Volume 1: Summary report

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Otoole, R.; Dutzi, E.; Gershman, R.; Heft, R.; Kalema, W.; Maynard, D.

    1983-01-01

    The near term methanol industry, the competitive environment, long term methanol market, the transition period, air quality impacts of methanol, roles of the public and private sectors are considered.

  9. Methanol utilizing Desulfotomaculum species utilizes hydrogen in a methanol-fed sulfate-reducing bioreactor.

    PubMed

    Balk, Melike; Weijma, Jan; Goorissen, Heleen P; Ronteltap, Mariska; Hansen, Theo A; Stams, Alfons J M

    2007-01-01

    A sulfate-reducing bacterium, strain WW1, was isolated from a thermophilic bioreactor operated at 65 degrees C with methanol as sole energy source in the presence of sulfate. Growth of strain WW1 on methanol or acetate was inhibited at a sulfide concentration of 200 mg l(-1), while on H2/CO2, no apparent inhibition occurred up to a concentration of 500 mg l(-1). When strain WW1 was co-cultured under the same conditions with the methanol-utilizing, non-sulfate-reducing bacteria, Thermotoga lettingae and Moorella mulderi, both originating from the same bioreactor, growth and sulfide formation were observed up to 430 mg l(-1). These results indicated that in the co-cultures, a major part of the electron flow was directed from methanol via H2/CO2 to the reduction of sulfate to sulfide. Besides methanol, acetate, and hydrogen, strain WW1 was also able to use formate, malate, fumarate, propionate, succinate, butyrate, ethanol, propanol, butanol, isobutanol, with concomitant reduction of sulfate to sulfide. In the absence of sulfate, strain WW1 grew only on pyruvate and lactate. On the basis of 16S rRNA analysis, strain WW1 was most closely related to Desulfotomaculum thermocisternum and Desulfotomaculum australicum. However, physiological properties of strain WW1 differed in some aspects from those of the two related bacteria.

  10. Effects of the Methanolic Extract of Vitellaria paradoxa Stem Bark Against Scopolamine-Induced Cognitive Dysfunction and Oxidative Stress in the Rat Hippocampus.

    PubMed

    Foyet, Harquin Simplice; Asongalem, Acha Emmanuel; Oben, Eyong Kenneth; Cioanca, Oana; Hancianu, Monica; Hritcu, Lucian

    2016-10-01

    Vitellaria paradoxa C.F. Gaertn (Sapotaceae) is a perennial three which naturally grows in the northern part of Cameroon. It has been traditionally used in the Cameroonian folk medicine for treating inflammation and pain. In the present study, we evaluate the possible anti-amnesic and antioxidative effects of the methanolic extract of V. paradoxa stem bark in an Alzheimer's disease (AD) rat model of scopolamine. Rats received a single injection of scopolamine (1.5 mg/kg) before behavioral testing and were treated with the methanolic extract (25 and 50 mg/kg), daily, for eight continuous days. Also, the antioxidant activity in the hippocampus was assessed using the total content of reduced glutathione and malondialdehyde levels. The scopolamine-treated rats exhibited the following: decrease of exploratory time and discrimination index within the novel object recognition test, decrease of spontaneous alternations percentage within Y-maze task, and increase of working memory errors, reference memory errors, and time taken to consume all five baits within radial arm-maze task. Administration of the methanolic extract significantly improved these parameters, suggesting positive effects on memory formation processes and antioxidant potential. Our results suggest that the methanolic extract ameliorates scopolamine-induced memory impairment by attenuation of the oxidative stress in the rat hippocampus.

  11. Methanol Metabolism in Pseudomonad C

    PubMed Central

    Stieglitz, B.; Mateles, R. I.

    1973-01-01

    Cell suspensions of pseudomonad C, a bacterium capable of growth on methanol as sole carbon source, were able to oxidize methanol, formaldehyde, and formate, although the rates of oxidation for the latter two compounds were much slower. The latter compounds also could not serve as sole carbon sources. Through the use of labeled compounds, it was shown that in the presence of methanol, formaldehyde, formate, and bicarbonate were incorporated into trichloroacetic acid-precipitable material. Hexose phosphate synthetase activity was found, indicating the assimilation of methanol via an allulose pathway. No hydroxypyruvate reductase activity was found, nor was any complex membrane structure observed. Such a combination of characteristics has been observed in an obligate methylotroph (Pseudomonas W1), but pseudomonad C can utilize a variety of non-methyl substrates. Images PMID:4349032

  12. Biogeochemical Cycle of Methanol in Anoxic Deep-Sea Sediments

    PubMed Central

    Yanagawa, Katsunori; Tani, Atsushi; Yamamoto, Naoya; Hachikubo, Akihiro; Kano, Akihiro; Matsumoto, Ryo; Suzuki, Yohey

    2016-01-01

    The biological flux and lifetime of methanol in anoxic marine sediments are largely unknown. We herein reported, for the first time, quantitative methanol removal rates in subsurface sediments. Anaerobic incubation experiments with radiotracers showed high rates of microbial methanol consumption. Notably, methanol oxidation to CO2 surpassed methanol assimilation and methanogenesis from CO2/H2 and methanol. Nevertheless, a significant decrease in methanol was not observed after the incubation, and this was attributed to the microbial production of methanol in parallel with its consumption. These results suggest that microbial reactions play an important role in the sources and sinks of methanol in subseafloor sediments. PMID:27301420

  13. Methanol ice co-desorption as a mechanism to explain cold methanol in the gas-phase

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ligterink, N. F. W.; Walsh, C.; Bhuin, R. G.; Vissapragada, S.; van Scheltinga, J. Terwisscha; Linnartz, H.

    2018-05-01

    Context. Methanol is formed via surface reactions on icy dust grains. Methanol is also detected in the gas-phase at temperatures below its thermal desorption temperature and at levels higher than can be explained by pure gas-phase chemistry. The process that controls the transition from solid state to gas-phase methanol in cold environments is not understood. Aims: The goal of this work is to investigate whether thermal CO desorption provides an indirect pathway for methanol to co-desorb at low temperatures. Methods: Mixed CH3OH:CO/CH4 ices were heated under ultra-high vacuum conditions and ice contents are traced using RAIRS (reflection absorption IR spectroscopy), while desorbing species were detected mass spectrometrically. An updated gas-grain chemical network was used to test the impact of the results of these experiments. The physical model used is applicable for TW Hya, a protoplanetary disk in which cold gas-phase methanol has recently been detected. Results: Methanol release together with thermal CO desorption is found to be an ineffective process in the experiments, resulting in an upper limit of ≤ 7.3 × 10-7 CH3OH molecules per CO molecule over all ice mixtures considered. Chemical modelling based on the upper limits shows that co-desorption rates as low as 10-6 CH3OH molecules per CO molecule are high enough to release substantial amounts of methanol to the gas-phase at and around the location of the CO thermal desorption front in a protoplanetary disk. The impact of thermal co-desorption of CH3OH with CO as a grain-gas bridge mechanism is compared with that of UV induced photodesorption and chemisorption.

  14. Pt-Ru/CeO2/carbon nanotube nanocomposites: an efficient electrocatalyst for direct methanol fuel cells.

    PubMed

    Sun, Zhenyu; Wang, Xiang; Liu, Zhimin; Zhang, Hongye; Yu, Ping; Mao, Lanqun

    2010-07-20

    Pt-Ru/CeO(2)/multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWNT) electrocatalysts were prepared using a rapid sonication-facilitated deposition method and were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), and voltammetry. Morphological characterization by TEM revealed that CeO(2) nanoparticles (NPs) were in intimate contact with Pt-Ru NPs, and both were highly dispersed on the exteriors of nanotubes with a small size and a very narrow size distribution. Compared with the Pt-Ru/MWNT and Pt/MWNT electrocatalysts, the as-prepared Pt-Ru/CeO(2)/MWNT exhibited a significantly improved electrochemically active surface area (ECSA) and a remarkably enhanced activity toward methanol oxidation. The effects of the Pt-Ru loading and the Pt-to-Ru molar ratio on the electrocatalytic activity of Pt-Ru/CeO(2)/MWNT for methanol oxidation were investigated. We found that a maximum activity toward methanol oxidation reached at the 10 wt % of Pt-Ru loading and 1:1 of Pt-to-Ru ratio. Moreover, the role of CeO(2) in the catalysts for the enhancement of methanol oxidation was discussed in terms of both bifunctional mechanism and electronic effects.

  15. Methanol

    Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS)

    EPA / 635 / R - 11 / 001Fa www.epa.gov / iris TOXICOLOGICAL REVIEW OF METHANOL ( NONCANCER ) ( CAS No . 67 - 56 - 1 ) In Support of Summary Information on the Integrated Risk Information System ( IRIS ) September 2013 U.S . Environmental Protection Agency Washington , DC ii DISCLAIMER This document

  16. Lignite-to-methanol: an engineering evaluation of Winkler gasification and ICI methanol synthesis route. Final report

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Goyen, S.; Baily, E.; Mawer, J.

    1980-10-01

    The objective of the work reported herein was to develop a preliminary conceptual design, capital requirements, and product cost for a lignite-to-methanol plant incorporating Winkler Gasification Technology and ICI Methanol synthesis. The lignite-to-methanol complex described herein is designed to produce 15,000 TPD of fuel grade methanol. The complex is designed to be self-sufficient with respect to all utility services, offsites, and other support facilities, including power generation. Following is a summary of the results of the study: (1) Tons per day (TPD) of Lignite Feedstock and Fuel (as received) was 47,770; (2) TPD of Fuel Grade Methanol Product was 15,000;more » (3) Thermal efficiency, % (HHV) was 47.4; (4) Plant investment expressed in terms of first quarter of 1980 was ($ Million) 1545; and (5) Applying the economic premises used by EPRI for fuel conversion plant utility type financing, the calculated levelized and first year product costs are included.« less

  17. Towards an Understanding of Atmospheric Methanol

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Millet, D. B.; Jacob, D. J.; de Gouw, J.; Warneke, C.; Holloway, J. S.; Blake, D. R.; Karl, T.; Campos, T.; Singh, H. B.; Diskin, G. S.

    2007-12-01

    Methanol, the most abundant non-methane organic gas in the atmosphere, is an important global source of tropospheric CO and formaldehyde, and plays a significant role in the tropical HOx and ozone budgets. The atmospheric methanol budget is highly uncertain, with estimates of the global source ranging from 75 to 490 Tg/yr. New measurements from recent field experiments (INTEX-B, MILAGRO, TEXAQS-II, INTEX-A, and ICARTT) provide quantitative constraints on methanol sources and sinks. Here we use a 3D model of atmospheric chemistry (GEOS-Chem) to interpret these datasets and their implications for the global methanol budget. We find that emissions from terrestrial plants (thought to be the main source) are overestimated by 40-50%; the discrepancy appears specific to certain plant functional types (broadleaf trees and crops). Recent measurements in the surface ocean imply a large in situ biotic source, so that methanol emissions from the ocean biosphere are comparable in magnitude to those from terrestrial ecosystems. The oceans are also a large gross sink for atmospheric methanol (similar to oxidation by OH). Even with the plant growth source decreased by 40-50% according to these new constraints, we find that methanol emissions from the terrestrial biosphere still dominate over those from urban and industrial sources, in contrast to other recent studies.

  18. Rapid starting methanol reactor system

    DOEpatents

    Chludzinski, Paul J.; Dantowitz, Philip; McElroy, James F.

    1984-01-01

    The invention relates to a methanol-to-hydrogen cracking reactor for use with a fuel cell vehicular power plant. The system is particularly designed for rapid start-up of the catalytic methanol cracking reactor after an extended shut-down period, i.e., after the vehicular fuel cell power plant has been inoperative overnight. Rapid system start-up is accomplished by a combination of direct and indirect heating of the cracking catalyst. Initially, liquid methanol is burned with a stoichiometric or slightly lean air mixture in the combustion chamber of the reactor assembly. The hot combustion gas travels down a flue gas chamber in heat exchange relationship with the catalytic cracking chamber transferring heat across the catalyst chamber wall to heat the catalyst indirectly. The combustion gas is then diverted back through the catalyst bed to heat the catalyst pellets directly. When the cracking reactor temperature reaches operating temperature, methanol combustion is stopped and a hot gas valve is switched to route the flue gas overboard, with methanol being fed directly to the catalytic cracking reactor. Thereafter, the burner operates on excess hydrogen from the fuel cells.

  19. Microbial methanol uptake in northeast Atlantic waters

    PubMed Central

    Dixon, Joanna L; Beale, Rachael; Nightingale, Philip D

    2011-01-01

    Methanol is the predominant oxygenated volatile organic compound in the troposphere, where it can significantly influence the oxidising capacity of the atmosphere. However, we do not understand which processes control oceanic concentrations, and hence, whether the oceans are a source or a sink to the atmosphere. We report the first methanol loss rates in seawater by demonstrating that 14C-labelled methanol can be used to determine microbial uptake into particulate biomass, and oxidation to 14CO2. We have found that methanol is used predominantly as a microbial energy source, but also demonstrated its use as a carbon source. We report biological methanol oxidation rates between 2.1 and 8.4 nmol l−1 day−1 in surface seawater of the northeast Atlantic. Kinetic experiments predict a Vmax of up to 29 nmol l−1 day−1, with a high affinity Km constant of 9.3 n in more productive coastal waters. We report surface concentrations of methanol in the western English channel of 97±8 n (n=4) between May and June 2010, and for the wider temperate North Atlantic waters of 70±13 n (n=6). The biological turnover time of methanol has been estimated between 7 and 33 days, although kinetic experiments suggest a 7-day turnover in more productive shelf waters. Methanol uptake rates into microbial particles significantly correlated with bacterial and phytoplankton parameters, suggesting that it could be used as a carbon source by some bacteria and possibly some mixotrophic eukaryotes. Our results provide the first methanol loss rates from seawater, which will improve the understanding of the global methanol budget. PMID:21068775

  20. Ultrasonically treated multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) as PtRu catalyst supports for methanol electrooxidation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yang, Chunwei; Hu, Xinguo; Wang, Dianlong; Dai, Changsong; Zhang, Liang; Jin, Haibo; Agathopoulos, Simeon

    In the quest of fabricating supported catalysts, experimental results of transmission electron microscopy, Raman and infrared spectroscopy indicate that ultrasonic treatment effectively functionalizes multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), endowing them with groups that can act as nucleation sites which can favor well-dispersed depositions of PtRu clusters on their surface. Ultrasonic treatment seems to be superior than functionalization via regular refluxing. This is confirmed by the determination of the electrochemistry active surface area (ECA) and the CO-tolerance performance of the PtRu catalysts, measured by adsorbed CO-stripping voltammetry in 0.5 M sulfuric acid solution, and the real surface area of the PtRu catalysts, evaluated by Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) measurements. Finally, the effectiveness for methanol oxidation is assessed by cyclic voltammetry (CV) in a sulfuric acid and methanol electrolyte.

  1. Waste-to-methanol: Process and economics assessment.

    PubMed

    Iaquaniello, Gaetano; Centi, Gabriele; Salladini, Annarita; Palo, Emma; Perathoner, Siglinda; Spadaccini, Luca

    2017-11-01

    The waste-to-methanol (WtM) process and related economics are assessed to evidence that WtM is a valuable solution both from economic, strategic and environmental perspectives. Bio-methanol from Refuse-derived-fuels (RdF) has an estimated cost of production of about 110€/t for a new WtM 300t/d plant. With respect to waste-to-energy (WtE) approach, this solution allows various advantages. In considering the average market cost of methanol and the premium as biofuel, the WtM approach results in a ROI (Return of Investment) of about 29%, e.g. a payback time of about 4years. In a hybrid scheme of integration with an existing methanol plant from natural gas, the cost of production becomes a profit even without considering the cap for bio-methanol production. The WtM process allows to produce methanol with about 40% and 30-35% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions with respect to methanol production from fossil fuels and bio-resources, respectively. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Heterogeneous Chemistry Involving Methanol in Tropospheric Clouds

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Tabazadeh, A.; Yokelson, R. J.; Singh, H. B.; Hobbs, P. V.; Crawford, J. H.; Iraci, L. T.

    2004-01-01

    In this report we analyze airborne measurements to suggest that methanol in biomass burning smoke is lost heterogeneously in clouds. When a smoke plume intersected a cumulus cloud during the SAFARI 2000 field project, the observed methanol gas phase concentration rapidly declined. Current understanding of gas and aqueous phase chemistry cannot explain the loss of methanol documented by these measurements. Two plausible heterogeneous reactions are proposed to explain the observed simultaneous loss and production of methanol and formaldehyde, respectively. If the rapid heterogeneous processing of methanol, seen in a cloud impacted by smoke, occurs in more pristine clouds, it could affect the oxidizing capacity of the troposphere on a global scale.

  3. Methanol poisoning among travellers to Indonesia.

    PubMed

    Giovanetti, Franco

    2013-01-01

    Common Travel Medicine sources generally do not provide information on the risk of methanol poisoning among travellers who visit Indonesia. The aim of this analysis was to increase knowledge on this topic through reports from bibliographic databases and Internet sources. Case reports and studies on methanol poisoning in Indonesia were retrieved through PubMed, Embase and Google Scholar database searching. The Google search was used to retrieve the Web Media articles reporting fatal and non-fatal methanol poisoning in Indonesia, in a timeframe from 01.01.2009 to 03.03.2013. Three case reports of methanol poisoning involving four travellers to Indonesia were found in bibliographic databases. The media sources searching identified 14 articles published online, reporting 22 cases of methanol poisoning among travellers after consumption of local alcohol beverages. The total number of death cases was 18. Some sources report also a large number of cases among the local population. Methanol poisoning is likely to be an emerging public health problem in Indonesia, with an associated morbidity and mortality among travellers and local people. Some strategies can be implemented to prevent or reduce harm among travellers. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Air breathing direct methanol fuel cell

    DOEpatents

    Ren, Xiaoming; Gottesfeld, Shimshon

    2002-01-01

    An air breathing direct methanol fuel cell is provided with a membrane electrode assembly, a conductive anode assembly that is permeable to air and directly open to atmospheric air, and a conductive cathode assembly that is permeable to methanol and directly contacting a liquid methanol source. Water loss from the cell is minimized by making the conductive cathode assembly hydrophobic and the conductive anode assembly hydrophilic.

  5. Methane Oxidation to Methanol Catalyzed by Cu-Oxo Clusters Stabilized in NU-1000 Metal-Organic Framework.

    PubMed

    Ikuno, Takaaki; Zheng, Jian; Vjunov, Aleksei; Sanchez-Sanchez, Maricruz; Ortuño, Manuel A; Pahls, Dale R; Fulton, John L; Camaioni, Donald M; Li, Zhanyong; Ray, Debmalya; Mehdi, B Layla; Browning, Nigel D; Farha, Omar K; Hupp, Joseph T; Cramer, Christopher J; Gagliardi, Laura; Lercher, Johannes A

    2017-08-02

    Copper oxide clusters synthesized via atomic layer deposition on the nodes of the metal-organic framework (MOF) NU-1000 are active for oxidation of methane to methanol under mild reaction conditions. Analysis of chemical reactivity, in situ X-ray absorption spectroscopy, and density functional theory calculations are used to determine structure/activity relations in the Cu-NU-1000 catalytic system. The Cu-loaded MOF contained Cu-oxo clusters of a few Cu atoms. The Cu was present under ambient conditions as a mixture of ∼15% Cu + and ∼85% Cu 2+ . The oxidation of methane on Cu-NU-1000 was accompanied by the reduction of 9% of the Cu in the catalyst from Cu 2+ to Cu + . The products, methanol, dimethyl ether, and CO 2 , were desorbed with the passage of 10% water/He at 135 °C, giving a carbon selectivity for methane to methanol of 45-60%. Cu oxo clusters stabilized in NU-1000 provide an active, first generation MOF-based, selective methane oxidation catalyst.

  6. The conversion of CO 2 to methanol on orthorhombic β-Mo 2C and Cu/β-Mo 2C catalysts: Mechanism for admetal induced change in the selectivity and activity

    DOE PAGES

    Posada-Pérez, Sergio; Ramírez, Pedro J.; Gutiérrez, Ramón A.; ...

    2016-02-01

    Here, the conversion of CO 2 into methanol catalyzed by β-Mo 2C and Cu/β-Mo 2C surfaces has been investigated by means of a combined experimental and theoretical study. Experiments have shown the direct activation and dissociation of the CO 2 molecule on bare β-Mo 2C, whereas on Cu/β-Mo 2C, CO 2 must be assisted by hydrogen for its conversion. Methane and CO are the main products on the clean surface and methanol production is lower. However, the deposition of Cu clusters avoids methane formation and increases methanol production even above that corresponding to a model of the technical catalyst. DFTmore » calculations on surface models of both possible C- and Mo-terminations corroborate the experimental observations. Calculations for the clean Mo-terminated surface reveal the existence of two possible routes for methane production (C + 4H → CH 4; CH 3O + 3H → CH 4 + H 2O) which are competitive with methanol synthesis, displaying slightly lower energy barriers. On the other hand, a model for Cu deposited clusters on the Mo-terminated surface points towards a new route for methanol and CO production avoiding methane formation. The new route is a direct consequence of the generation of a Mo 2C–Cu interface. The present experimental and theoretical results entail the interesting catalytic properties of Mo 2C as an active support of metallic nanoparticles, and also illustrate how the deposition of a metal can drastically change the activity and selectivity of a carbide substrate for CO 2 hydrogenation.« less

  7. Methods of conditioning direct methanol fuel cells

    DOEpatents

    Rice, Cynthia; Ren, Xiaoming; Gottesfeld, Shimshon

    2005-11-08

    Methods for conditioning the membrane electrode assembly of a direct methanol fuel cell ("DMFC") are disclosed. In a first method, an electrical current of polarity opposite to that used in a functioning direct methanol fuel cell is passed through the anode surface of the membrane electrode assembly. In a second method, methanol is supplied to an anode surface of the membrane electrode assembly, allowed to cross over the polymer electrolyte membrane of the membrane electrode assembly to a cathode surface of the membrane electrode assembly, and an electrical current of polarity opposite to that in a functioning direct methanol fuel cell is drawn through the membrane electrode assembly, wherein methanol is oxidized at the cathode surface of the membrane electrode assembly while the catalyst on the anode surface is reduced. Surface oxides on the direct methanol fuel cell anode catalyst of the membrane electrode assembly are thereby reduced.

  8. Method of plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition of diamond using methanol-based solutions

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Tzeng, Yonhua (Inventor)

    2009-01-01

    Briefly described, methods of forming diamond are described. A representative method, among others, includes: providing a substrate in a reaction chamber in a non-magnetic-field microwave plasma system; introducing, in the absence of a gas stream, a liquid precursor substantially free of water and containing methanol and at least one carbon and oxygen containing compound having a carbon to oxygen ratio greater than one, into an inlet of the reaction chamber; vaporizing the liquid precursor; and subjecting the vaporized precursor, in the absence of a carrier gas and in the absence in a reactive gas, to a plasma under conditions effective to disassociate the vaporized precursor and promote diamond growth on the substrate in a pressure range from about 70 to 130 Torr.

  9. Copper cluster size effect in methanol synthesis from CO 2

    DOE PAGES

    Yang, Bing; Liu, Cong; Halder, Avik; ...

    2017-05-08

    Here, size-selected Cu n catalysts ( n = 3, 4, 20) were synthesized on Al 2O 3 thin films using mass-selected cluster deposition. A systematic study of size and support effects was carried out for CO 2 hydrogenation at atmospheric pressure using a combination of in situ grazing incidence X-ray absorption spectroscopy, catalytic activity measurement, and first-principles calculations. The catalytic activity for methanol synthesis is found to strongly vary as a function of the cluster size; the Cu 4/Al 2O 3 catalyst shows the highest turnover rate for CH 3OH production. With only one atom less than Cu 4, Cumore » 3 showed less than 50% activity. Density functional theory calculations predict that the activities of the gas-phase Cu clusters increase as the cluster size decreases; however, the stronger charge transfer interaction with Al 2O 3 support for Cu 3 than for Cu 4 leads to remarkably reduced binding strength between the adsorbed intermediates and supported Cu 3, which subsequently results in a less favorable energetic pathway to transform carbon dioxide to methanol.« less

  10. Microwave Spectrum of the Ethanol-Methanol Dimer

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Finneran, Ian A.; Carroll, Brandon; Mead, Griffin; Blake, Geoffrey

    2016-06-01

    The hydrogen bond donor/acceptor competition in mixed alcohol clusters remains a fundamental question in physical chemistry. Previous theoretical work on the prototype ethanol-methanol dimer has been inconclusive in predicting the energetically preferred structure. Here, we report the microwave spectrum of the ethanol-methanol dimer between 8-18 GHz, using a chirped pulse Fourier transform microwave spectrometer. With the aid of ab initio calculations, 36 transitions have been fit and assigned to a t-ethanol-acceptor, methanol-donor structure in an argon-backed expansion. In a helium-backed expansion, a second excited conformer has been observed, and tentatively assigned to a g-ethanol-acceptor, methanol-donor structure. No ethanol-donor, methanol-acceptor structures have been found, suggesting such structures are energetically disfavored.

  11. Metabolic Engineering of Corynebacterium glutamicum for Methanol Metabolism

    PubMed Central

    Witthoff, Sabrina; Schmitz, Katja; Niedenführ, Sebastian; Nöh, Katharina; Noack, Stephan

    2015-01-01

    Methanol is already an important carbon feedstock in the chemical industry, but it has found only limited application in biotechnological production processes. This can be mostly attributed to the inability of most microbial platform organisms to utilize methanol as a carbon and energy source. With the aim to turn methanol into a suitable feedstock for microbial production processes, we engineered the industrially important but nonmethylotrophic bacterium Corynebacterium glutamicum toward the utilization of methanol as an auxiliary carbon source in a sugar-based medium. Initial oxidation of methanol to formaldehyde was achieved by heterologous expression of a methanol dehydrogenase from Bacillus methanolicus, whereas assimilation of formaldehyde was realized by implementing the two key enzymes of the ribulose monophosphate pathway of Bacillus subtilis: 3-hexulose-6-phosphate synthase and 6-phospho-3-hexuloisomerase. The recombinant C. glutamicum strain showed an average methanol consumption rate of 1.7 ± 0.3 mM/h (mean ± standard deviation) in a glucose-methanol medium, and the culture grew to a higher cell density than in medium without methanol. In addition, [13C]methanol-labeling experiments revealed labeling fractions of 3 to 10% in the m + 1 mass isotopomers of various intracellular metabolites. In the background of a C. glutamicum Δald ΔadhE mutant being strongly impaired in its ability to oxidize formaldehyde to CO2, the m + 1 labeling of these intermediates was increased (8 to 25%), pointing toward higher formaldehyde assimilation capabilities of this strain. The engineered C. glutamicum strains represent a promising starting point for the development of sugar-based biotechnological production processes using methanol as an auxiliary substrate. PMID:25595770

  12. Methanol test

    MedlinePlus

    ... Safety and Health. Emergency Response Safety and Health Database. Methanol: systemic agent. Updated May 28, 2015. www. ... ADAM Health Solutions. About MedlinePlus Site Map FAQs Customer Support Get email updates Subscribe to RSS Follow ...

  13. Methanol production from Eucalyptus wood chips. Working Document 9. Economics of producing methanol from Eucalyptus in Central Florida

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Fishkind, H.H.

    1982-06-01

    A detailed feasibility study of producing methanol from Eucalyptus in Central Florida encompasses all phases of production - from seedling to delivery of finished methanol. The project includes the following components: (1) production of 55 million, high quality, Eucalyptus seedlings through tissue culture; (2) establishment of a Eucalyptus energy plantation on approximately 70,000 acres; and (3) engineering for a 100 million gallon-per-year methanol production facility. In addition, the potential environmental impacts of the whole project were examined, safety and health aspects of producing and using methanol were analyzed, and site specific cost estimates were made. The economics of the projectmore » are presented here. Each of the three major components of the project - tissue culture lab, energy plantation, and methanol refinery - are examined individually. In each case a site specific analysis of the potential return on investment was conducted.« less

  14. Compact Fuel-Cell System Would Consume Neat Methanol

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Narayanan, Sekharipuram; Kindler, Andrew; Valdez, Thomas

    2007-01-01

    In a proposed direct methanol fuel-cell electric-power-generating system, the fuel cells would consume neat methanol, in contradistinction to the dilute aqueous methanol solutions consumed in prior direct methanol fuel-cell systems. The design concept of the proposed fuel-cell system takes advantage of (1) electro-osmotic drag and diffusion processes to manage the flows of hydrogen and water between the anode and the cathode and (2) evaporative cooling for regulating temperature. The design concept provides for supplying enough water to the anodes to enable the use of neat methanol while ensuring conservation of water for the whole fuel-cell system.

  15. Rapid detection of methanol in artisanal alcoholic beverages

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    de Goes, R. E.; Muller, M.; Fabris, J. L.

    2015-09-01

    In the industry of artisanal beverages, uncontrolled production processes may result in contaminated products with methanol, leading to risks for consumers. Owing to the similar odor of methanol and ethanol, as well as their common transparency, the distinction between them is a difficult task. Contamination may also occur deliberately due to the lower price of methanol when compared to ethanol. This paper describes a spectroscopic method for methanol detection in beverages based on Raman scattering and Principal Component Analysis. Associated with a refractometric assessment of the alcohol content, the method may be applied in field for a rapid detection of methanol presence.

  16. Supercritical methanol for polyethylene terephthalate depolymerization: Observation using simulator

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Genta, Minoru; Iwaya, Tomoko; Sasaki, Mitsuru

    2007-07-01

    To apply PET depolymerization in supercritical methanol to commercial recycling, the benefits of supercritical methanol usage in PET depolymerization was investigated from the viewpoint of the reaction rate and energy demands. PET was depolymerized in a batch reactor at 573 K in supercritical methanol under 14.7 MPa and in vapor methanol under 0.98 MPa in our previous work. The main products of both reactions were the PET monomers of dimethyl terephthalate (DMT) and ethylene glycol (EG). The rate of PET depolymerization in supercritical methanol was faster than that of PET depolymerization in vapor methanol. This indicates supercritical fluid is beneficialmore » in reducing reaction time without the use of a catalyst. We depicted the simple process flow of PET depolymerization in supercritical methanol and in vapor methanol, and by simulation evaluated the total heat demand of each process. In this simulation, bis-hydroxyethyl terephthalate (BHET) was used as a model component of PET. The total heat demand of PET depolymerization in supercritical methanol was 2.35 x 10{sup 6} kJ/kmol Produced-DMT. That of PET depolymerization in vapor methanol was 2.84 x 10{sup 6} kJ/kmol Produced-DMT. The smaller total heat demand of PET depolymerization in supercritical methanol clearly reveals the advantage of using supercritical fluid in terms of energy savings.« less

  17. Methanol production from Eucalyptus wood chips. Final report

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Fishkind, H.H.

    This feasibility study includes all phases of methanol production from seedling to delivery of finished methanol. The study examines: production of 55 million, high quality, Eucalyptus seedlings through tissue culture; establishment of a Eucalyptus energy plantation on approximately 70,000 acres; engineering for a 100 million gallon-per-day methanol production facility; potential environmental impacts of the whole project; safety and health aspects of producing and using methanol; and development of site specific cost estimates.

  18. Characterization of Polyethylene-Graft-Sulfonated Polyarylsulfone Proton Exchange Membranes for Direct Methanol Fuel Cell Applications.

    PubMed

    Kim, Hyung Kyu; Zhang, Gang; Nam, Changwoo; Chung, T C Mike

    2015-12-04

    This paper examines polymer film morphology and several important properties of polyethylene-graft-sulfonated polyarylene ether sulfone (PE-g-s-PAES) proton exchange membranes (PEMs) for direct methanol fuel cell applications. Due to the extreme surface energy differences between a semi-crystalline and hydrophobic PE backbone and several amorphous and hydrophilic s-PAES side chains, the PE-g-s-PAES membrane self-assembles into a unique morphology, with many proton conductive s-PAES channels embedded in the stable and tough PE matrix and a thin hydrophobic PE layer spontaneously formed on the membrane surfaces. In the bulk, these membranes show good mechanical properties (tensile strength >30 MPa, Young's modulus >1400 MPa) and low water swelling (λ < 15) even with high IEC >3 mmol/g in the s-PAES domains. On the surface, the thin hydrophobic and semi-crystalline PE layer shows some unusual barrier (protective) properties. In addition to exhibiting higher through-plane conductivity (up to 160 mS/cm) than in-plane conductivity, the PE surface layer minimizes methanol cross-over from anode to cathode with reduced fuel loss, and stops the HO• and HO₂• radicals, originally formed at the anode, entering into PEM matrix. Evidently, the thin PE surface layer provides a highly desirable protecting layer for PEMs to reduce fuel loss and increase chemical stability. Overall, the newly developed PE-g-s-PAES membranes offer a desirable set of PEM properties, including conductivity, selectivity, mechanical strength, stability, and cost-effectiveness for direct methanol fuel cell applications.

  19. Characterization of Polyethylene-Graft-Sulfonated Polyarylsulfone Proton Exchange Membranes for Direct Methanol Fuel Cell Applications

    PubMed Central

    Kim, Hyung Kyu; Zhang, Gang; Nam, Changwoo; Chung, T.C. Mike

    2015-01-01

    This paper examines polymer film morphology and several important properties of polyethylene-graft-sulfonated polyarylene ether sulfone (PE-g-s-PAES) proton exchange membranes (PEMs) for direct methanol fuel cell applications. Due to the extreme surface energy differences between a semi-crystalline and hydrophobic PE backbone and several amorphous and hydrophilic s-PAES side chains, the PE-g-s-PAES membrane self-assembles into a unique morphology, with many proton conductive s-PAES channels embedded in the stable and tough PE matrix and a thin hydrophobic PE layer spontaneously formed on the membrane surfaces. In the bulk, these membranes show good mechanical properties (tensile strength >30 MPa, Young’s modulus >1400 MPa) and low water swelling (λ < 15) even with high IEC >3 mmol/g in the s-PAES domains. On the surface, the thin hydrophobic and semi-crystalline PE layer shows some unusual barrier (protective) properties. In addition to exhibiting higher through-plane conductivity (up to 160 mS/cm) than in-plane conductivity, the PE surface layer minimizes methanol cross-over from anode to cathode with reduced fuel loss, and stops the HO• and HO2• radicals, originally formed at the anode, entering into PEM matrix. Evidently, the thin PE surface layer provides a highly desirable protecting layer for PEMs to reduce fuel loss and increase chemical stability. Overall, the newly developed PE-g-s-PAES membranes offer a desirable set of PEM properties, including conductivity, selectivity, mechanical strength, stability, and cost-effectiveness for direct methanol fuel cell applications. PMID:26690232

  20. Coal-to-methanol: an engineering evaluation of Texaco gasification and ICI methanol-synthesis route. Final report

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Buckingham, P.A.; Cobb, D.D.; Leavitt, A.A.

    1981-08-01

    This report presents the results of a technical and economic evaluation of producing methanol from bituminous coal using Texaco coal gasification and ICI methanol synthesis. The scope of work included the development of an overall configuration for a large plant comprising coal preparation, air separation, coal gasification, shift conversion, COS hydrolysis, acid gas removal, methanol synthesis, methanol refining, and all required utility systems and off-site facilities. Design data were received from both Texaco and ICI while a design and cost estimate were received from Lotepro covering the Rectisol acid gas removal unit. The plant processes 14,448 tons per day (drymore » basis) of Illinois No. 6 bituminous coal and produces 10,927 tons per day of fuel-grade methanol. An overall thermal efficiency of 57.86 percent was calculated on an HHV basis and 52.64 percent based on LHV. Total plant investment at an Illinois plant site was estimated to be $1159 million dollars in terms of 1979 investment. Using EPRI's economic premises, the first-year product costs were calculated to $4.74 per million Btu (HHV) which is equivalent to $30.3 cents per gallon and $5.37 per million Btu (LHV).« less

  1. Neurological Complications Resulting from Non-Oral Occupational Methanol Poisoning.

    PubMed

    Choi, Ji Hyun; Lee, Seung Keun; Gil, Young Eun; Ryu, Jia; Jung-Choi, Kyunghee; Kim, Hyunjoo; Choi, Jun Young; Park, Sun Ah; Lee, Hyang Woon; Yun, Ji Young

    2017-02-01

    Methanol poisoning results in neurological complications including visual disturbances, bilateral putaminal hemorrhagic necrosis, parkinsonism, cerebral edema, coma, or seizures. Almost all reported cases of methanol poisoning are caused by oral ingestion of methanol. However, recently there was an outbreak of methanol poisoning via non-oral exposure that resulted in severe neurological complications to a few workers at industrial sites in Korea. We present 3 patients who had severe neurological complications resulting from non-oral occupational methanol poisoning. Even though initial metabolic acidosis and mental changes were improved with hemodialysis, all of the 3 patients presented optic atrophy and ataxia or parkinsonism as neurological complications resulting from methanol poisoning. In order to manage it adequately, as well as to prevent it, physicians should recognize that methanol poisoning by non-oral exposure can cause neurologic complications.

  2. Urine methanol concentration and alcohol hangover severity.

    PubMed

    Mackus, M; Van de Loo, A J A E; Korte-Bouws, G A H; Van Neer, R H P; Wang, X; Nguyen, T T; Brookhuis, K A; Garssen, J; Verster, J C

    2017-03-01

    Congeners are substances, other than ethanol, that are produced during fermentation. Previous research found that the consumption of congener-rich drinks contributes to the severity of alcohol hangover. Methanol is such a congener that has been related to alcohol hangover. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine the relationship between urine methanol concentration and alcohol hangover severity. N = 36 healthy social drinkers (22 females, 14 males), aged 18-30 years old, participated in a naturalistic study, comprising a hangover day and a control day (no alcohol consumed the previous day). N = 18 of them had regular hangovers (the hangover group), while the other N = 18 claimed to be hangover-immune (hangover-immune group). Overall hangover severity was assessed, and that of 23 individual hangover symptoms. Urine methanol concentrations on the hangover and control days were compared, and correlated to hangover (symptom) severity. Urine methanol concentration was significantly higher on hangover days compared to control days (p = 0.0001). No significant differences in urine methanol concentration were found between the hangover group and hangover-immune group. However, urine methanol concentration did not significantly correlate with overall hangover severity (r = -0.011, p = 0.948), nor with any of the individual hangover symptoms. These findings were observed also when analyzing the data separately for the hangover-immune group. In the hangover group, a significant correlation with urine methanol concentration was found only with vomiting (r = 0.489, p = 0.037). No significant correlation was observed between urine methanol concentration and hangover severity, nor with individual core hangover symptoms. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. Diamond nanoparticles as a support for Pt and PtRu catalysts for direct methanol fuel cells.

    PubMed

    La-Torre-Riveros, Lyda; Guzman-Blas, Rolando; Méndez-Torres, Adrián E; Prelas, Mark; Tryk, Donald A; Cabrera, Carlos R

    2012-02-01

    Diamond in nanoparticle form is a promising material that can be used as a robust and chemically stable catalyst support in fuel cells. It has been studied and characterized physically and electrochemically, in its thin film and powder forms, as reported in the literature. In the present work, the electrochemical properties of undoped and boron-doped diamond nanoparticle electrodes, fabricated using the ink-paste method, were investigated. Methanol oxidation experiments were carried out in both half-cell and full fuel cell modes. Platinum and ruthenium nanoparticles were chemically deposited on undoped and boron doped diamond nanoparticles through the use of NaBH(4) as reducing agent and sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate (SDBS) as a surfactant. Before and after the reduction process, samples were characterized by electron microscopy and spectroscopic techniques. The ink-paste method was also used to prepare the membrane electrode assembly with Pt and Pt-Ru modified undoped and boron-doped diamond nanoparticle catalytic systems, to perform the electrochemical experiments in a direct methanol fuel cell system. The results obtained demonstrate that diamond supported catalyst nanomaterials are promising for methanol fuel cells.

  4. Homogeneous catalyst formulations for methanol production

    DOEpatents

    Mahajan, Devinder; Sapienza, Richard S.; Slegeir, William A.; O'Hare, Thomas E.

    1991-02-12

    There is disclosed synthesis of CH.sub.3 OH from carbon monoxide and hydrogen using an extremely active homogeneous catalyst for methanol synthesis directly from synthesis gas. The catalyst operates preferably between 100.degree.-150.degree. C. and preferably at 100-150 psia synthesis gas to produce methanol. Use can be made of syngas mixtures which contain considerable quantities of other gases, such as nitrogen, methane or excess hydrogen. The catalyst is composed of two components: (a) a transition metal carbonyl complex and (b) an alkoxide component. In the simplest formulation, component (a) is a complex of nickel tetracarbonyl and component (b) is methoxide (CH.sub.3 O.sup.-), both being dissolved in a methanol solvent system. The presence of a co-solvent such as p-dioxane, THF, polyalcohols, ethers, hydrocarbons, and crown ethers accelerates the methanol synthesis reaction.

  5. Homogeneous catalyst formulations for methanol production

    DOEpatents

    Mahajan, Devinder; Sapienza, Richard S.; Slegeir, William A.; O'Hare, Thomas E.

    1990-01-01

    There is disclosed synthesis of CH.sub.3 OH from carbon monoxide and hydrogen using an extremely active homogeneous catalyst for methanol synthesis directly from synthesis gas. The catalyst operates preferably between 100.degree.-150.degree. C. and preferably at 100-150 psia synthesis gas to produce methanol. Use can be made of syngas mixtures which contain considerable quantities of other gases, such as nitrogen, methane or excess hydrogen. The catalyst is composed of two components: (a) a transition metal carbonyl complex and (b) an alkoxide component. In the simplest formulation, component (a) is a complex of nickel tetracarbonyl and component (b) is methoxide (CH.sub.3 O.sup.13 ), both being dissolved in a methanol solvent system. The presence of a co-solvent such as p-dioxane, THF, polyalcohols, ethers, hydrocarbons, and crown ethers accelerates the methanol synthesis reaction.

  6. New Pseudomonad Utilizing Methanol for Growth

    PubMed Central

    Chalfan, Y.; Mateles, R. I.

    1972-01-01

    A bacterium capable of rapid growth on methanol as sole carbon source was isolated and classified as a new pseudomonad. Its doubling time was about 100 min at 32 to 37 C, and it grew well at methanol concentrations up to 2%. The organism was sensitive to phosphate, but reasonable cell densities could be obtained by using pH control. Cell yields of about 31%, based on methanol consumed, were obtained. The amino acid pattern of the protein indicated that the bacterium holds promise as a source of single-cell protein. Images PMID:4110421

  7. Air Breathing Direct Methanol Fuel Cell

    DOEpatents

    Ren; Xiaoming

    2003-07-22

    A method for activating a membrane electrode assembly for a direct methanol fuel cell is disclosed. The method comprises operating the fuel cell with humidified hydrogen as the fuel followed by running the fuel cell with methanol as the fuel.

  8. ZnS/Zn(O,OH)S-based buffer layer deposition for solar cells

    DOEpatents

    Bhattacharya, Raghu N [Littleton, CO

    2009-11-03

    The invention provides CBD ZnS/Zn(O,OH)S and spray deposited ZnS/Zn(O,OH)S buffer layers prepared from a solution of zinc salt, thiourea and ammonium hydroxide dissolved in a non-aqueous/aqueous solvent mixture or in 100% non-aqueous solvent. Non-aqueous solvents useful in the invention include methanol, isopropanol and triethyl-amine. One-step deposition procedures are described for CIS, CIGS and other solar cell devices.

  9. Protective effect of Urtica dioica methanol extract against experimentally induced urinary calculi in rats.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Haiying; Li, Ning; Li, Kun; Li, Peng

    2014-12-01

    Renal calculi formation is one of the most common urological disorders. Urinary stone disease is a common disease, which affects 10‑12% of the population in industrialized countries. In males, the highest prevalence of the disease occurs between the age of 20 and 40 years, while in females, the highest incidence of the disease occurs later. Previous studies have shown that long‑term exposure to oxalate is toxic to renal epithelial cells and results in oxidative stress. In the present study, a methanolic extract of aerial parts of Urtica dioica was screened for antiurolithiatic activity against ethylene glycol and ammonium chloride‑induced calcium oxalate renal stones in male rats. In the control rats, ethylene glycol and ammonium chloride administration was observed to cause an increase in urinary calcium, oxalate and creatinine levels, as well as an increase in renal calcium and oxalate deposition. Histopathological observations revealed calcium oxalate microcrystal deposits in the kidney sections of the rats treated with ethylene glycol and ammonium chloride, indicating the induction of lithiasis. In the test rats, treatment with the methanolic extract of Urtica dioica was found to decrease the elevated levels of urinary calcium, oxalate and creatinine, and significantly decrease the renal deposition of calcium and oxalate. Furthermore, renal histological observations revealed a significant reduction in calcium oxalate crystal deposition in the test rats. Phytochemical analysis of the Urtica dioica extract was also performed using liquid chromatography‑electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry and high-performance liquid chromatography with photodiode array detection, to determine the chemical composition of the extract. The eight chemical constituents identified in the extract were protocatechuic acid, salicylic acid, luteolin, gossypetin, rutin, kaempferol‑3‑O‑rutinoside, kaempferol‑3‑O‑glucoside and chlorogenic acid. In conclusion

  10. SOLUBILITIES OF CARBON DIOXIDE IN METHANOL AND METHANOL-WATER AT HIGH PRESSURES: EXPERIMENTAL DATA AND MODELING

    EPA Science Inventory

    The solubilities of carbon dioxide in methanol and in methanol-water mixtures have been measured at 243, 258, 273, and 298 K, and at pressures up to 54 atm. An extended Soave-Redlich-Kwong equation of state with Mathias' polar correction factor has been used to describe the equil...

  11. Spontaneous Achilles tendon rupture in alkaptonuria

    PubMed Central

    Alajoulin, Omar A.; Alsbou, Mohammed S.; Ja’afreh, Somayya O.; Kalbouneh, Heba M.

    2015-01-01

    Alkaptonuria (AKU) is a rare inborn metabolic disease characterized by accumulation of homogentisic acid (HGA). Excretion of HGA in urine causes darkening of urine and its deposition in connective tissues causes dark pigmentation (ochronosis), early degeneration of articular cartilage, weakening of the tendons, and subsequent rupture. In this case report, we present a rare case of a patient presented with unilateral spontaneous rupture of Achilles tendon due to AKU. The patient developed most of the orthopedic manifestations of the disease earlier than typical presentations. Alkaptonuria patients should avoid strenuous exercises and foot straining especially in patients developing early orthopedic manifestations. PMID:26620992

  12. Spontaneous Achilles tendon rupture in alkaptonuria.

    PubMed

    Alajoulin, Omar A; Alsbou, Mohammed S; Ja'afreh, Somayya O; Kalbouneh, Heba M

    2015-12-01

    Alkaptonuria (AKU) is a rare inborn metabolic disease characterized by accumulation of homogentisic acid (HGA). Excretion of HGA in urine causes darkening of urine and its deposition in connective tissues causes dark pigmentation (ochronosis), early degeneration of articular cartilage, weakening of the tendons, and subsequent rupture. In this case report, we present a rare case of a patient presented with unilateral spontaneous rupture of Achilles tendon due to AKU. The patient developed most of the orthopedic manifestations of the disease earlier than typical presentations. Alkaptonuria patients should avoid strenuous exercises and foot straining especially in patients developing early orthopedic manifestations.

  13. Stabilization of Hydrogen Production via Methanol Steam Reforming in Microreactor by Al2O3 Nano-Film Enhanced Catalyst Adhesion.

    PubMed

    Jeong, Heondo; Na, Jeong-Geol; Jang, Min Su; Ko, Chang Hyun

    2016-05-01

    In hydrogen production by methanol steam reforming reaction with microchannel reactor, Al2O3 thin film formed by atomic layer deposition (ALD) was introduced on the surface of microchannel reactor prior to the coating of catalyst particles. Methanol conversion rate and hydrogen production rate, increased in the presence of Al2O3 thin film. Over-view and cross-sectional scanning electron microscopy study showed that the adhesion between catalyst particles and the surface of microchannel reactor enhanced due to the presence of Al2O3 thin film. The improvement of hydrogen production rate inside the channels of microreactor mainly came from the stable fixation of catalyst particles on the surface of microchannels.

  14. Developmental and Reproductive Toxicology of Methanol

    EPA Science Inventory

    Methanol is a high production volume chemical used as a feedstock for chemical syntheses and as a solvent and fuel additive. Methanol is acutely toxic to humans, causing acidosis, blindness in death at high dosages, but its developmental and reproductive toxicity in humans is poo...

  15. Microfluidic distillation chip for methanol concentration detection.

    PubMed

    Wang, Yao-Nan; Liu, Chan-Chiung; Yang, Ruey-Jen; Ju, Wei-Jhong; Fu, Lung-Ming

    2016-03-17

    An integrated microfluidic distillation system is proposed for separating a mixed ethanol-methanol-water solution into its constituent components. The microfluidic chip is fabricated using a CO2 laser system and comprises a serpentine channel, a boiling zone, a heating zone, and a cooled collection chamber filled with de-ionized (DI) water. In the proposed device, the ethanol-methanol-water solution is injected into the microfluidic chip and driven through the serpentine channel and into the collection chamber by means of a nitrogen carrier gas. Following the distillation process, the ethanol-methanol vapor flows into the collection chamber and condenses into the DI water. The resulting solution is removed from the collection tank and reacted with a mixed indicator. Finally, the methanol concentration is inversely derived from the absorbance measurements obtained using a spectrophotometer. The experimental results show the proposed microfluidic system achieves an average methanol distillation efficiency of 97%. The practicality of the proposed device is demonstrated by detecting the methanol concentrations of two commercial fruit wines. It is shown that the measured concentration values deviate by no more than 3% from those obtained using a conventional bench top system. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  16. Methanol synthesis using a catalyst combination of alkali or alkaline earth salts and reduced copper chromite for methanol synthesis

    DOEpatents

    Tierney, John W.; Wender, Irving; Palekar, Vishwesh M.

    1993-01-01

    The present invention relates to a novel route for the synthesis of methanol, and more specifically to the production of methanol by contacting synthesis gas under relatively mild conditions in a slurry phase with a catalyst combination comprising reduced copper chromite and basic alkali salts or alkaline earth salts. The present invention allows the synthesis of methanol to occur in the temperature range of approximately 100.degree.-160.degree. C. and the pressure range of 40-65 atm. The process produces methanol with up to 90% syngas conversion per pass and up to 95% methanol selectivity. The only major by-product is a small amount of easily separated methyl formate. Very small amounts of water, carbon dioxide and dimethyl ether are also produced. The present catalyst combination also is capable of tolerating fluctuations in the H.sub.2 /CO ratio without major deleterious effect on the reaction rate. Furthermore, carbon dioxide and water are also tolerated without substantial catalyst deactivation.

  17. Scaffoldless engineered enzyme assembly for enhanced methanol utilization

    DOE PAGES

    Price, J. Vincent; Chen, Long; Whitaker, W. Brian; ...

    2016-10-24

    Methanol is an important feedstock derived from natural gas and can be chemically converted into commodity and specialty chemicals at high pressure and temperature. Although biological conversion of methanol can proceed at ambient conditions, there is a dearth of engineered microorganisms that use methanol to produce metabolites. In nature, methanol dehydrogenase (Mdh), which converts methanol to formaldehyde, highly favors the reverse reaction. Thus, efficient coupling with the irreversible sequestration of formaldehyde by 3-hexulose-6-phosphate synthase (Hps) and 6-phospho-3-hexuloseisomerase (Phi) serves as the key driving force to pull the pathway equilibrium toward central metabolism. An emerging strategy to promote efficient substrate channelingmore » is to spatially organize pathway enzymes in an engineered assembly to provide kinetic driving forces that promote carbon flux in a desirable direction. Here, we report a scaffoldless, self-assembly strategy to organize Mdh, Hps, and Phi into an engineered supramolecular enzyme complex using an SH3–ligand interaction pair, which enhances methanol conversion to fructose-6-phosphate (F6P). To increase methanol consumption, an “NADH Sink” was created using Escherichia coli lactate dehydrogenase as an NADH scavenger, thereby preventing reversible formaldehyde reduction. Combination of the two strategies improved in vitro F6P production by 97-fold compared with unassembled enzymes. The beneficial effect of supramolecular enzyme assembly was also realized in vivo as the engineered enzyme assembly improved whole-cell methanol consumption rate by ninefold. This approach will ultimately allow direct coupling of enhanced F6P synthesis with other metabolic engineering strategies for the production of many desired metabolites from methanol.« less

  18. Scaffoldless engineered enzyme assembly for enhanced methanol utilization

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Price, J. Vincent; Chen, Long; Whitaker, W. Brian

    Methanol is an important feedstock derived from natural gas and can be chemically converted into commodity and specialty chemicals at high pressure and temperature. Although biological conversion of methanol can proceed at ambient conditions, there is a dearth of engineered microorganisms that use methanol to produce metabolites. In nature, methanol dehydrogenase (Mdh), which converts methanol to formaldehyde, highly favors the reverse reaction. Thus, efficient coupling with the irreversible sequestration of formaldehyde by 3-hexulose-6-phosphate synthase (Hps) and 6-phospho-3-hexuloseisomerase (Phi) serves as the key driving force to pull the pathway equilibrium toward central metabolism. An emerging strategy to promote efficient substrate channelingmore » is to spatially organize pathway enzymes in an engineered assembly to provide kinetic driving forces that promote carbon flux in a desirable direction. Here, we report a scaffoldless, self-assembly strategy to organize Mdh, Hps, and Phi into an engineered supramolecular enzyme complex using an SH3–ligand interaction pair, which enhances methanol conversion to fructose-6-phosphate (F6P). To increase methanol consumption, an “NADH Sink” was created using Escherichia coli lactate dehydrogenase as an NADH scavenger, thereby preventing reversible formaldehyde reduction. Combination of the two strategies improved in vitro F6P production by 97-fold compared with unassembled enzymes. The beneficial effect of supramolecular enzyme assembly was also realized in vivo as the engineered enzyme assembly improved whole-cell methanol consumption rate by ninefold. This approach will ultimately allow direct coupling of enhanced F6P synthesis with other metabolic engineering strategies for the production of many desired metabolites from methanol.« less

  19. Scaffoldless engineered enzyme assembly for enhanced methanol utilization

    PubMed Central

    Price, J. Vincent; Chen, Long; Whitaker, W. Brian; Papoutsakis, Eleftherios; Chen, Wilfred

    2016-01-01

    Methanol is an important feedstock derived from natural gas and can be chemically converted into commodity and specialty chemicals at high pressure and temperature. Although biological conversion of methanol can proceed at ambient conditions, there is a dearth of engineered microorganisms that use methanol to produce metabolites. In nature, methanol dehydrogenase (Mdh), which converts methanol to formaldehyde, highly favors the reverse reaction. Thus, efficient coupling with the irreversible sequestration of formaldehyde by 3-hexulose-6-phosphate synthase (Hps) and 6-phospho-3-hexuloseisomerase (Phi) serves as the key driving force to pull the pathway equilibrium toward central metabolism. An emerging strategy to promote efficient substrate channeling is to spatially organize pathway enzymes in an engineered assembly to provide kinetic driving forces that promote carbon flux in a desirable direction. Here, we report a scaffoldless, self-assembly strategy to organize Mdh, Hps, and Phi into an engineered supramolecular enzyme complex using an SH3–ligand interaction pair, which enhances methanol conversion to fructose-6-phosphate (F6P). To increase methanol consumption, an “NADH Sink” was created using Escherichia coli lactate dehydrogenase as an NADH scavenger, thereby preventing reversible formaldehyde reduction. Combination of the two strategies improved in vitro F6P production by 97-fold compared with unassembled enzymes. The beneficial effect of supramolecular enzyme assembly was also realized in vivo as the engineered enzyme assembly improved whole-cell methanol consumption rate by ninefold. This approach will ultimately allow direct coupling of enhanced F6P synthesis with other metabolic engineering strategies for the production of many desired metabolites from methanol. PMID:27791059

  20. A New 95 GHz Methanol Maser Catalog. I. Data

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Yang, Wenjin; Xu, Ye; Lu, Dengrong

    The Purple Mountain Observatory 13.7 m radio telescope has been used to search for 95 GHz (8{sub 0}–7{sub 1}A{sup +}) class I methanol masers toward 1020 Bolocam Galactic Plane Survey (BGPS) sources, leading to 213 detections. We have compared the line width of the methanol and HCO{sup +} thermal emission in all of the methanol detections, and on that basis, we find that 205 of the 213 detections are very likely to be masers. This corresponds to an overall detection rate of 95 GHz methanol masers toward our BGPS sample of 20%. Of the 205 detected masers, 144 (70%) aremore » new discoveries. Combining our results with those of previous 95 GHz methanol maser searches, a total of 481 95 GHz methanol masers are now known. We have compiled a catalog listing the locations and properties of all known 95 GHz methanol masers.« less

  1. Deciphering Periodic Methanol Masers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Stecklum, Bringfried; Caratti o Garatti, Alessio; Henning, Thomas; Hodapp, Klaus; Hopp, Ulrich; Kraus, Alex; Linz, Hendrik; Sanna, Alberto; Sobolev, Andrej; Wolf, Verena

    2018-05-01

    Impressive progress has been made in recent years on massive star formation, yet the involved high optical depths even at submm/mm wavelengths make it difficult to reveal its details. Recently, accretion bursts of massive YSOs have been identified to cause flares of Class II methanol masers (methanol masers for short) due to enhanced mid-IR pumping. This opens a new window to protostellar accretion variability, and implies that periodic methanol masers hint at cyclic accretion. Pinning down the cause of the periodicity requires joint IR and radio monitoring. We derived the first IR light curve of a periodic maser host from NEOWISE data. The source, G107.298+5.639, is an intermediate-mass YSO hosting methanol and water masers which flare every 34.5 days. Our recent joint K-band and radio observations yielded first but marginal evidence for a phase lag between the rise of IR and maser emission, respectively, and revealed that both NEOWISE and K-band light curves are strongly affected by the light echo from the ambient dust. Both the superior resolution of IRAC over NEOWISE and the longer wavelengths compared to our ground-based imaging are required to inhibit the distractive contamination by the light echo. Thus, we ask for IRAC monitoring of G107 to cover one flare cycle, in tandem with 100-m Effelsberg and 2-m Wendelstein radio and NIR observations to obtain the first high-quality synoptic measurements of this kind of sources. The IR-maser phase lag, the intrinsic shape of the IR light curves and their possible color variation during the cycle allow us to constrain models for the periodic maser excitation. Since methanol masers are signposts of intermediate-mass and massive YSOs, deciphering their variability offers a clue to the dynamics of the accretion-mediated growth of massive stars and their feedback onto the immediate natal environment. The Spitzer light curve of such a maser-hosting YSO would be a legacy science product of the mission.

  2. Protection against methanol-induced retinal toxicity by LED photostimulation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Whelan, Harry T.; Wong-Riley, Margaret T. T.; Eells, Janis T.

    2002-06-01

    We have initiated experiments designed to test the hypothesis that 670-nm Light-Emitting Diode (LED) exposure will attenuate formate-induced retinal dysfunction in a rodent model of methanol toxicity. Methanol intoxication produces toxic injury to the retina. The toxic metabolite formed in methanol intoxication is formic acid, a mitochondrial toxin known to inhibit cytochrome oxidase activity. 670-nm LED light has been hypothesized to act by stimulating cytochrome oxidase activity. To test this hypothesis, one group of animals was intoxicated with methanol, a second group was intoxicated with methanol and LED-treated and a third group was untreated. LED treatment (670 nm for 1 min 45 seconds equals 50 mW/cm2, 4 joules/cm2) was administered at 5, 25, and 50 hours after the initial dose of methanol. At 72 hours of methanol intoxication, retinal function was assessed by measurement of ERG responses and retinas were prepared for histologic analysis. ERG responses recorded in methanol-intoxicated animals revealed profound attenuation of both rod-dominated and UV-cone mediated responses. In contrast, methanol- intoxicated animals exposed to LED treatment exhibited a nearly complete recovery of rod-dominated ERG responses and a slight improvement of UV-cone mediated ERG responses. LED treatment also protected the retina against the histopathologic changes produced by formate in methanol intoxication. These data provide evidence that LED phototherapy protects the retina against the cytotoxic actions of formate and are consistent with the hypothesis that LED photostimulation improves mitochondrial respiratory chain function.

  3. Biological Methanol Production by a Type II Methanotroph Methylocystis bryophila.

    PubMed

    Patel, Sanjay K S; Mardina, Primata; Kim, Sang-Yong; Lee, Jung-Kul; Kim, In-Won

    2016-04-28

    Methane (CH₄) is the most abundant component in natural gas. To reduce its harmful environmental effect as a greenhouse gas, CH₄ can be utilized as a low-cost feed for the synthesis of methanol by methanotrophs. In this study, several methanotrophs were examined for their ability to produce methanol from CH₄; including Methylocella silvestris, Methylocystis bryophila, Methyloferula stellata, and Methylomonas methanica. Among these methanotrophs, M. bryophila exhibited the highest methanol production. The optimum process parameters aided in significant enhancement of methanol production up to 4.63 mM. Maximum methanol production was observed at pH 6.8, 30°C, 175 rpm, 100 mM phosphate buffer, 50 mM MgCl₂ as a methanol dehydrogenase inhibitor, 50% CH₄ concentration, 24 h of incubation, and 9 mg of dry cell mass ml(-1) inoculum load, respectively. Optimization of the process parameters, screening of methanol dehydrogenase inhibitors, and supplementation with formate resulted in significant improvements in methanol production using M. bryophila. This report suggests, for the first time, the potential of using M. bryophila for industrial methanol production from CH₄.

  4. Spontaneous Fission

    DOE R&D Accomplishments Database

    Segre, Emilio

    1950-11-22

    The first attempt to discover spontaneous fission in uranium was made by [Willard] Libby, who, however, failed to detect it on account of the smallness of effect. In 1940, [K. A.] Petrzhak and [G. N.] Flerov, using more sensitive methods, discovered spontaneous fission in uranium and gave some rough estimates of the spontaneous fission decay constant of this substance. Subsequently, extensive experimental work on the subject has been performed by several investigators and will be quoted in the various sections. [N.] Bohr and [A.] Wheeler have given a theory of the effect based on the usual ideas of penetration of potential barriers. On this project spontaneous fission has been studied for the past several years in an effort to obtain a complete picture of the phenomenon. For this purpose the spontaneous fission decay constants {lambda} have been measured for separated isotopes of the heavy elements wherever possible. Moreover, the number {nu} of neutrons emitted per fission has been measured wherever feasible, and other characteristics of the spontaneous fission process have been studied. This report summarizes the spontaneous fission work done at Los Alamos up to January 1, 1945. A chronological record of the work is contained in the Los Alamos monthly reports.

  5. Methanol and ethanol electroxidation using Pt electrodes prepared by the polymeric precursor method

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Freitas, R. G.; Santos, M. C.; Oliveira, R. T. S.; Bulhões, L. O. S.; Pereira, E. C.

    The results of methanol and ethanol oxidation in acidic medium on Pt electrodes deposited on Ti substrate using the Pechini method are presented. In this route the metallic salts were dissolved in a mixture of ethylene glycol (EG) and citric acid (CA) forming a polyester network, which is painted onto a Ti substrate and then heat treated at 600 °C in order to obtain the metallic Pt thin films. The X-ray diffraction analysis showed the presence of Pt pattern peaks. The presence of the (4 2 0) plane in a higher amount compared to bulk Pt was observed and the peak position of the planes (2 0 0) and (4 2 0) were displaced by approximately -0.3°. The roughness data presented almost the same values for Ti and Ti/Pt. The electrochemical characterization of the electrodes in 0.1 M HClO 4 showed a typical Pt voltammetric profile. Although the voltammetric profiles of Ti/Pt and bulk Pt were the same, the electrocatalytical behavior for methanol oxidation showed an enhancement of the oxidation current density peak, which increased by 170% compared to bulk platinum. Although, the current density peak for ethanol oxidation on Ti/Pt is smaller than for Pt, it began at 0.11 V less positive than the same process on bulk Pt. The chronoamperometric experiments for methanol and ethanol oxidation on Ti/Pt increased by almost 934% and 440%, respectively, compared with Pt bulk.

  6. Erythropoietin in Treatment of Methanol Optic Neuropathy.

    PubMed

    Pakdel, Farzad; Sanjari, Mostafa S; Naderi, Asieh; Pirmarzdashti, Niloofar; Haghighi, Anousheh; Kashkouli, Mohsen B

    2018-06-01

    Methanol poisoning can cause an optic neuropathy that is usually severe and irreversible and often occurs after ingestion of illicit or homemade alcoholic beverages. In this study, we evaluated the potential neuroprotective effect of erythropoietin (EPO) on visual acuity (VA) in patients with methanol optic neuropathy. In a prospective, noncomparative interventional case series, consecutive patients with methanol optic neuropathy after alcoholic beverage ingestion were included. All patients initially received systemic therapy including metabolic stabilization and detoxification. Treatment with intravenous recombinant human EPO consisted of 20,000 units/day for 3 successive days. Depending on clinical response, some patients received a second course of EPO. VA, funduscopy, and spectral domain optical coherence tomography were assessed during the study. Main outcome measure was VA. Thirty-two eyes of 16 patients with methanol optic neuropathy were included. Mean age was 34.2 years (±13.3 years). The mean time interval between methanol ingestion and treatment with intravenous EPO was 9.1 days (±5.56 days). Mean follow-up after treatment was 7.5 months (±5.88 months). Median VA in the better eye of each patient before treatment was light perception (range: 3.90-0.60 logMAR). Median last acuity after treatment in the best eye was 1.00 logMAR (range: 3.90-0.00 logMAR). VA significantly increased in the last follow-up examination (P < 0.0001). Age and time to EPO treatment after methanol ingestion were not significantly related to final VA. No ocular or systemic complications occurred in our patient cohort. Intravenous EPO appears to improve VA in patients with methanol optic neuropathy and may represent a promising treatment for this disorder.

  7. Method of steam reforming methanol to hydrogen

    DOEpatents

    Beshty, Bahjat S.

    1990-01-01

    The production of hydrogen by the catalyzed steam reforming of methanol is accomplished using a reformer of greatly reduced size and cost wherein a mixture of water and methanol is superheated to the gaseous state at temperatures of about 800.degree. to about 1,100.degree. F. and then fed to a reformer in direct contact with the catalyst bed contained therein, whereby the heat for the endothermic steam reforming reaction is derived directly from the superheated steam/methanol mixture.

  8. Kinetics of Photoelectrochemical Oxidation of Methanol on Hematite Photoanodes

    PubMed Central

    2017-01-01

    The kinetics of photoelectrochemical (PEC) oxidation of methanol, as a model organic substrate, on α-Fe2O3 photoanodes are studied using photoinduced absorption spectroscopy and transient photocurrent measurements. Methanol is oxidized on α-Fe2O3 to formaldehyde with near unity Faradaic efficiency. A rate law analysis under quasi-steady-state conditions of PEC methanol oxidation indicates that rate of reaction is second order in the density of surface holes on hematite and independent of the applied potential. Analogous data on anatase TiO2 photoanodes indicate similar second-order kinetics for methanol oxidation with a second-order rate constant 2 orders of magnitude higher than that on α-Fe2O3. Kinetic isotope effect studies determine that the rate constant for methanol oxidation on α-Fe2O3 is retarded ∼20-fold by H/D substitution. Employing these data, we propose a mechanism for methanol oxidation under 1 sun irradiation on these metal oxide surfaces and discuss the implications for the efficient PEC methanol oxidation to formaldehyde and concomitant hydrogen evolution. PMID:28735533

  9. Spontaneous formation of multiple land-and-groove structures of silica thin films

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Takeda, Yasuhiko; Matsuoka, Yoriko; Motohiro, Tomoyoshi

    1999-05-01

    We found spontaneous formation of microscopic multiple land-and-groove structures of silica thin films. Silica and nickel were simultaneously deposited onto glass substrates from two opposite oblique directions to form columnar structures of silica among which nickel nanoparticles were embedded. Then nickel was dissolved in hydrochloric acid solution. After the dissolution of the nickel particles the columns of silica became very unstable and coalesced to form the multiple land-and-groove structures. The grooves are oriented to the direction perpendicular to the two deposition directions. The distances between the neighboring grooves are fairly uniform, and can be controlled between several hundred nanometers and several microns by changing the film thickness and the ratio of the nickel deposition rate to the silica deposition rate. The process found here may propose a new class of micro fabrication techniques in contrast to the artificial photolithography.

  10. Advances in direct oxidation methanol fuel cells

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Surampudi, S.; Narayanan, S. R.; Vamos, E.; Frank, H.; Halpert, G.; Laconti, Anthony B.; Kosek, J.; Prakash, G. K. Surya; Olah, G. A.

    1993-01-01

    Fuel cells that can operate directly on fuels such as methanol are attractive for low to medium power applications in view of their low weight and volume relative to other power sources. A liquid feed direct methanol fuel cell has been developed based on a proton exchange membrane electrolyte and Pt/Ru and Pt catalyzed fuel and air/O2 electrodes, respectively. The cell has been shown to deliver significant power outputs at temperatures of 60 to 90 C. The cell voltage is near 0.5 V at 300 mA/cm(exp 2) current density and an operating temperature of 90 C. A deterrent to performance appears to be methanol crossover through the membrane to the oxygen electrode. Further improvements in performance appear possible by minimizing the methanol crossover rate.

  11. Photocatalytic conversion of methane to methanol

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Taylor, C.E.; Noceti, R.P.; D`Este, J.R.

    1995-12-31

    A long-term goal of our research group is the exploration of novel pathways for the direct oxidation of methane to liquid fuels, chemicals, and intermediates. The use of three relatively abundant and inexpensive reactants, light, water, and methane, to produce methanol is attractive. The products of reaction, methanol and hydrogen, are both commercially desirable, methanol being used as is or converted to a variety of other chemicals, and the hydrogen could be utilized in petroleum and/or chemical manufacturing. Methane is produced as a by-product of coal gasification. Depending upon reactor design and operating conditions, up to 18% of total gasifiermore » product may be methane. In addition, there are vast proven reserves of geologic methane in the world. Unfortunately, a large fraction of these reserves are in regions where there is little local demand for methane and it is not economically feasible to transport it to a market. There is a global research effort under way in academia, industry, and government to find methods to convert methane to useful, more readily transportable and storable materials. Methanol, the initial product of methane oxidation, is a desirable product of conversion because it retains much of the original energy of the methane while satisfying transportation and storage requirements. Investigation of direct conversion of methane to transportation fuels has been an ongoing effort at PETC for over 10 years. One of the current areas of research is the conversion of methane to methanol, under mild conditions, using light, water, and a semiconductor photocatalyst. The use of three relatively abundant and inexpensive reactants, light, water, and methane, to produce methanol, is attractive. Research in the laboratory is directed toward applying the techniques developed for the photocatalytic splitting of the water and the photochemical conversion of methane.« less

  12. Torsion-rotation intensities in methanol

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pearson, John

    Methanol exists in numerous kinds of astronomical objects featuring a wide range of local conditions. The light nature of the molecule coupled with the internal rotation of the methyl group with respect to the hydroxyl group results in a rich, strong spectrum that spans the entire far-infrared region. As a result, any modest size observational window will have a number of strong methanol transitions. This has made it the gas of choice for testing THz receivers and to extract the local physical conditions from observations covering small frequency windows. The latter has caused methanol to be dubbed the Swiss army knife of astrophysics. Methanol has been increasingly used in this capacity and will be used even more for subsequent investigations into the Herschel archive, and with SOFIA and ALMA. Interpreting physical conditions on the basis of a few methanol lines requires that the molecular data, line positions, intensities, and collision rates, be complete, consistent and accurate to a much higher level than previously required for astrophysics. The need for highly reliable data is even more critical for modeling the two classes of widespread maser action and many examples of optical pumping through the torsional bands. Observation of the torsional bands in the infrared will be a unique opportunity to directly connect JWST observations with those of Herschel, SOFIA, and ALMA. The theory for the intensities of torsion-rotation transitions in a molecule featuring a single internally rotating methyl group is well developed after 70 years of research. However, other than a recent very preliminary and not completely satisfactory investigation of a few CH3OH torsional bands, this theory has never been experimentally tested for any C3V internal rotor. More alarming is a set of recent intensity calibrated microwave measurements that showed deviations relative to calculations of up to 50% in some ground state rotational transitions commonly used by astronomers to extract

  13. Intermittent hemodialysis is superior to continuous veno-venous hemodialysis/hemodiafiltration to eliminate methanol and formate during treatment for methanol poisoning

    PubMed Central

    Zakharov, Sergey; Pelclova, Daniela; Navratil, Tomas; Belacek, Jaromir; Kurcova, Ivana; Komzak, Ondrej; Salek, Tomas; Latta, Jiri; Turek, Radovan; Bocek, Robert; Kucera, Cyril; Hubacek, Jaroslav A; Fenclova, Zdenka; Petrik, Vit; Cermak, Martin; Hovda, Knut Erik

    2014-01-01

    During an outbreak of methanol poisonings in the Czech Republic in 2012, we were able to study methanol and formate elimination half-lives during intermittent hemodialysis (IHD) and continuous veno-venous hemodialysis/hemodiafiltration (CVVHD/HDF) and the relative impact of dialysate and blood flow rates on elimination. Data were obtained from 11 IHD and 13 CVVHD/HDF patients. Serum methanol and formate concentrations were measured by gas chromatography and an enzymatic method. The groups were relatively comparable, but the CVVHD/HDF group was significantly more acidotic (mean pH 6.9 vs. 7.1 IHD). The mean elimination half-life of methanol was 3.7 and formate 1.6 h with IHD, versus 8.1 and 3.6 h, respectively, with CVVHD/HDF (both significant). The 54% greater reduction in methanol and 56% reduction in formate elimination half-life during IHD resulted from the higher blood and dialysate flow rates. Increased blood and dialysate flow on the CVVHD/HDF also increased elimination significantly. Thus, IHD is superior to CVVHD/HDF for more rapid methanol and formate elimination, and if CVVHD/HDF is the only treatment available then elimination is greater with greater blood and dialysate flow rates. PMID:24621917

  14. Improved Anode for a Direct Methanol Fuel Cell

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Valdez, Thomas; Narayanan, Sekharipuram

    2005-01-01

    A modified chemical composition has been devised to improve the performance of the anode of a direct methanol fuel cell. The main feature of the modified composition is the incorporation of hydrous ruthenium oxide into the anode structure. This modification can reduce the internal electrical resistance of the cell and increase the degree of utilization of the anode catalyst. As a result, a higher anode current density can be sustained with a smaller amount of anode catalyst. These improvements can translate into a smaller fuel-cell system and higher efficiency of conversion. Some background information is helpful for understanding the benefit afforded by the addition of hydrous ruthenium oxide. The anode of a direct methanol fuel cell sustains the electro-oxidation of methanol to carbon dioxide in the reaction CH3OH + H2O--->CO2 + 6H(+) + 6e(-). An electrocatalyst is needed to enable this reaction to occur. The catalyst that offers the highest activity is an alloy of approximately equal numbers of atoms of the noble metals platinum and ruthenium. The anode is made of a composite material that includes high-surface-area Pt/Ru alloy particles and a proton-conducting ionomeric material. This composite is usually deposited onto a polymer-electrolyte (proton-conducting) membrane and onto an anode gas-diffusion/current-collector sheet that is subsequently bonded to the proton-conducting membrane by hot pressing. Heretofore, the areal density of noble-metal catalyst typically needed for high performance has been about 8 mg/cm2. However, not all of the catalyst has been utilized in the catalyzed electro-oxidation reaction. Increasing the degree of utilization of the catalyst would make it possible to improve the performance of the cell for a given catalyst loading and/or reduce the catalyst loading (thereby reducing the cost of the cell). The use of carbon and possibly other electronic conductors in the catalyst layer has been proposed for increasing the utilization of the

  15. Using Electrospinning-Based Carbon Nanofiber Webs for Methanol Crossover Control in Passive Direct Methanol Fuel Cells.

    PubMed

    Yuan, Wei; Fang, Guoyun; Li, Zongtao; Chen, Yonghui; Tang, Yong

    2018-01-04

    Methanol crossover (MCO) significantly affects the performance of a direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC). In order to reduce its effect, this study presents in-house carbon nanofiber webs (CNWs) used as a porous methanol barrier for MCO control in a passive DMFC. The CNW is made from polyacrylonitrile (PAN) by using electrospinning and heat treatment. The impacts of PAN concentration and carbonizing temperature on the material properties are considered. The concentration of PAN has a great effect on the micro structures of the CNWs since a higher concentration of PAN leads to a larger nanofiber diameter and lower porosity. A higher carbonizing temperature helps promote the sample conductivity. The use of CNWs has twofold effects on the cell performance. It helps significantly enhance the cell performance, especially at a low methanol concentration due to its balanced effect on reactant and product management. There is an increase in peak power density of up to 53.54% when the CNW is used, in contrast with the conventional DMFC at 2 mol/L. The dynamic and constant-load performances of the fuel cell based on CNWs are also investigated in this work.

  16. Using Electrospinning-Based Carbon Nanofiber Webs for Methanol Crossover Control in Passive Direct Methanol Fuel Cells

    PubMed Central

    Fang, Guoyun; Chen, Yonghui; Tang, Yong

    2018-01-01

    Methanol crossover (MCO) significantly affects the performance of a direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC). In order to reduce its effect, this study presents in-house carbon nanofiber webs (CNWs) used as a porous methanol barrier for MCO control in a passive DMFC. The CNW is made from polyacrylonitrile (PAN) by using electrospinning and heat treatment. The impacts of PAN concentration and carbonizing temperature on the material properties are considered. The concentration of PAN has a great effect on the micro structures of the CNWs since a higher concentration of PAN leads to a larger nanofiber diameter and lower porosity. A higher carbonizing temperature helps promote the sample conductivity. The use of CNWs has twofold effects on the cell performance. It helps significantly enhance the cell performance, especially at a low methanol concentration due to its balanced effect on reactant and product management. There is an increase in peak power density of up to 53.54% when the CNW is used, in contrast with the conventional DMFC at 2 mol/L. The dynamic and constant-load performances of the fuel cell based on CNWs are also investigated in this work. PMID:29300368

  17. Evaluation of dissociated and steam-reformed methanol as automotive engine fuels

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Lalk, T. R.; Mccall, D. M.; Mccanlies, J. M.

    1984-01-01

    Dissociated and steam reformed methanol were evaluated as automotive engine fuels. Advantages and disadvantages in using methanol in the reformed rather than liquid state were discussed. Engine dynamometer tests were conducted with a four cylinder, 2.3 liter, spark ignition automotive engine to determine performance and emission characteristics operating on simulated dissociated and steam reformed methanol (2H2 + CO and 3H2 + CO2 respectively), and liquid methanol. Results are presented for engine performance and emissions as functions of equivalence ratio, at various throttle settings and engine speeds. Operation on dissociated and steam reformed methanol was characterized by flashback (violent propagation of a flame into the intake manifold) which limited operation to lower power output than was obtainable using liquid methanol. It was concluded that: an automobile could not be operated solely on dissociated or steam reformed methanol over the entire required power range - a supplementary fuel system or power source would be necessary to attain higher powers; the use of reformed mechanol, compared to liquid methanol, may result in a small improvement in thermal efficiency in the low power range; dissociated methanol is a better fuel than steam reformed methanol for use in a spark ignition engine; and use of dissociated or steam reformed methanol may result in lower exhaust emissions compared to liquid methanol.

  18. On the Non-Equilibrium Population Distribution of E-Methanol in Dark Clouds

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wollman, Emma

    2007-12-01

    The goal of this project was to determine the typical distribution of rotational level populations in the k=0 ladder of E-methanol in dark clouds in order to provide another observational test for theoretical models of pumping. We used our own observations of several sources with the 12-m ARO telescope on Kitt Peak as well as the published observational results by Slysh et al. (1999). The relative level populations (excitation temperatures) were determined from the measured intensity ratios of a series of the J(0)-J(-1) transitions of E-methanol under the assumption of spontaneous, optically thin emission. We observed the J(0)-J(-1) lines in six sources: W75N, DR21N, DR21, and three positions at DR21OH. The J=1 to J=5 lines were observed for all sources and the J=7 line was observed for W75N, DR21N, and one position in DR21OH. We also used Slysh et al.'s results for the J=1 through 4 lines in 52 sources, for the J=5 line in 50 sources, for the J=6 line in 15 sources, and for the J=7 and 8 lines in 2 sources. We determined the excitation temperatures of the involved levels in the k=0 ladder relative to the 1(0) level for each source and averaged the results over the sources. The average excitation temperatures demonstrate strong evidence of overcooling in the k=0 ladder - the excitation temperature increases linearly with increasing energy, from 8 K to 35 K. Our observations confirm this tendency of overcooling. We will discuss the agreement of these results with the predictions of the current models of methanol pumping. The author thanks the technical staff of the 12-m ARO telescope for help with the observations. This project was supported by the NSF/REU grant AST-0354056 and the Nantucket Maria Mitchell Association.

  19. Building carbon–carbon bonds using a biocatalytic methanol condensation cycle

    PubMed Central

    Bogorad, Igor W.; Chen, Chang-Ting; Theisen, Matthew K.; Wu, Tung-Yun; Schlenz, Alicia R.; Lam, Albert T.; Liao, James C.

    2014-01-01

    Methanol is an important intermediate in the utilization of natural gas for synthesizing other feedstock chemicals. Typically, chemical approaches for building C–C bonds from methanol require high temperature and pressure. Biological conversion of methanol to longer carbon chain compounds is feasible; however, the natural biological pathways for methanol utilization involve carbon dioxide loss or ATP expenditure. Here we demonstrated a biocatalytic pathway, termed the methanol condensation cycle (MCC), by combining the nonoxidative glycolysis with the ribulose monophosphate pathway to convert methanol to higher-chain alcohols or other acetyl-CoA derivatives using enzymatic reactions in a carbon-conserved and ATP-independent system. We investigated the robustness of MCC and identified operational regions. We confirmed that the pathway forms a catalytic cycle through 13C-carbon labeling. With a cell-free system, we demonstrated the conversion of methanol to ethanol or n-butanol. The high carbon efficiency and low operating temperature are attractive for transforming natural gas-derived methanol to longer-chain liquid fuels and other chemical derivatives. PMID:25355907

  20. Studies on Methanol Crossover in Liquid-Feed Direct Methanol Pem Fuel Cells

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Narayanan, S. R.

    1995-01-01

    The performance of liquid feed direct methanol fuel cells using various types of Nafion membranes as the solid polymer electrolyte have been studied. The rate of fuel crossover and electrical performance has been measured for cells with Nafion membranes of various thicknesses and equivalent weights. The crossover rate is found to decrease with increasing thickness and applied current. The dependence of crossover rate on current density can be understood in terms of a simple linear diffusion model which suggests that the crossover rate can be influenced by the electrode structure in addition to the membrane. The studies suggest that Nafion EW 1500 is a very promising alternate to Nafion EW 1100 for direct methanol fuel cells.

  1. The effect of the surface composition of Ru-Pt bimetallic catalysts for methanol oxidation

    DOE PAGES

    Garrick, Taylor R.; Diao, Weijian; Tengco, John M.; ...

    2016-02-23

    Here, a series of Ru-Pt bimetallic catalysts prepared by the electroless deposition of controlled and variable amounts of Ru on the Pt surface of a commercially-available 20 wt% Pt/C catalyst has been characterized and evaluated for the oxidation of methanol. The activity of each Ru-Pt catalyst was determined as a function of surface composition via cyclic voltammetry. For the Ru-Pt bimetallic catalysts, activity passed through a maximum at approximately 50% monodisperse Ru surface coverage. However, due to the monolayer coverage of Ru on Pt, the amount of metal in the catalyst is minimized compared to a bulk 1:1 atomic ratiomore » of Ru:Pt seen in commercial bimetallic catalysts. Chemisorption and temperature programmed reduction experiments confirmed that the surface had characteristics of a true bimetallic catalyst. On a mass of Pt basis, the activity of this composition for methanol oxidation was 7 times higher than pure Pt and 3.5 times higher than a commercial catalyst with a 1:1 Pt:Ru bulk atomic ratio.« less

  2. Pigment dispersion syndrome associated with spontaneous subluxation of crystalline lens.

    PubMed

    Veerwal, Vikas; Goyal, Jawahar Lal; Jain, Parul; Arora, Ritu

    2017-01-01

    Pigment dispersion syndrome (PDS) is an ocular condition characterized by a dispersion of iris pigment throughout the eye. This pigment is deposited in a characteristic manner on the corneal endothelium as Krukenberg's spindle, anterior surface of the iris, in the trabecular meshwork, on the lens and zonule and occasionally on the anterior hyaloid face. Even with deposition of pigment on zonular fibers, no zonular weakness, or zonular dehiscence has been reported in these cases. We report a unique case of PDS with bilateral spontaneous subluxation of crystalline lens. With characteristic findings of pigment distribution in both his eyes, the patient had concave iris configuration with heavily pigmented trabecular meshwork confirming the diagnosis of PDS. The patient had bilateral 180° temporal subluxation of crystalline lens in both his eyes. The usual cause of lens subluxation such as Marfan's Syndrome and Ehler's Danlos Syndrome was ruled out. The patient underwent right eye followed by left eye intracapsular cataract extraction with ab-interno technique with postoperative best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) of 6/9 in both eyes. Spontaneous subluxation of crystalline lens in isolated PDS is not known to occur and has been reported by means of this case. We recommend a thorough assessment of zonular status in all cases of PDS.

  3. Highly methanol-tolerant platinum electrocatalyst derived from poly(vinylpoyrrolidone) coating

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yang, Zehui; Ling, Ying; Zhang, Yunfeng; Yang, Ming

    2017-02-01

    The design and fabrication of a methanol-tolerant electrocatalyst is still one of the most important issues in direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs). Here, we focus on the design of a cathodic electrocatalyst in DMFCs and describe a new methanol-tolerant electrocatalyst fabricated from poly(vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP) coating on platinum nanoparticles assisted by hydrogen bonding between PVP and polybenzimidazole (PBI). The PVP layer has a negligible effect on the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activity, while the methanol oxidation reaction is retarded by the PVP layer. The PVP-coated electrocatalyst shows higher ORR activity under various methanol concentrations in the electrolyte, suggesting that the PVP-coated electrocatalyst has a higher methanol tolerance. Also, the PVP-coated electrocatalyst loses only 14% of the electrochemical surface area after 5000 potential cycles from 0.6-1.0 V versus the reversible hydrogen electrode, indicating better Pt stability than non-coated (27%) and commercial (38%) electrocatalysts due to the unique sandwich structure formed by the PVP and PBI. The power density of the PVP-coated electrocatalyst is four to five times higher compared to non-coated and commercial electrocatalysts with 12 M methanol feeding to the anode side, respectively. PVP coating is important for the enhancement of Pt stability and methanol tolerance. This study offers a new method for preparing a low-cost and high-methanol-tolerant Pt electrocatalyst, and useful information for real DMFC application to eliminate the methanol crossover problem in the cathode side.

  4. STUDIES OF THE RADIATION CHEMISTRY OF ORGANIC COMPOUNDS. THE RADIOLYSIS OF METHANOL AND METHANOLIC SOLUTIONS

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Lichtin, N.N.

    1961-02-28

    >Installation, equipping, and dosimetry of an 850-curie Schwarz-Allen type Co/sup 60/ source were completed. Dose rates are tabulated for six positions in the source. The dissolution of boron from pyrex by methanol was studied using the curcumin procedure. The results indicated <7 x 10/sup -6/M of boron in the methanol independent of irradiations. The gamma radiolysis of methanol resulted in G-values of: 4.66 plus or minus 0.07, H/sub 2/; 0.27 plus or minus 0.03, CH/sub 4/; 1.94 plus or minus 0.06, CH/sub 2/O; and 2.86 plus or minus 0.05, C/sub 2/H/sub 6/O/sub 2/. An improvement in the trapping of methanolmore » resulted in the reduction of the apparent yield of H/sub 2/ to 3.9. (B.O.G.)« less

  5. 40 CFR 721.4880 - Methanol, trichloro-, carbonate (2:1).

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 30 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Methanol, trichloro-, carbonate (2:1... Substances § 721.4880 Methanol, trichloro-, carbonate (2:1). (a) Chemical substance and significant new uses subject to reporting. (1) The chemical substance identified as methanol, trichloro-, carbonate (2:1) (CAS...

  6. 40 CFR 721.4880 - Methanol, trichloro-, carbonate (2:1).

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 31 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Methanol, trichloro-, carbonate (2:1... Substances § 721.4880 Methanol, trichloro-, carbonate (2:1). (a) Chemical substance and significant new uses subject to reporting. (1) The chemical substance identified as methanol, trichloro-, carbonate (2:1) (CAS...

  7. Electron transport in ethanol & methanol absorbed defected graphene

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dandeliya, Sushmita; Srivastava, Anurag

    2018-05-01

    In the present paper, the sensitivity of ethanol and methanol molecules on surface of single vacancy defected graphene has been investigated using density functional theory (DFT). The changes in structural and electronic properties before and after adsorption of ethanol and methanol were analyzed and the obtained results show high adsorption energy and charge transfer. High adsorption happens at the active site with monovacancy defect on graphene surface. Present work confirms that the defected graphene increases the surface reactivity towards ethanol and methanol molecules. The presence of molecules near the active site affects the electronic and transport properties of defected graphene which makes it a promising choice for designing methanol and ethanol sensor.

  8. Upregulated Transcription of Plasmid and Chromosomal Ribulose Monophosphate Pathway Genes Is Critical for Methanol Assimilation Rate and Methanol Tolerance in the Methylotrophic Bacterium Bacillus methanolicus

    PubMed Central

    Jakobsen, Øyvind M.; Benichou, Aline; Flickinger, Michael C.; Valla, Svein; Ellingsen, Trond E.; Brautaset, Trygve

    2006-01-01

    The natural plasmid pBM19 carries the key mdh gene needed for the oxidation of methanol into formaldehyde by Bacillus methanolicus. Five more genes, glpX, fba, tkt, pfk, and rpe, with deduced roles in the cell primary metabolism, are also located on this plasmid. By using real-time PCR, we show that they are transcriptionally upregulated (6- to 40-fold) in cells utilizing methanol; a similar induction was shown for two chromosomal genes, hps and phi. These seven genes are involved in the fructose bisphosphate aldolase/sedoheptulose bisphosphatase variant of the ribulose monophosphate (RuMP) pathway for formaldehyde assimilation. Curing of pBM19 causes higher methanol tolerance and reduced formaldehyde tolerance, and the methanol tolerance is reversed to wild-type levels by reintroducing mdh. Thus, the RuMP pathway is needed to detoxify the formaldehyde produced by the methanol dehydrogenase-mediated conversion of methanol, and the in vivo transcription levels of mdh and the RuMP pathway genes reflect the methanol tolerance level of the cells. The transcriptional inducer of hps and phi genes is formaldehyde, and not methanol, and introduction of multiple copies of these two genes into B. methanolicus made the cells more tolerant of growth on high methanol concentrations. The recombinant strain also had a significantly higher specific growth rate on methanol than the wild type. While pBM19 is critical for growth on methanol and important for formaldehyde detoxification, the maintenance of this plasmid represents a burden for B. methanolicus when growing on mannitol. Our data contribute to a new and fundamental understanding of the regulation of B. methanolicus methylotrophy. PMID:16585766

  9. Upregulated transcription of plasmid and chromosomal ribulose monophosphate pathway genes is critical for methanol assimilation rate and methanol tolerance in the methylotrophic bacterium Bacillus methanolicus.

    PubMed

    Jakobsen, Øyvind M; Benichou, Aline; Flickinger, Michael C; Valla, Svein; Ellingsen, Trond E; Brautaset, Trygve

    2006-04-01

    The natural plasmid pBM19 carries the key mdh gene needed for the oxidation of methanol into formaldehyde by Bacillus methanolicus. Five more genes, glpX, fba, tkt, pfk, and rpe, with deduced roles in the cell primary metabolism, are also located on this plasmid. By using real-time PCR, we show that they are transcriptionally upregulated (6- to 40-fold) in cells utilizing methanol; a similar induction was shown for two chromosomal genes, hps and phi. These seven genes are involved in the fructose bisphosphate aldolase/sedoheptulose bisphosphatase variant of the ribulose monophosphate (RuMP) pathway for formaldehyde assimilation. Curing of pBM19 causes higher methanol tolerance and reduced formaldehyde tolerance, and the methanol tolerance is reversed to wild-type levels by reintroducing mdh. Thus, the RuMP pathway is needed to detoxify the formaldehyde produced by the methanol dehydrogenase-mediated conversion of methanol, and the in vivo transcription levels of mdh and the RuMP pathway genes reflect the methanol tolerance level of the cells. The transcriptional inducer of hps and phi genes is formaldehyde, and not methanol, and introduction of multiple copies of these two genes into B. methanolicus made the cells more tolerant of growth on high methanol concentrations. The recombinant strain also had a significantly higher specific growth rate on methanol than the wild type. While pBM19 is critical for growth on methanol and important for formaldehyde detoxification, the maintenance of this plasmid represents a burden for B. methanolicus when growing on mannitol. Our data contribute to a new and fundamental understanding of the regulation of B. methanolicus methylotrophy.

  10. Spontaneous wrinkling in azlactone-based functional polymer thin films in 2D and 3D geometries for guided nanopatterning

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Ramanathan, Muruganathan; Lokitz, Bradley S.; Messman, Jamie M.

    We report a simple, one step process for developing wrinkling patterns in azlactone-based polymer thin films and brushes in 2D and 3D surfaces. The polymer used in this work wrinkles spontaneously upon deposition and solidification on a substrate without applying any external strain to the substrate, with the mode of deposition defining the direction of the wrinkles. Wrinkle formation is shown to occur on a variety of substrates over large areas. We also find that a very thin brush-like layer of an azlactone-containing block copolymer also exhibits wrinkled topology. Given the spontaneity and versatility of wrinkle formation, we further demonstratemore » two proofs-of-concept, i) that these periodic wrinkled structures are not limited to planar surfaces, but are also developed in complex geometries including tubes, cones and other 3D structures; and ii) that this one-step wrinkling process can be used to guide the deposition of metal nanoparticles and quantum dots, creating a periodic, nanopatterned film.« less

  11. Silicon deposition in nanopores using a liquid precursor.

    PubMed

    Masuda, Takashi; Tatsuda, Narihito; Yano, Kazuhisa; Shimoda, Tatsuya

    2016-11-22

    Techniques for depositing silicon into nanosized spaces are vital for the further scaling down of next-generation devices in the semiconductor industry. In this study, we filled silicon into 3.5-nm-diameter nanopores with an aspect ratio of 70 by exploiting thermodynamic behaviour based on the van der Waals energy of vaporized cyclopentasilane (CPS). We originally synthesized CPS as a liquid precursor for semiconducting silicon. Here we used CPS as a gas source in thermal chemical vapour deposition under atmospheric pressure because vaporized CPS can fill nanopores spontaneously. Our estimation of the free energy of CPS based on Lifshitz van der Waals theory clarified the filling mechanism, where CPS vapour in the nanopores readily undergoes capillary condensation because of its large molar volume compared to those of other vapours such as water, toluene, silane, and disilane. Consequently, a liquid-specific feature was observed during the deposition process; specifically, condensed CPS penetrated into the nanopores spontaneously via capillary force. The CPS that filled the nanopores was then transformed into solid silicon by thermal decomposition at 400 °C. The developed method is expected to be used as a nanoscale silicon filling technology, which is critical for the fabrication of future quantum scale silicon devices.

  12. Silicon deposition in nanopores using a liquid precursor

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Masuda, Takashi; Tatsuda, Narihito; Yano, Kazuhisa; Shimoda, Tatsuya

    2016-11-01

    Techniques for depositing silicon into nanosized spaces are vital for the further scaling down of next-generation devices in the semiconductor industry. In this study, we filled silicon into 3.5-nm-diameter nanopores with an aspect ratio of 70 by exploiting thermodynamic behaviour based on the van der Waals energy of vaporized cyclopentasilane (CPS). We originally synthesized CPS as a liquid precursor for semiconducting silicon. Here we used CPS as a gas source in thermal chemical vapour deposition under atmospheric pressure because vaporized CPS can fill nanopores spontaneously. Our estimation of the free energy of CPS based on Lifshitz van der Waals theory clarified the filling mechanism, where CPS vapour in the nanopores readily undergoes capillary condensation because of its large molar volume compared to those of other vapours such as water, toluene, silane, and disilane. Consequently, a liquid-specific feature was observed during the deposition process; specifically, condensed CPS penetrated into the nanopores spontaneously via capillary force. The CPS that filled the nanopores was then transformed into solid silicon by thermal decomposition at 400 °C. The developed method is expected to be used as a nanoscale silicon filling technology, which is critical for the fabrication of future quantum scale silicon devices.

  13. Total to withdraw from Qatar methanol - MTBE?

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    NONE

    Total is rumored to be withdrawing from the $700-million methanol and methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) Qatar Fuel Additives Co., (Qafac) project. The French company has a 12.5% stake in the project. Similar equity is held by three other foreign investors: Canada`s International Octane, Taiwan`s Chinese Petroleum Corp., and Lee Change Yung Chemical Industrial Corp. Total is said to want Qafac to concentrate on methanol only. The project involves plant unit sizes of 610,000 m.t./year of MTBE and 825,000 m.t./year of methanol. Total declines to comment.

  14. The deep-subsurface sulfate reducer Desulfotomaculum kuznetsovii employs two methanol-degrading pathways.

    PubMed

    Sousa, Diana Z; Visser, Michael; van Gelder, Antonie H; Boeren, Sjef; Pieterse, Mervin M; Pinkse, Martijn W H; Verhaert, Peter D E M; Vogt, Carsten; Franke, Steffi; Kümmel, Steffen; Stams, Alfons J M

    2018-01-16

    Methanol is generally metabolized through a pathway initiated by a cobalamine-containing methanol methyltransferase by anaerobic methylotrophs (such as methanogens and acetogens), or through oxidation to formaldehyde using a methanol dehydrogenase by aerobes. Methanol is an important substrate in deep-subsurface environments, where thermophilic sulfate-reducing bacteria of the genus Desulfotomaculum have key roles. Here, we study the methanol metabolism of Desulfotomaculum kuznetsovii strain 17 T , isolated from a 3000-m deep geothermal water reservoir. We use proteomics to analyze cells grown with methanol and sulfate in the presence and absence of cobalt and vitamin B12. The results indicate the presence of two methanol-degrading pathways in D. kuznetsovii, a cobalt-dependent methanol methyltransferase and a cobalt-independent methanol dehydrogenase, which is further confirmed by stable isotope fractionation. This is the first report of a microorganism utilizing two distinct methanol conversion pathways. We hypothesize that this gives D. kuznetsovii a competitive advantage in its natural environment.

  15. Recent Advances in High-Performance Direct Methanol Fuel Cells

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Narayanan, S. R.; Chun, W.; Valdez, T. I.; Jeffries-Nakamura, B.; Frank, H.; Surumpudi, S.; Halpert, G.; Kosek, J.; Cropley, C.; La Conti, A. B.; hide

    1996-01-01

    Direct methanol fuel cells for portable power applications have been advanced significantly under DARPA- and ARO-sponsored programs over the last five years. A liquid-feed, direct methanol fuel cell developed under these programs, employs a proton exchange membrane as electrolyte and operates on aqueous solutions of methanol with air or oxygen as the oxidant.

  16. Efficient green methanol synthesis from glycerol

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Haider, Muhammad H.; Dummer, Nicholas F.; Knight, David W.; Jenkins, Robert L.; Howard, Mark; Moulijn, Jacob; Taylor, Stuart H.; Hutchings, Graham J.

    2015-12-01

    The production of biodiesel from the transesterification of plant-derived triglycerides with methanol has been commercialized extensively. Impure glycerol is obtained as a by-product at roughly one-tenth the mass of the biodiesel. Utilization of this crude glycerol is important in improving the viability of the overall process. Here we show that crude glycerol can be reacted with water over very simple basic or redox oxide catalysts to produce methanol in high yields, together with other useful chemicals, in a one-step low-pressure process. Our discovery opens up the possibility of recycling the crude glycerol produced during biodiesel manufacture. Furthermore, we show that molecules containing at least two hydroxyl groups can be converted into methanol, which demonstrates some aspects of the generality of this new chemistry.

  17. Effect of methanol on the biofiltration of n-hexane.

    PubMed

    Zehraoui, Abderrahman; Hassan, Ashraf Aly; Sorial, George A

    2012-06-15

    This study investigated the removal of recalcitrant compounds in the presence of a hydrophilic compound. n-Hexane is used as a model compound to represent hydrophobic compounds. Methanol has been introduced in mixture with n-hexane in order to increase the bioavailability of n-hexane in trickle-bed-air-biofilters (TBABs). The mixing ratios investigated were: 70% methanol:30% n-hexane, and 80% methanol:20% n-hexane by volume. n-Hexane loading rates (LRs) ranged from 0.9 to 13.2 g m(-3) h(-1). Methanol LRs varied from 4.6 to 64.5 g m(-3) h(-1) and from 2.3 to 45.2 g m(-3) h(-1) depending upon the mixing ratio used. Biofilter performance, effect of mixing ratios of methanol to n-hexane, removal profile along biofilter depth, COD/nitrogen consumption and CO(2) production were studied under continuous loading operation conditions. Results have shown that the degradation of n-hexane is significantly enhanced by the presence of methanol for n-hexane LRs less than 13.2 g m(-3) h(-1). For n-hexane LR greater than 13.2 g m(-3) h(-1), even though methanol had impacted n-hexane biodegradation, its removal efficiency was higher than our previous study for biodegradation of n-hexane alone, in presence of surfactant, or in presence of benzene. On the other hand, the degradation of methanol was not impacted by the presence of n-hexane. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  18. Metabolic construction strategies for direct methanol utilization in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

    PubMed

    Dai, Zhongxue; Gu, Honglian; Zhang, Shangjie; Xin, Fengxue; Zhang, Wenming; Dong, Weiliang; Ma, Jiangfeng; Jia, Honghua; Jiang, Min

    2017-12-01

    The aim of this study was to metabolically construct Saccharomyces cerevisiae for achievement of direct methanol utilization and value added product (mainly pyruvate) production. After successful integration of methanol oxidation pathway originated from Pichia pastoris into the chromosome of S. cerevisiae, the recombinant showed 1.04g/L consumption of methanol and 3.13% increase of cell growth (OD 600 ) when using methanol as the sole carbon source. Moreover, 0.26g/L of pyruvate was detected in the fermentation broth. The supplementation of 1g/L yeast extract could further improve cell growth with increase of 11.70% and methanol consumption to 2.35g/L. This represents the first genetically modified non-methylotrophic eukaryotic microbe for direct methanol utilization and would be of great value concerning the development of biotechnological processes. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Evidence for Conversion of Methanol to Formaldehyde in Nonhuman Primate Brain

    PubMed Central

    Zhai, Rongwei; Zheng, Na; Rizak, Joshua; Hu, Xintian

    2016-01-01

    Many studies have reported that methanol toxicity to primates is mainly associated with its metabolites, formaldehyde (FA) and formic acid. While methanol metabolism and toxicology have been best studied in peripheral organs, little study has focused on the brain and no study has reported experimental evidence that demonstrates transformation of methanol into FA in the primate brain. In this study, three rhesus macaques were given a single intracerebroventricular injection of methanol to investigate whether a metabolic process of methanol to FA occurs in nonhuman primate brain. Levels of FA in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) were then assessed at different time points. A significant increase of FA levels was found at the 18th hour following a methanol injection. Moreover, the FA level returned to a normal physiological level at the 30th hour after the injection. These findings provide direct evidence that methanol is oxidized to FA in nonhuman primate brain and that a portion of the FA generated is released out of the brain cells. This study suggests that FA is produced from methanol metabolic processes in the nonhuman primate brain and that FA may play a significant role in methanol neurotoxicology. PMID:27066393

  20. Methanol as a cryoprotectant for equine embryos.

    PubMed

    Bass, L D; Denniston, D J; Maclellan, L J; McCue, P M; Seidel, G E; Squires, E L

    2004-09-15

    Equine embryos (n=43) were recovered nonsurgically 7-8 days after ovulation and randomly assigned to be cryopreserved in one of two cryoprotectants: 48% (15M) methanol (n=22) or 10% (136 M) glycerol (n=21). Embryos (300-1000 microm) were measured at five intervals after exposure to glycerol (0, 2, 5, 10 and 15 min) or methanol (0, 15, 35, 75 and 10 min) to determine changes (%) in diameter over time (+/-S.D.). Embryos were loaded into 0.25-ml plastic straws, sealed, placed in a programmable cell freezer and cooled from room temperature (22 degrees C) to -6 degrees C. Straws were then seeded, held at -6 degrees C for 10 min and then cooled to -33 degrees C before being plunged into liquid nitrogen. Two or three embryos within a treatment group were thawed and assigned to be either cultured for 12 h prior to transfer or immediately nonsurgically transferred to a single mare. Embryo diameter decreased in all embryos upon initial exposure to cryoprotectant. Embryos in methanol shrank and recovered slightly to 76+/-8 % of their original diameter; however, embryos in glycerol continued to shrink, reaching 57+/-6 % of their original diameter prior to cryopreservation. Survival rates of embryos through Day 16 of pregnancy were 38 and 23%, respectively (P>0.05) for embryos cryopreserved in the presence of glycerol or methanol. There was no difference in pregnancy rates of mares receiving embryos that were cultured prior to transfer or not cultured (P>0.05). Preliminary experiments indicated that 48% methanol was not toxic to fresh equine embryos but methanol provided no advantage over glycerol as a cryoprotectant for equine blastocysts.

  1. Isolation and complementation analysis of 10 methanol oxidation mutant classes and identification of the methanol dehydrogenase structural gene of Methylobacterium sp. strain AM1

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Nunn, D.N.; Lidstrom, M.E.

    A method has been developed for the direct selection of methanol oxidation mutants of the facultative methylotroph Methylobacterium sp. strain AM1 (formerly Pseudomonas sp. strain AM1). Using this direct selection technique, we have isolated mutants of Methylobacterium sp. strain AM1 that are no longer capable of growth on methanol but retain the ability to grow on methylamine. These methanol oxidation (Mox) mutants were complemented with a genomic clone bank of this organism constructed in the broad-host-range cosmid pVK100, and subcloning and Tn5 mutagenesis experiments have assigned the Mox mutants to 10 distinct complementation groups. Using an open reading frame beta-galactosidasemore » fusion vector and antibodies specific for Methylobacterium sp. strain AM1 methanol dehydrogenase, we have identified the methanol dehydrogenase structural gene and determined the direction of transcription. The results suggest that the synthesis and utilization of an active methanol dehydrogenase in this organism requires at least 10 different gene functions.« less

  2. Stability studies of oxytetracycline in methanol solution

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, Wei; Wu, Nan; Yang, Jinghui; Zeng, Ming; Xu, Chenshan; Li, Lun; Zhang, Meng; Li, Liting

    2018-02-01

    As one kind of typical tetracycline antibiotics, antibiotic residues of oxytetracycline have been frequently detected in many environmental media. In this study, the stability of oxytetracycline in methanol solution was investigated by high-performance liquid chromatography combined with UV-vis (HPLC-UV). The results show that the stability of oxytetracycline in methanol solution is highly related to its initial concentration and the preserved temperature. Under low temperature condition, the solution was more stable than under room temperature preservation. Under the same temperature preservation condition, high concentrations of stock solutions are more stable than low concentrations. The study provides a foundation for preserving the oxytetracycline-methanol solution.

  3. Phenolic acids as bioindicators of fly ash deposit revegetation

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    L. Djurdjevic; M. Mitrovic; P. Pavlovic

    The floristic composition, the abundance, and the cover of pioneer plant species of spontaneously formed plant communities and the content of total phenolics and phenolic acids, as humus constituents, of an ash deposit after 7 years of recultivation were studied. The restoration of both the soil and the vegetation on the ash deposits of the 'Nikola Tesla-A' thermoelectric power plant in Obrenovac (Serbia) is an extremely slow process. Unfavorable physical and chemical characteristics, the toxicity of fly ash, and extreme microclimatic conditions prevented the development of compact plant cover. The abundance and cover of plants increased from the central partmore » of the deposit towards its edges. Festuca rubra L., Crepis setosa Hall., Erigeron canadensis L., Cirsium arvense (L.) Scop., Calamagrostis epigeios (L.) Roth., and Tamarix gallica L. were the most abundant species, thus giving the highest cover. Humus generated during the decomposition process of plant remains represents a completely new product absent in the ash as the starting material. The amount of total phenolics and phenolic acids in fly ash increased from the center of the deposit towards its edges in correlation with the increase in plant abundance and cover. The presence of phenolic acids indicates the ongoing process of humus formation in the ash, in which the most abundant pioneer plants of spontaneously formed plant communities play the main role. Phenolic compounds can serve as reliable bioindicators in an assessment of the success of the recultivation process of thermoelectric power plants' ash deposits.« less

  4. Methanol oxidation by temperate soils and environmental determinants of associated methylotrophs

    PubMed Central

    Stacheter, Astrid; Noll, Matthias; Lee, Charles K; Selzer, Mirjam; Glowik, Beate; Ebertsch, Linda; Mertel, Ralf; Schulz, Daria; Lampert, Niclas; Drake, Harold L; Kolb, Steffen

    2013-01-01

    The role of soil methylotrophs in methanol exchange with the atmosphere has been widely overlooked. Methanol can be derived from plant polymers and be consumed by soil microbial communities. In the current study, methanol-utilizing methylotrophs of 14 aerated soils were examined to resolve their comparative diversities and capacities to utilize ambient concentrations of methanol. Abundances of cultivable methylotrophs ranged from 106–108 gsoilDW−1. Methanol dissimilation was measured based on conversion of supplemented 14C-methanol, and occurred at concentrations down to 0.002 μmol methanol gsoilDW−1. Tested soils exhibited specific affinities to methanol (a0s=0.01 d−1) that were similar to those of other environments suggesting that methylotrophs with similar affinities were present. Two deep-branching alphaproteobacterial genotypes of mch responded to the addition of ambient concentrations of methanol (⩽0.6 μmol methanol gsoilDW−1) in one of these soils. Methylotroph community structures were assessed by amplicon pyrosequencing of genes of mono carbon metabolism (mxaF, mch and fae). Alphaproteobacteria-affiliated genotypes were predominant in all investigated soils, and the occurrence of novel genotypes indicated a hitherto unveiled diversity of methylotrophs. Correlations between vegetation type, soil pH and methylotroph community structure suggested that plant–methylotroph interactions were determinative for soil methylotrophs. PMID:23254514

  5. Does Spontaneous Favorability to Power (vs. Universalism) Values Predict Spontaneous Prejudice and Discrimination?

    PubMed

    Souchon, Nicolas; Maio, Gregory R; Hanel, Paul H P; Bardin, Brigitte

    2017-10-01

    We conducted five studies testing whether an implicit measure of favorability toward power over universalism values predicts spontaneous prejudice and discrimination. Studies 1 (N = 192) and 2 (N = 86) examined correlations between spontaneous favorability toward power (vs. universalism) values, achievement (vs. benevolence) values, and a spontaneous measure of prejudice toward ethnic minorities. Study 3 (N = 159) tested whether conditioning participants to associate power values with positive adjectives and universalism values with negative adjectives (or inversely) affects spontaneous prejudice. Study 4 (N = 95) tested whether decision bias toward female handball players could be predicted by spontaneous attitude toward power (vs. universalism) values. Study 5 (N = 123) examined correlations between spontaneous attitude toward power (vs. universalism) values, spontaneous importance toward power (vs. universalism) values, and spontaneous prejudice toward Black African people. Spontaneous positivity toward power (vs. universalism) values was associated with spontaneous negativity toward minorities and predicted gender bias in a decision task, whereas the explicit measures did not. These results indicate that the implicit assessment of evaluative responses attached to human values helps to model value-attitude-behavior relations. © 2016 The Authors. Journal of Personality Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  6. Molecular interaction between Methylobacterium extorquens and seedlings: growth promotion, methanol consumption, and localization of the methanol emission site.

    PubMed

    Abanda-Nkpwatt, Daniel; Müsch, Martina; Tschiersch, Jochen; Boettner, Mewes; Schwab, Wilfried

    2006-01-01

    Four Methylobacterium extorquens strains were isolated from strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa cv. Elsanta) leaves, and one strain, called ME4, was tested for its ability to promote the growth of various plant seedlings. Seedling weight and shoot length of Nicotiana tabacum, Lycopersicon esculentum, Sinapis alba, and Fragaria vesca increased significantly in the presence of the pink-pigmented facultative methylotroph (PPFM), but the germination behaviour of seeds from six other plants was not affected. The cell-free supernatant of the bacterial culture stimulated germination, suggesting the production of a growth-promoting agent by the methylotroph. Methanol emitted from N. tabacum seedlings, as determined by proton-transfer-reaction mass spectrometry (PTR-MS), ranged from 0.4 to 0.7 ppbv (parts per billion by volume), while significantly lower levels (0.005 to 0.01 ppbv) of the volatile alcohol were measured when the seedlings were co-cultivated with M. extorquens ME4, demonstrating the consumption of the gaseous methanol by the bacteria. Additionally, by using cells of the methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris transformed with the pPICHS/GFP vector harbouring a methanol-sensitive promoter in combination with the green fluorescence protein (GFP) reporter gene, stomata were identified as the main source of the methanol emission on tobacco cotyledons. Methylobacterium extorquens strains can nourish themselves using the methanol released by the stomata and release an agent promoting the growth of the seedlings of some crop plants.

  7. Synthesis and tribological properties of diamond-like carbon films by electrochemical anode deposition

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Yang; Zhang, GuiFeng; Hou, XiaoDuo; Deng, DeWei

    2012-06-01

    Diamond-like carbon films (DLC) are deposited on Ti substrate by electrochemical anodic deposition at room temperature in pure methanol solution using a pulsed DC voltage at a range from 200 V to 2000 V. Raman spectroscopy analysis of the films reveals two broaden characteristic absorption peaks centred at ˜1350 cm-1 and 1580 cm-1, relating to D- and G-band of typical DLC films, respectively. A broad peak centred at 1325-1330 cm-1 is observed when an applied potential is 1200 V, which can confirm that the deposited films contained diamond structure phase. Tribological properties of the coated Ti substrates have been measured by means of a ball-on-plate wear test machine. A related growth mechanism of DLC films by the anodic deposition mode has also been discussed.

  8. Activation of catalysts for synthesizing methanol from synthesis gas

    DOEpatents

    Blum, David B.; Gelbein, Abraham P.

    1985-01-01

    A method for activating a methanol synthesis catalyst is disclosed. In this method, the catalyst is slurried in an inert liquid and is activated by a reducing gas stream. The activation step occurs in-situ. That is, it is conducted in the same reactor as is the subsequent step of synthesizing methanol from a methanol gas stream catalyzed by the activated catalyst still dispersed in a slurry.

  9. Neuromuscular Functions on Experimental Acute Methanol Intoxication.

    PubMed

    Moral, Ali Reşat; Çankayalı, İlkin; Sergin, Demet; Boyacılar, Özden

    2015-10-01

    The incidence of accidental or suicidal ingestion of methyl alcohol is high and methyl alcohol intoxication has high mortality. Methyl alcohol intoxication causes severe neurological sequelae and appears to be a significant problem. Methyl alcohol causes acute metabolic acidosis, optic neuropathy leading to permanent blindness, respiratory failure, circulatory failure and death. It is metabolised in the liver, and its metabolite formic acid has direct toxic effects, causing oxidative stress, mitochondrial damage and increased lipid peroxidation associated with the mechanism of neurotoxicity. Methanol is known to cause acute toxicity of the central nervous system; however, the effects on peripheral neuromuscular transmission are unknown. In our study, we aimed to investigate the electrophysiological effects of experimentally induced acute methanol intoxication on neuromuscular transmission in the early period (first 24 h). After approval by the Animal Experiment Ethics Committee of Ege University, the study was carried out on 10 Wistar rats, each weighing about 200 g. During electrophysiological recordings and orogastric tube insertion, the rats were anaesthetised using intra-peritoneal (IP) injection of ketamine 100 mg kg(-1) and IP injection of xylazine 10 mg kg(-1). The rats were given 3 g kg(-1) methyl alcohol by the orogastric tube. Electrophysiological measurements from the gastrocnemius muscle were compared with baseline. Latency measurements before and 24 h after methanol injection were 0.81±0.11 ms and 0.76±0.12 ms, respectively. CMAP amplitude measurements before and 24 h after methanol injection were 9.85±0.98 mV and 9.99±0.40 mV, respectively. CMAP duration measurements before and 24 h after methanol injection were 9.86±0.03 ms and 9.86±0.045 ms, respectively. It was concluded that experimental methanol intoxication in the acute phase (first 24 h) did not affect neuromuscular function.

  10. Emerging methanol-tolerant AlN nanowire oxygen reduction electrocatalyst for alkaline direct methanol fuel cell.

    PubMed

    Lei, M; Wang, J; Li, J R; Wang, Y G; Tang, H L; Wang, W J

    2014-08-11

    Replacing precious and nondurable Pt catalysts with cheap materials is a key issue for commercialization of fuel cells. In the case of oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) catalysts for direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC), the methanol tolerance is also an important concern. Here, we develop AlN nanowires with diameters of about 100-150 nm and the length up to 1 mm through crystal growth method. We find it is electrochemically stable in methanol-contained alkaline electrolyte. This novel material exhibits pronounced electrocatalytic activity with exchange current density of about 6.52 × 10(-8) A/cm(2). The single cell assembled with AlN nanowire cathodic electrode achieves a power density of 18.9 mW cm(-2). After being maintained at 100 mA cm(-2) for 48 h, the AlN nanowire-based single cell keeps 92.1% of the initial performance, which is in comparison with 54.5% for that assembled with Pt/C cathode. This discovery reveals a new type of metal nitride ORR catalyst that can be cheaply produced from crystal growth method.

  11. Improving formaldehyde consumption drives methanol assimilation in engineered E. coli.

    PubMed

    Woolston, Benjamin M; King, Jason R; Reiter, Michael; Van Hove, Bob; Stephanopoulos, Gregory

    2018-06-19

    Due to volatile sugar prices, the food vs fuel debate, and recent increases in the supply of natural gas, methanol has emerged as a promising feedstock for the bio-based economy. However, attempts to engineer Escherichia coli to metabolize methanol have achieved limited success. Here, we provide a rigorous systematic analysis of several potential pathway bottlenecks. We show that regeneration of ribulose 5-phosphate in E. coli is insufficient to sustain methanol assimilation, and overcome this by activating the sedoheptulose bisphosphatase variant of the ribulose monophosphate pathway. By leveraging the kinetic isotope effect associated with deuterated methanol as a chemical probe, we further demonstrate that under these conditions overall pathway flux is kinetically limited by methanol dehydrogenase. Finally, we identify NADH as a potent kinetic inhibitor of this enzyme. These results provide direction for future engineering strategies to improve methanol utilization, and underscore the value of chemical biology methodologies in metabolic engineering.

  12. Methanol Uptake by Low Temperature Aqueous Sulfuric Acid Solutions

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Iraci, L. T.; Essin, A. M.; Golden, D. M.; Hipskind, R. Stephen (Technical Monitor)

    2001-01-01

    The global methanol budget is currently unbalanced, with source terms significantly larger than the sinks terms. To evaluate possible losses of gaseous methanol to sulfate aerosols, the solubility and reactivity of methanol in aqueous sulfuric acid solutions representative of upper tropospheric and lower stratospheric aerosols is under investigation. Methanol will partition into sulfate aerosols according to its Henry's law solubility. Using standard uptake techniques in a Knudsen cell reactor, we have measured the effective Henry's law coefficient, H*, for cold (196 - 220 K) solutions ranging between 45 and 70 wt % H2SO4. We have found that methanol solubility ranges from approx. 10(exp 5) - 10(exp 7) M/atm for UT/LS conditions. Solubility increases with decreasing temperature and with increasing sulfuric acid content. Although methanol is slightly more soluble than are acetone and formaldehyde, current data indicate that uptake by clean aqueous sulfuric acid particles will not be a significant sink for methanol in the UT/LS. These solubility measurements include uptake due to physical solvation and any rapid equilibria which are established in solution. Reaction between primary alcohols and sulfuric acid does occur, leading to the production of alkyl sulfates. Literature values for the rate of this reaction suggest that formation of CH3OSO3H is not significant over our experimental time scale for solutions below 80 wt % H2SO4. To confirm this directly, results obtained using a complementary equilibrium measurement technique will also be presented.

  13. Size-restricted proton transfer within toluene-methanol cluster ions.

    PubMed

    Chiang, Chi-Tung; Shores, Kevin S; Freindorf, Marek; Furlani, Thomas; DeLeon, Robert L; Garvey, James F

    2008-11-20

    To understand the interaction between toluene and methanol, the chemical reactivity of [(C6H5CH3)(CH3OH) n=1-7](+) cluster ions has been investigated via tandem quadrupole mass spectrometry and through calculations. Collision Induced Dissociation (CID) experiments show that the dissociated intracluster proton transfer reaction from the toluene cation to methanol clusters, forming protonated methanol clusters, only occurs for n = 2-4. For n = 5-7, CID spectra reveal that these larger clusters have to sequentially lose methanol monomers until they reach n = 4 to initiate the deprotonation of the toluene cation. Metastable decay data indicate that for n = 3 and n = 4 (CH3OH)3H(+) is the preferred fragment ion. The calculational results reveal that both the gross proton affinity of the methanol subcluster and the structure of the cluster itself play an important role in driving this proton transfer reaction. When n = 3, the cooperative effect of the methanols in the subcluster provides the most important contribution to allow the intracluster proton transfer reaction to occur with little or no energy barrier. As n >or= 4, the methanol subcluster is able to form ring structures to stabilize the cluster structures so that direct proton transfer is not a favored process. The preferred reaction product, the (CH3OH)3H(+) cluster ion, indicates that this size-restricted reaction is driven by both the proton affinity and the enhanced stability of the resulting product.

  14. Radiolysis study of genistein in methanolic solution

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jung, Hee Jin; Park, Hae Ran; Jung, Uhee; Jo, Sung Kee

    2009-06-01

    The aim of the present work was to identify products obtained from genistein by ionizing radiation and to enhance the antioxidant properties of genistein through radiation-induced transformation. Genistein dissolved in methanol was irradiated γ-rays at a dose of 100 kGy. NMR and (HR) EI-MS spectroscopy were used to identify radiolysis products (GM1 and GM2). We proposed that rad CH 2OH may be implicated in the formation GM1 and GM2 during radiolysis of genistein in methanol. The genistein in methanol solution showed higher DPPH radical scavenging activity after γ-irradiation. Then, the antioxidant activities of radiolysis products were evaluated and compared to those of genistein.

  15. High Performance and Cost-Effective Direct Methanol Fuel Cells: Fe-N-C Methanol-Tolerant Oxygen Reduction Reaction Catalysts.

    PubMed

    Sebastián, David; Serov, Alexey; Artyushkova, Kateryna; Gordon, Jonathan; Atanassov, Plamen; Aricò, Antonino S; Baglio, Vincenzo

    2016-08-09

    Direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) offer great advantages for the supply of power with high efficiency and large energy density. The search for a cost-effective, active, stable and methanol-tolerant catalyst for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is still a great challenge. In this work, platinum group metal-free (PGM-free) catalysts based on Fe-N-C are investigated in acidic medium. Post-treatment of the catalyst improves the ORR activity compared with previously published PGM-free formulations and shows an excellent tolerance to the presence of methanol. The feasibility for application in DMFC under a wide range of operating conditions is demonstrated, with a maximum power density of approximately 50 mW cm(-2) and a negligible methanol crossover effect on the performance. A review of the most recent PGM-free cathode formulations for DMFC indicates that this formulation leads to the highest performance at a low membrane-electrode assembly (MEA) cost. Moreover, a 100 h durability test in DMFC shows suitable applicability, with a similar performance-time behavior compared to common MEAs based on Pt cathodes. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  16. Methanol from coal

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Miller, D. R.

    1978-01-01

    Economic feasibility of methanol or methyl fuel produced from coal using existing technology is discussed. Other factors considered include environmental, safety, toxicity, transportation, so storage, ease of burning, and retrofitting of present boilers. Demonstrations of its uses as a boiler fuel and as a turbine fuel are cited.

  17. Three-dimensional multiscale analysis of degradation of nano- and micro-structure in direct methanol fuel cell electrodes after methanol starvation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Netzeband, Christian; Arlt, Tobias; Wippermann, Klaus; Lehnert, Werner; Manke, Ingo

    2016-09-01

    This study investigates the ageing effects on the microstructure of the anode catalyst layer of direct methanol fuel cells (DMFC) after complete methanol starvation. To this end the samples of two methanol-depleted membrane electrode assemblies (MEA) have been compared with a pristine reference sample. A three-dimensional characterization of the anode catalyst layer (ACL) structure on a nanometer scale has been conducted by focused ion beam (FIB)/scanning electron microscope (SEM) tomography. The FIB/SEM tomography allows for a detailed analysis of statistic parameters of micro-structured materials, such as porosity, tortuosity and pore size distributions. Furthermore, the SEM images displayed a high material contrast between the heavy catalyst metals (Pt/Ru) and the relatively light carbon support, which made it possible to map the catalyst distribution in the acquired FIB/SEM tomographies. Additional synchrotron X-ray tomographies have been conducted in order to obtain an overview of the structural changes of all the components of a section of the MEAs after methanol depletion.

  18. Modeling methanol transfer in the mesoporous catalyst for the methanol-to-olefins reaction by the time-fractional diffusion equation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhokh, Alexey A.; Strizhak, Peter E.

    2018-04-01

    The solutions of the time-fractional diffusion equation for the short and long times are obtained via an application of the asymptotic Green's functions. The derived solutions are applied to analysis of the methanol mass transfer through H-ZSM-5/alumina catalyst grain. It is demonstrated that the methanol transport in the catalysts pores may be described by the obtained solutions in a fairly good manner. The measured fractional exponent is equal to 1.20 ± 0.02 and reveals the super-diffusive regime of the methanol mass transfer. The presence of the anomalous transport may be caused by geometrical restrictions and the adsorption process on the internal surface of the catalyst grain's pores.

  19. Selectivity of Direct Methanol Fuel Cell Membranes.

    PubMed

    Aricò, Antonino S; Sebastian, David; Schuster, Michael; Bauer, Bernd; D'Urso, Claudia; Lufrano, Francesco; Baglio, Vincenzo

    2015-11-24

    Sulfonic acid-functionalized polymer electrolyte membranes alternative to Nafion(®) were developed. These were hydrocarbon systems, such as blend sulfonated polyetheretherketone (s-PEEK), new generation perfluorosulfonic acid (PFSA) systems, and composite zirconium phosphate-PFSA polymers. The membranes varied in terms of composition, equivalent weight, thickness, and filler and were investigated with regard to their methanol permeation characteristics and proton conductivity for application in direct methanol fuel cells. The behavior of the membrane electrode assemblies (MEA) was investigated in fuel cell with the aim to individuate a correlation between membrane characteristics and their performance in a direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC). The power density of the DMFC at 60 °C increased according to a square root-like function of the membrane selectivity. This was defined as the reciprocal of the product between area specific resistance and crossover. The power density achieved at 60 °C for the most promising s-PEEK-based membrane-electrode assembly (MEA) was higher than the benchmark Nafion(®) 115-based MEA (77 mW·cm(-2) vs. 64 mW·cm(-2)). This result was due to a lower methanol crossover (47 mA·cm(-2) equivalent current density for s-PEEK vs. 120 mA·cm(-2) for Nafion(®) 115 at 60 °C as recorded at OCV with 2 M methanol) and a suitable area specific resistance (0.15 Ohm cm² for s-PEEK vs. 0.22 Ohm cm² for Nafion(®) 115).

  20. Selectivity of Direct Methanol Fuel Cell Membranes

    PubMed Central

    Aricò, Antonino S.; Sebastian, David; Schuster, Michael; Bauer, Bernd; D’Urso, Claudia; Lufrano, Francesco; Baglio, Vincenzo

    2015-01-01

    Sulfonic acid-functionalized polymer electrolyte membranes alternative to Nafion® were developed. These were hydrocarbon systems, such as blend sulfonated polyetheretherketone (s-PEEK), new generation perfluorosulfonic acid (PFSA) systems, and composite zirconium phosphate–PFSA polymers. The membranes varied in terms of composition, equivalent weight, thickness, and filler and were investigated with regard to their methanol permeation characteristics and proton conductivity for application in direct methanol fuel cells. The behavior of the membrane electrode assemblies (MEA) was investigated in fuel cell with the aim to individuate a correlation between membrane characteristics and their performance in a direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC). The power density of the DMFC at 60 °C increased according to a square root-like function of the membrane selectivity. This was defined as the reciprocal of the product between area specific resistance and crossover. The power density achieved at 60 °C for the most promising s-PEEK-based membrane-electrode assembly (MEA) was higher than the benchmark Nafion® 115-based MEA (77 mW·cm−2 vs. 64 mW·cm−2). This result was due to a lower methanol crossover (47 mA·cm−2 equivalent current density for s-PEEK vs. 120 mA·cm−2 for Nafion® 115 at 60 °C as recorded at OCV with 2 M methanol) and a suitable area specific resistance (0.15 Ohm cm2 for s-PEEK vs. 0.22 Ohm cm2 for Nafion® 115). PMID:26610582

  1. Methanol exchange dynamics between a temperate cropland soil and the atmosphere

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bachy, A.; Aubinet, M.; Amelynck, C.; Schoon, N.; Bodson, B.; Moureaux, C.; Delaplace, P.; De Ligne, A.; Heinesch, B.

    2018-03-01

    Soil methanol (CH3OH) exchange is often considered as several orders of magnitude smaller than plant methanol exchange. However, for some ecosystems, it is significant in regard with plant exchange and worth thus better consideration. Our study sought to gain a better understanding of soil exchange. Methanol flux was measured at the ecosystem scale on a bare agricultural soil over two contrasted periods using the disjunct eddy covariance by mass scanning technique. A proton-transfer-reaction mass spectrometer was used for the methanol ambient mixing ratio measurements. Bi-directional exchange dynamics were observed. Methanol emission occurred under dry and warm conditions and correlated best with soil surface temperature, whereas methanol uptake occurred under wet and mild conditions and correlated well with the methanol ambient concentration. After having tested a physical adsorption-desorption model and by confronting our data with the literature, we propose that the exchange was ruled by both a physical adsorption/desorption mechanism and by a methanol source, which still needs to be identified. The soil emission decreased when the vegetation developed. The reasons for the decrease still need to be determined. Overall, the dynamics observed at our site were similar to those reported by other studies for both cropland and forest ecosystems. The mechanism proposed in our work can thus be possibly applied to other sites or ecosystems. In addition, the methanol exchange rate was in the upper range of the exchange rates reported by other soil studies, suggesting that cropland soils are more important methanol exchangers than those in other ecosystems and should therefore be further investigated.

  2. Adsorption of methanol, ethanol and water on well-characterized PtSn surface alloys

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Panja, Chameli; Saliba, Najat; Koel, Bruce E.

    1998-01-01

    Adsorption and desorption of methanol (CH 3OH), ethanol (C 2H 5OH) and water on Pt(111) and two, ordered, PtSn alloys has been studied primarily using temperature-programmed desorption (TPD) mass spectroscopy. The two alloys studied were the {p(2 × 2) Sn}/{Pt(111) } and (√3 × √3) R30° {Sn}/{Pt(111) } surface alloys prepared by vapor deposition of Sn on Pt(111), with θSn = 0.25 and 0.33, respectively. All three molecules are weakly bonded and reversibly adsorbed under UHV conditions on all three surfaces, molecularly desorbing during TPD without any decomposition. The two PtSn surface alloys were found to chemisorb both methanol and ethanol slightly more weakly than on the Pt(111) surface. The desorption activation energies measured by TPD, and hence the adsorption energies, of both methanol and ethanol progressively decrease as the surface concentration of Sn increases, compared with Pt(111). The decreased binding energy leads one to expect a lower reactivity for these alcohols on the two alloys. The sticking coefficients and the monolayer coverages of these alcohols on the two alloys were identical to that on Pt(111) at 100 K, independent of the amount of Sn present in the surface layer. Alloying Sn in Pt(111) also slightly weakens the adsorption energy of water. Water clusters are formed even at low coverages on all three surfaces, eventually forming a water bilayer prior to the formation of a condensed ice phase. These results are relevant to a molecular-level explanation for the reactivity of Sn-promoted Pt surfaces that have been used in the electro-oxidation of simple organic molecules.

  3. Methanol as an Automotive Fuel : With Special Emphasis on Methanol-Gasoline Blends

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1977-04-01

    This report reviews the available information on methanol as related to its potential use as an automotive fuel. Information gaps critical to assessment and future decisions are delineated and suggestions made for necessary R&D efforts. In this conte...

  4. Production of Methanol from Methane by Encapsulated Methylosinus sporium.

    PubMed

    Patel, Sanjay K S; Jeong, Jae-Hoon; Mehariya, Sanjeet; Otari, Sachin V; Madan, Bharat; Haw, Jung Rim; Lee, Jung-Kul; Zhang, Liaoyuan; Kim, In-Won

    2016-12-28

    Massive reserves of methane (CH₄) remain unexplored as a feedstock for the production of liquid fuels and chemicals, mainly because of the lack of economically suitable and sustainable strategies for selective oxidation of CH₄ to methanol. The present study demonstrates the bioconversion of CH₄ to methanol mediated by Type I methanotrophs, such as Methylomicrobium album and Methylomicrobium alcaliphilum . Furthermore, immobilization of a Type II methanotroph, Methylosinus sporium , was carried out using different encapsulation methods, employing sodium-alginate (Na-alginate) and silica gel. The encapsulated cells demonstrated higher stability for methanol production. The optimal pH, temperature, and agitation rate were determined to be pH 7.0, 30°C, and 175 rpm, respectively, using inoculum (1.5 mg of dry cell mass/ml) and 20% of CH₄ as a feed. Under these conditions, maximum methanol production (3.43 and 3.73 mM) by the encapsulated cells was recorded. Even after six cycles of reuse, the Na-alginate and silica gel encapsulated cells retained 61.8% and 51.6% of their initial efficiency for methanol production, respectively, in comparison with the efficiency of 11.5% observed in the case of free cells. These results suggest that encapsulation of methanotrophs is a promising approach to improve the stability of methanol production.

  5. DOES INHALATION OF METHANOL VAPOR AFFECT HUMAN NEUROBEHAVIOR?

    EPA Science Inventory

    In this pilot study, Dr. Mary Cook and colleagues exposed 12 young male volunteers to either filtered air or methanol vapor (192 parts per million) for 75 minutes. (This concentration of methanol is estimated to approach the highest concentration that individuals might expe...

  6. Role of the Cu-ZrO 2 Interfacial Sites for Conversion of Ethanol to Ethyl Acetate and Synthesis of Methanol from CO 2 and H 2 [The Role of the Cu-ZrO 2 Interfacial Sites for Ethanol Conversion to Ethyl Acetate and Methanol Synthesis from CO 2 and H 2

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Ro, Insoo; Liu, Yifei; Ball, Madelyn R.

    Well-defined Cu catalysts containing different amounts of zirconia were synthesized by controlled surface reactions (CSRs) and atomic layer deposition methods and studied for the selective conversion of ethanol to ethyl acetate and for methanol synthesis. Selective deposition of ZrO 2 on undercoordinated Cu sites or near Cu nanoparticles via the CSR method was evidenced by UV–vis absorption spectroscopy, scanning transmission electron microscopy, and inductively coupled plasma absorption emission spectroscopy. The concentrations of Cu and Cu-ZrO 2 interfacial sites were quantified using a combination of subambient CO Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and reactive N 2O chemisorption measurements. The oxidation states ofmore » the Cu and ZrO 2 species for these catalysts were determined using X-ray absorption near edge structure measurements, showing that these species were present primarily as Cu 0 and Zr 4+, respectively. Here, it was found that the formation of Cu-ZrO 2 interfacial sites increased the turnover frequency by an order of magnitude in both the conversion of ethanol to ethyl acetate and the synthesis of methanol from CO 2 and H 2.« less

  7. Role of the Cu-ZrO 2 Interfacial Sites for Conversion of Ethanol to Ethyl Acetate and Synthesis of Methanol from CO 2 and H 2 [The Role of the Cu-ZrO 2 Interfacial Sites for Ethanol Conversion to Ethyl Acetate and Methanol Synthesis from CO 2 and H 2

    DOE PAGES

    Ro, Insoo; Liu, Yifei; Ball, Madelyn R.; ...

    2016-09-06

    Well-defined Cu catalysts containing different amounts of zirconia were synthesized by controlled surface reactions (CSRs) and atomic layer deposition methods and studied for the selective conversion of ethanol to ethyl acetate and for methanol synthesis. Selective deposition of ZrO 2 on undercoordinated Cu sites or near Cu nanoparticles via the CSR method was evidenced by UV–vis absorption spectroscopy, scanning transmission electron microscopy, and inductively coupled plasma absorption emission spectroscopy. The concentrations of Cu and Cu-ZrO 2 interfacial sites were quantified using a combination of subambient CO Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and reactive N 2O chemisorption measurements. The oxidation states ofmore » the Cu and ZrO 2 species for these catalysts were determined using X-ray absorption near edge structure measurements, showing that these species were present primarily as Cu 0 and Zr 4+, respectively. Here, it was found that the formation of Cu-ZrO 2 interfacial sites increased the turnover frequency by an order of magnitude in both the conversion of ethanol to ethyl acetate and the synthesis of methanol from CO 2 and H 2.« less

  8. Methanol electro-oxidation on platinum modified tungsten carbides in direct methanol fuel cells: a DFT study.

    PubMed

    Sheng, Tian; Lin, Xiao; Chen, Zhao-Yang; Hu, P; Sun, Shi-Gang; Chu, You-Qun; Ma, Chun-An; Lin, Wen-Feng

    2015-10-14

    In exploration of low-cost electrocatalysts for direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs), Pt modified tungsten carbide (WC) materials are found to be great potential candidates for decreasing Pt usage whilst exhibiting satisfactory reactivity. In this work, the mechanisms, onset potentials and activity for electrooxidation of methanol were studied on a series of Pt-modified WC catalysts where the bare W-terminated WC(0001) substrate was employed. In the surface energy calculations of a series of Pt-modified WC models, we found that the feasible structures are mono- and bi-layer Pt-modified WCs. The tri-layer Pt-modified WC model is not thermodynamically stable where the top layer Pt atoms tend to accumulate and form particles or clusters rather than being dispersed as a layer. We further calculated the mechanisms of methanol oxidation on the feasible models via methanol dehydrogenation to CO involving C-H and O-H bonds dissociating subsequently, and further CO oxidation with the C-O bond association. The onset potentials for the oxidation reactions over the Pt-modified WC catalysts were determined thermodynamically by water dissociation to surface OH* species. The activities of these Pt-modified WC catalysts were estimated from the calculated kinetic data. It has been found that the bi-layer Pt-modified WC catalysts may provide a good reactivity and an onset oxidation potential comparable to pure Pt and serve as promising electrocatalysts for DMFCs with a significant decrease in Pt usage.

  9. Methanol Production by a Broad Phylogenetic Array of Marine Phytoplankton.

    PubMed

    Mincer, Tracy J; Aicher, Athena C

    2016-01-01

    Methanol is a major volatile organic compound on Earth and serves as an important carbon and energy substrate for abundant methylotrophic microbes. Previous geochemical surveys coupled with predictive models suggest that the marine contributions are exceedingly large, rivaling terrestrial sources. Although well studied in terrestrial ecosystems, methanol sources are poorly understood in the marine environment and warrant further investigation. To this end, we adapted a Purge and Trap Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry (P&T-GC/MS) method which allowed reliable measurements of methanol in seawater and marine phytoplankton cultures with a method detection limit of 120 nanomolar. All phytoplankton tested (cyanobacteria: Synechococcus spp. 8102 and 8103, Trichodesmium erythraeum, and Prochlorococcus marinus), and Eukarya (heterokont diatom: Phaeodactylum tricornutum, coccolithophore: Emiliania huxleyi, cryptophyte: Rhodomonas salina, and non-diatom heterokont: Nannochloropsis oculata) produced methanol, ranging from 0.8-13.7 micromolar in culture and methanol per total cellular carbon were measured in the ranges of 0.09-0.3%. Phytoplankton culture time-course measurements displayed a punctuated production pattern with maxima near early stationary phase. Stabile isotope labeled bicarbonate incorporation experiments confirmed that methanol was produced from phytoplankton biomass. Overall, our findings suggest that phytoplankton are a major source of methanol in the upper water column of the world's oceans.

  10. Studies on an ultrasonic atomization feed direct methanol fuel cell.

    PubMed

    Wu, Chaoqun; Liu, Linghao; Tang, Kai; Chen, Tao

    2017-01-01

    Direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) is promising as an energy conversion device for the replacement of conventional chemical cell in future, owing to its convenient fuel storage, high energy density and low working temperature. The development of DMFC technology is currently limited by catalyst poison and methanol crossover. To alleviate the methanol crossover, a novel fuel supply system based on ultrasonic atomization is proposed. Experimental investigations on this fuel supply system to evaluate methanol permeation rates, open circuit voltages (OCVs) and polarization curves under a series of conditions have been carried out and reported in this paper. In comparison with the traditional liquid feed DMFC system, it can be found that the methanol crossover under the ultrasonic atomization feed system was significantly reduced because the DMFC reaches a large stable OCV value. Moreover, the polarization performance does not vary significantly with the liquid feed style. Therefore, the cell fed by ultrasonic atomization can be operated with a high concentration methanol to improve the energy density of DMFC. Under the supply condition of relatively high concentration methanol such as 4M and 8M, the maximum power density fed by ultrasonic atomization is higher than liquid by 6.05% and 12.94% respectively. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  11. Methanol Production by a Broad Phylogenetic Array of Marine Phytoplankton

    PubMed Central

    Mincer, Tracy J.; Aicher, Athena C.

    2016-01-01

    Methanol is a major volatile organic compound on Earth and serves as an important carbon and energy substrate for abundant methylotrophic microbes. Previous geochemical surveys coupled with predictive models suggest that the marine contributions are exceedingly large, rivaling terrestrial sources. Although well studied in terrestrial ecosystems, methanol sources are poorly understood in the marine environment and warrant further investigation. To this end, we adapted a Purge and Trap Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry (P&T-GC/MS) method which allowed reliable measurements of methanol in seawater and marine phytoplankton cultures with a method detection limit of 120 nanomolar. All phytoplankton tested (cyanobacteria: Synechococcus spp. 8102 and 8103, Trichodesmium erythraeum, and Prochlorococcus marinus), and Eukarya (heterokont diatom: Phaeodactylum tricornutum, coccolithophore: Emiliania huxleyi, cryptophyte: Rhodomonas salina, and non-diatom heterokont: Nannochloropsis oculata) produced methanol, ranging from 0.8–13.7 micromolar in culture and methanol per total cellular carbon were measured in the ranges of 0.09–0.3%. Phytoplankton culture time-course measurements displayed a punctuated production pattern with maxima near early stationary phase. Stabile isotope labeled bicarbonate incorporation experiments confirmed that methanol was produced from phytoplankton biomass. Overall, our findings suggest that phytoplankton are a major source of methanol in the upper water column of the world’s oceans. PMID:26963515

  12. Thermally integrated staged methanol reformer and method

    DOEpatents

    Skala, Glenn William; Hart-Predmore, David James; Pettit, William Henry; Borup, Rodney Lynn

    2001-01-01

    A thermally integrated two-stage methanol reformer including a heat exchanger and first and second reactors colocated in a common housing in which a gaseous heat transfer medium circulates to carry heat from the heat exchanger into the reactors. The heat transfer medium comprises principally hydrogen, carbon dioxide, methanol vapor and water vapor formed in a first stage reforming reaction. A small portion of the circulating heat transfer medium is drawn off and reacted in a second stage reforming reaction which substantially completes the reaction of the methanol and water remaining in the drawn-off portion. Preferably, a PrOx reactor will be included in the housing upstream of the heat exchanger to supplement the heat provided by the heat exchanger.

  13. Methanol ice in the protostar GL 2136

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Skinner, C. J.; Tielens, A. G. G. M.; Barlow, M. J.; Justtanont, K.

    1992-01-01

    We present ground-based spectra in the 10 and 20 micron atmospheric windows of the deeply embedded protostar GL 2136. These reveal narrow absorption features at 9.7 and 8.9 microns, which we ascribe to the CO-stretch and CH3 rock (respectively) of solid methanol in grain mantles. The peak position of the 9.7 micron band implies that methanol is an important ice mantle component. However, the CH3OH/H2O abundance ratio derived from the observed column densities is only 0.1. This discrepancy suggests that the solid methanol and water ice are located in independent grain components. These independent components may reflect chemical differentiation during grain mantle formation and/or partial outgassing close to the protostar.

  14. Oceanic Emissions and Atmospheric Depositions of Volatile Organic Compounds

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yang, M.; Blomquist, B.; Beale, R.; Nightingale, P. D.; Liss, P. S.

    2015-12-01

    Atmospheric volatile organic compounds (VOCs) affect the tropospheric oxidative capacity due to their ubiquitous abundance and relatively high reactivity towards the hydroxyal radical. Over the ocean and away from terrestrial emission sources, oxygenated volatile organic compounds (OVOCs) make up a large fraction of VOCs as airmasses age and become more oxidized. In addition to being produced or destroyed in the marine atmosphere, OVOCs can also be emitted from or deposited to the surface ocean. Here we first present direct air-sea flux measurements of three of the most abundant OVOCs - methanol, acetone, and acetaldehyde, by the eddy covariance technique from two cruises in the Atlantic: the Atlantic Meridional Transect in 2012 and the High Wind Gas Exchange Study in 2013. The OVOC mixing ratios were quantified by a high resolution proton-reaction-transfer mass spectrometer with isotopically labeled standards and their air-sea (net) fluxes were derived from the eddy covariance technique. Net methanol flux was consistently from the atmosphere to the surface ocean, while acetone varied from supersaturation (emission) in the subtropics to undersaturation (deposition) in the higher latitudes of the North Atlantic. The net air-sea flux of acetaldehyde is near zero through out the Atlantic despite the apparent supersaturation of this compound in the surface ocean. Knowing the dissolved concentrations and in situ production rates of these compounds in seawater, we then estimate their bulk atmospheric depositions and oceanic emissions. Lastly, we summarize the state of knowledge on the air-sea transport of a number of organic gasses, and postulate the magnitude and environmental impact of total organic carbon transfer between the ocean and the atmosphere.

  15. Deposition Fluxes of Terpenes over Grassland

    PubMed Central

    Bamberger, I.; Hörtnagl, L.; Ruuskanen, T. M.; Schnitzhofer, R.; Müller, M.; Graus, M.; Karl, T.; Wohlfahrt, G.; Hansel, A.

    2013-01-01

    Eddy covariance flux measurements were carried out for two subsequent vegetation periods above a temperate mountain grassland in an alpine valley using a proton-transfer-reaction – mass spectrometer (PTR-MS) and a PTR-time of flight – mass spectrometer (PTR-TOF). In 2008 and during the first half of the vegetation period 2009 the volume mixing ratios (VMRs) for the sum of monoterpenes (MTs) were typically well below 1 ppbv and neither MT emission nor deposition was observed. After a hailstorm in July 2009 an order of magnitude higher amount of terpenes was transported to the site from nearby coniferous forests causing elevated VMRs. As a consequence, deposition fluxes of terpenes to the grassland, which continued over a time period of several weeks without significant re-emission, were observed. For days without precipitation the deposition occurred at velocities close to the aerodynamic limit. In addition to monoterpene uptake, deposition fluxes of the sum of sesquiterpenes (SQTs) and the sum of oxygenated terpenes (OTs) were detected. Considering an entire growing season for the grassland (i.e., 1st of April to 1st of November), the cumulative carbon deposition of monoterpenes reached 276 mg C m−2. This is comparable to the net carbon emission of methanol (329 mg C m−2), which is the dominant non methane volatile organic compound (VOC) emitted from this site, during the same time period. It is suggested that deposition of monoterpenes to terrestrial ecosystems could play a more significant role in the reactive carbon budget than previously assumed. PMID:24383048

  16. Modeling of methanol decomposition on Pt/CeO2/ZrO2 catalyst in a packed bed microreactor

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pohar, Andrej; Belavič, Darko; Dolanc, Gregor; Hočevar, Stanko

    2014-06-01

    Methanol decomposition on Pt/CeO2/ZrO2 catalyst is studied inside a packed bed microreactor in the temperature range of 300-380 °C. The microreactor is fabricated using low-temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) technology, which is well suited for the production of relatively complex three-dimensional structures. It is packed with 2 wt% Pt-CeO2 catalyst, which is deposited onto ZrO2 spherical particles. A 1D mathematical model, which incorporates diffusion, convection and mass transfer through the boundary layer to the catalyst particles, as well as a 3D computational fluid dynamics model, are developed to describe the methanol decomposition process inside the packed bed. The microreactor exhibits reliable operation and no catalyst deactivation was observed during three months of experimentation. A comparison between the 1D mathematical model and the 3D model, considering the full 3D geometry of the microreactor is made and the differences between the models are identified and evaluated.

  17. Coke formation in a zeolite crystal during the methanol-to-hydrocarbons reaction as studied with atom probe tomography

    DOE PAGES

    Schmidt, Joel E.; Poplawsky, Jonathan D.; Mazumder, Baishakhi; ...

    2016-08-03

    Understanding the formation of carbon deposits in zeolites is vital to developing new, superior materials for various applications, including oil and gas conversion processes. Herein, atom probe tomography (APT) has been used to spatially resolve the 3D compositional changes at the sub-nm length scale in a single zeolite ZSM-5 crystal, which has been partially deactivated by the methanol-to-hydrocarbons reaction using 13C-labeled methanol. The results reveal the formation of coke in agglomerates that span length scales from tens of nanometers to atomic clusters with a median size of 30–60 13C atoms. These clusters correlate with local increases in Brønsted acid sitemore » density, demonstrating that the formation of the first deactivating coke precursor molecules occurs in nanoscopic regions enriched in aluminum. Here, this nanoscale correlation underscores the importance of carefully engineering materials to suppress detrimental coke formation.« less

  18. Prerequisites for amplicon pyrosequencing of microbial methanol utilizers in the environment

    PubMed Central

    Kolb, Steffen; Stacheter, Astrid

    2013-01-01

    The commercial availability of next generation sequencing (NGS) technologies facilitated the assessment of functional groups of microorganisms in the environment with high coverage, resolution, and reproducibility. Soil methylotrophs were among the first microorganisms in the environment that were assessed with molecular tools, and nowadays, as well with NGS technologies. Studies in the past years re-attracted notice to the pivotal role of methylotrophs in global conversions of methanol, which mainly originates from plants, and is involved in oxidative reactions and ozone formation in the atmosphere. Aerobic methanol utilizers belong to Bacteria, yeasts, Ascomycota, and molds. Numerous bacterial methylotrophs are facultatively aerobic, and also contribute to anaerobic methanol oxidation in the environment, whereas strict anaerobic methanol utilizers belong to methanogens and acetogens. The diversity of enzymes catalyzing the initial oxidation of methanol is considerable, and comprises at least five different enzyme types in aerobes, and one in strict anaerobes. Only the gene of the large subunit of pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ)-dependent methanol dehydrogenase (MDH; mxaF) has been analyzed by environmental pyrosequencing. To enable a comprehensive assessment of methanol utilizers in the environment, new primers targeting genes of the PQQ MDH in Methylibium (mdh2), of the nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide-dependent MDH (mdh), of the methanol oxidoreductase of Actinobacteria (mdo), of the fungal flavin adenine nucleotide-dependent alcohol oxidase (mod1, mod2, and homologs), and of the gene of the large subunit of the methanol:corrinoid methyltransferases (mtaC) in methanogens and acetogens need to be developed. Combined stable isotope probing of nucleic acids or proteins with amplicon-based NGS are straightforward approaches to reveal insights into functions of certain methylotrophic taxa in the global methanol cycle. PMID:24046766

  19. Infrared spectroscopy of the methanol cation and its methylene-oxonium isomer

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Mosley, J. D.; Young, J. W.; Duncan, M. A., E-mail: mccoy@chemistry.ohio-state.edu, E-mail: maduncan@uga.edu

    2015-03-21

    The carbenium ion with nominal formula [C,H{sub 4},O]{sup +} is produced from methanol or ethylene glycol in a pulsed-discharge supersonic expansion source. The ion is mass selected, and its infrared spectrum is measured from 2000 to 4000 cm{sup −1} using laser photodissociation spectroscopy and the method of rare gas atom tagging. Computational chemistry predicts two isomers, the methanol and methylene-oxonium cations. Predicted vibrational spectra based on scaled harmonic and reduced dimensional treatments are compared to the experimental spectra. The methanol cation is the only isomer produced when methanol is used as a precursor. When ethylene glycol is used as themore » precursor, methylene-oxonium is produced in addition to the methanol cation. Theoretical results at the CCSD(T)/cc-pVTZ level show that methylene-oxonium is lower in energy than methanol cation by 6.4 kcal/mol, and is in fact the global minimum isomer on the [C,H{sub 4},O]{sup +} potential surface. Methanol cation is trapped behind an isomerization barrier in our source, providing a convenient method to produce and characterize this transient species. Analysis of the spectrum of the methanol cation provides evidence for strong CH stretch vibration/torsion coupling in this molecular ion.« less

  20. 26 CFR 48.4041-19 - Exemption for qualified methanol and ethanol fuel.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-04-01

    ... 26 Internal Revenue 16 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Exemption for qualified methanol and ethanol....4041-19 Exemption for qualified methanol and ethanol fuel. (a) In general. Under section 4041(b)(2... or use of qualified methanol or ethanol fuel. (b) Qualified methanol or ethanol fuel defined. For...

  1. 26 CFR 48.4041-19 - Exemption for qualified methanol and ethanol fuel.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-04-01

    ... 26 Internal Revenue 16 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Exemption for qualified methanol and ethanol....4041-19 Exemption for qualified methanol and ethanol fuel. (a) In general. Under section 4041(b)(2... or use of qualified methanol or ethanol fuel. (b) Qualified methanol or ethanol fuel defined. For...

  2. 26 CFR 48.4041-19 - Exemption for qualified methanol and ethanol fuel.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-04-01

    ... 26 Internal Revenue 16 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Exemption for qualified methanol and ethanol....4041-19 Exemption for qualified methanol and ethanol fuel. (a) In general. Under section 4041(b)(2... or use of qualified methanol or ethanol fuel. (b) Qualified methanol or ethanol fuel defined. For...

  3. Facile and one-pot synthesis of uniform PtRu nanoparticles on polydopamine-modified multiwalled carbon nanotubes for direct methanol fuel cell application.

    PubMed

    Chen, Fengxia; Ren, Junkai; He, Qian; Liu, Jun; Song, Rui

    2017-07-01

    A facile, environment-friendly and one-pot synthesis method for the preparation of high performance PtRu electrocatalysts on the multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) is reported. Herein, bimetallic PtRu electrocatalysts are deposited onto polydopamine (Pdop) - functionalized MWCNTs by mildly stirring at room temperature. Without the use of expensive chemicals or corrosive acids, this noncovalent functionalization of MWCNTs by Pdop is simple, facile and eco-friendly, and thus preserving the integrity and electronic structure of MWCNTs. Due to the well improved dispersion and the decreased size of alloy nanoparticles, the PtRu electrocatalysts on Pdop-functionalized MWCNTs show much better dispersion, higher electrochemically active surface area, and higher electrocatalytic activity for the electrooxidation of methanol in direct methanol fuel cells, compared with the conventional acid-treated MWCNTs. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  4. Electrolytic synthesis of methanol from CO.sub.2

    DOEpatents

    Steinberg, Meyer

    1976-01-01

    A method and system for synthesizing methanol from the CO.sub.2 in air using electric power. The CO.sub.2 is absorbed by a solution of KOH to form K.sub.2 CO.sub.3 which is electrolyzed to produce methanol, a liquid hydrocarbon fuel.

  5. Occurrence of squalene in methanol-grown bacteria.

    PubMed Central

    Goldberg, I; Shechter, I

    1978-01-01

    The nonpolar lipids of methanol-grown bacteria which utilize one-carbon (C1) compounds via the RMP pathway (Pseudomonas C, Pseudomonas methylotropha, and Methylomonas methanolica) were found to contain squalene in concentrations between 0.1 to 1.16 mg/g of cell (dry weight). Squalene could not be detected in lipid extracts of methanol-grown bacteria which utilize C1 compounds via the serine pathway. PMID:98521

  6. Co-ingestion of methanol and nitromethane: using falsely elevated creatinine as indicator for methanol antidote use.

    PubMed

    Leonard, Charlene P; Akhtar, Javed

    2007-07-01

    To report a case of co-ingestion of methanol and nitromethane in a child in order to heighten the awareness of false elevation of serum creatinine from nitromethane ingestion. Case report. Pediatric intensive care unit. A 4-yr-old previously healthy girl ingested an unknown quantity of "Blue Thunder" model-engine fuel, which consisted of methanol and nitromethane. The patient was treated with fomepizole for methanol ingestion using elevated creatinine level as a reason for treatment. The patient was asymptomatic but her creatinine level increased ten-fold (from 0.4 mg/dL to 4 mg/dL) within 6 hrs. Blood urea nitrogen, anion gap, and osmolar gap remained within normal limits. When the serum creatinine level was measured with enzymatic method instead of Jaffe's method, a normal creatinine level was obtained. The falsely elevated creatinine level was due to nitromethane. The falsely elevated serum creatinine levels due to nitromethane ingestion can lead to unnecessary therapeutic interventions. We intend to heighten awareness of this potential misstep by reporting this case.

  7. Breath alcohol analyzer mistakes methanol poisoning for alcohol intoxication.

    PubMed

    Caravati, E Martin; Anderson, Kathleen T

    2010-02-01

    Breath alcohol analyzers are used to detect ethanol in motorists and others suspected of public intoxication. One concern is their ability to detect interfering substances that may falsely increase the ethanol reading. A 47-year-old-man was found in a public park, acting intoxicated. A breath analyzer test (Intoxilyzer 5000EN) measured 0.288 g/210 L breath ethanol, without an interferent noted. In the emergency department, the patient admitted to drinking HEET Gas-Line antifreeze, which contains 99% methanol. Two to three hours after ingestion, serum and urine toxicology screen results were negative for ethanol and multiple other substances. His serum methanol concentration was 589 mg/dL, serum osmolality 503 mOsm/kg, osmolar gap 193 mOsm/kg, and anion gap 17 mmol/L. The patient was treated with intravenous ethanol, fomepizole, and hemodialysis without complication. This is a unique clinical case of a breath alcohol analyzer reporting methanol as ethanol. Intoxilyzer devices have been shown to indicate some substances (acetone) as interferents in humans but not methanol. Increased serum concentrations of methanol can be reported as ethanol by a commonly used breath alcohol analyzer, which can result in a delayed diagnosis or misdiagnosis and subsequent methanol toxicity if antidotal treatment is not administered in a timely manner. Copyright (c) 2009 American College of Emergency Physicians. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

  8. METHANOL: THE CURRENT STATUS OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH ISSUES

    EPA Science Inventory

    Methanol has been a topic of interest both as an environmental pollutant and as a fuel. The Clean Air Act (CAA) includes methanol in a list of 189 toxic air pollutants that the U.S. Congress identified for special consideration in the 1990 CAA Amendments. In addition, growing i...

  9. Methanol toxicity secondary to inhalant abuse in adult men.

    PubMed

    Wallace, Erik A; Green, Adam S

    2009-03-01

    The purpose of this report is to evaluate the presentation, treatment, and outcomes of adults with methanol toxicity from inhalation of carburetor cleaning fluid fumes. Retrospective chart review of adults with positive serum volatile screen for methanol and history of carburetor cleaning fluid fume inhalation. Sixteen patients were admitted 68 times. Eleven Native American patients accounted for 90% of admissions. Sixty-five cases presented with nausea/vomiting; 27 with intoxication or altered mental status; 21 with specific visual complaints. About 93% had a pH <7.35, 96% had serum bicarbonate <20 mEq/L, 81% had osmolal gap >or=10 mOsm/L, and 69% had anion gap >16. Ten had an initial serum methanol level <20 mg/dL, 29 cases 20-49 mg/dL, 19 cases >or=50 mg/dL. Six patients had a measurable serum ethanol level. Of the 29 patients with a methanol level of 20-49 mg/dL, 20 received intravenous antidote (ethanol or fomepizole); three received an antidote and hemodialysis. All who presented with a serum methanol level >or=50 mg/dL received intravenous ethanol or fomepizole. All visual symptoms resolved before discharge and all patients survived without sequelae. Discussion. This is the largest reported number of cases of methanol toxicity from the inhalation of carburetor cleaning fluid fumes and demonstrates a problem with recurrent abuse among some older Native American men. Intentional inhalation of methanol fumes may produce toxicity. Clinicians need to question patients, especially older Native American men, regarding the possible inhalation of carburetor cleaning fluid fumes in those who present with an unexplained metabolic anion gap acidosis.

  10. Physiological response of Pichia pastoris GS115 to methanol-induced high level production of the Hepatitis B surface antigen: catabolic adaptation, stress responses, and autophagic processes

    PubMed Central

    2012-01-01

    proceed via the ERAD pathway and through the proteasome. However, the amount of HBsAg did not show any significant decline during the cultivation revealing its general protection from proteolytic degradation. During the methanol fed-batch phase, induction of vacuolar proteases (e.g. strong increase of APR1) and constitutive autophagic processes were observed. Vacuolar enclosures were mainly found around peroxisomes and not close to HBsAg deposits and, thus, were most likely provoked by peroxisomal components damaged by reactive oxygen species generated by methanol oxidation. Conclusions In the methanol fed-batch phase P. pastoris is exposed to dual stress; stress resulting from methanol degradation and stress resulting from the production of the recombinant protein leading to the induction of oxidative stress and unfolded protein response pathways, respectively. Finally, the modest increase of methanol assimilatory enzymes compared to the strong increase of methanol dissimilatory enzymes suggests here a potential to increase methanol incorporation into biomass/product through metabolic enhancement of the methanol assimilatory pathway. PMID:22873405

  11. Methanol sensor operated in a passive mode

    DOEpatents

    Ren, Xiaoming; Gottesfeld, Shimshon

    2002-01-01

    A sensor outputs a signal related to a concentration of methanol in an aqueous solution adjacent the sensor. A membrane electrode assembly (MEA) is included with an anode side and a cathode side. An anode current collector supports the anode side of the MEA and has a flow channel therethrough for flowing a stream of the aqueous solution and forms a physical barrier to control access of the methanol to the anode side of the MEA. A cathode current collector supports the cathode side of the MEA and is configured for air access to the cathode side of the MEA. A current sensor is connected to measure the current in a short circuit across the sensor electrodes to provide an output signal functionally related to the concentration of methanol in the aqueous solution.

  12. Acidities of Water and Methanol in Aqueous Solution and DMSO

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gao, Daqing

    2009-01-01

    The relative acidities of water and methanol have been a nagging issue. In gas phase, methanol is more acidic than water by 36.0 kJ/mol; however, in aqueous solution, the acidities of methanol and water are almost identical. The acidity of an acid in solution is determined by both the intrinsic gas-phase ionization Gibbs energy and the solvent…

  13. Methanol from Wood Waste: A Technical and Economic Study.

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1977-06-01

    percent of the gas is converted to methanol , the balance passing as inerts to the boiler. The reaction is as follows: catalyst 2H + CO ’ CH3OH 2 *-3...the boiler. Catalyst life is expected to be 6 years for methanol synthesis and 2 to 3 years for the shift reactor . PLANT SIZE In a chemical processing...percent of methyl alcohol ( methanol ) in gasoline for automotive use. / At a current consumption rate of 110 billion gallons per year (gpy), 11 billion

  14. Toxicity of methanol to fish, crustacean, oligochaete worm, and aquatic ecosystem.

    PubMed

    Kaviraj, A; Bhunia, F; Saha, N C

    2004-01-01

    Static renewal bioassays were conducted in the laboratory and in outdoor artificial enclosures to evaluate toxic effects of methanol to one teleost fish and two aquatic invertebrates and to limnological variables of aquatic ecosystem. Ninety-six-hour acute toxicity tests revealed cladoceran crustacea Moina micrura as the most sensitive to methanol (LC50, 4.82 g/L), followed by freshwater teleost Oreochromis mossambicus (LC50, 15.32 g/L) and oligochaete worm Branchiura sowerbyi (LC50, 54.89 g/L). The fish, when exposed to lethal concentrations of methanol, showed difficulties in respiration and swimming. The oligochaete body wrinkled and fragmented under lethal exposure of methanol. Effects of five sublethal concentrations of methanol (0, 23.75, 47.49, 736.10, and 1527.60 mg/L) on the feeding rate of the fish and on its growth and reproduction were evaluated by separate bioassays. Ninety-six-hour bioassays in the laboratory showed significant reduction in the appetite of fish when exposed to 736.10 mg/L or higher concentrations of methanol. Chronic toxicity bioassays (90 days) in outdoor enclosures showed a reduction in growth, maturity index and fecundity of fish at 47.49 mg/L or higher concentrations of methanol. Primary productivity, phytoplankton population, and alkalinity of water were also reduced at these concentrations. Chronic exposure to 1527.60 mg/L methanol resulted in damages of the epithelium of primary and secondary gill lamellae of the fish. The results revealed 23.75 mg/L as the no-observed-effect concentration (NOEC) of methanol to freshwater aquatic ecosystem.

  15. FTIR study of methanol decomposition on gold catalyst for fuel cells

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Boccuzzi, F.; Chiorino, A.; Manzoli, M.

    The interaction of methanol (m), methanol-water (mw) and methanol-water-oxygen (mwo) on Au/TiO 2 catalyst has been investigated by in situ infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and quadrupole mass spectrometry (QMS) at different temperatures. The aim of the work is to elucidate the nature and the abundance of the surface intermediates formed in different experimental conditions and to understand the mechanisms of methanol decomposition, of steam reforming and of combined reforming reactions. FTIR spectra run at room temperature in the different reaction mixtures show that differently coordinated methoxy species, that is on top species adsorbed on oxygen vacancy sites, on top species on uncoordinated Ti 4+ sites and bridged species on two Ti 4+ ions, are produced in all the mixtures. Quite strong formaldehyde and formate species adsorbed on gold are produced already at 403 K only in the combined reforming reaction mixture. At 473 K, on top species on uncoordinated Ti 4+ sites and methoxy species adsorbed on oxygen vacancy sites reduce their intensity and, at the same time, some formate species adsorbed on the support are produced in the steam reforming and combined reforming mixtures. At 523 K, on both methanol and methanol-water reaction mixtures, no more definite surface species are evidenced by FTIR on the catalysts, while in the methanol-water-oxygen mixture some residual methoxy and formate species are still present. Moreover, methanol is no more detected by QMS in the gas phase. A role of oxygen adsorbed on gold particles near oxygen vacancies of the support in the oxidative dehydrogenation of methanol is proposed.

  16. Methanol Cannon Demonstrations Revisited.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dolson, David A.; And Others

    1995-01-01

    Describes two variations on the traditional methanol cannon demonstration. The first variation is a chain reaction using real metal chains. The second example involves using easily available components to produce sequential explosions that can be musical in nature. (AIM)

  17. Methanol Kinetics in Chronic Kidney Disease After Fomepizole: A Case Report.

    PubMed

    Maskell, Kevin F; Beckett, Sara; Cumpston, Kirk L

    Methanol is a common toxicant in the United States, especially from automotive products. Its kinetics have been described previously and typically involve little urinary excretion. We present a case of prolonged methanol half-life in a patient with chronic kidney disease. An 80-year-old male with a baseline glomerular filtration rate of 24 mL·min·1.73 m was transferred to our facility after unintentional methanol ingestion. The original facility had treated him with an oral ethanol load; upon arrival to our facility, he was immediately loaded with fomepizole. His initial serum methanol concentration was 66.1 mg/dL. After a risk/benefit discussion, we decided not to perform hemodialysis on the patient and he was treated with fomepizole and supportive care. After 6 days as an inpatient, the patient's methanol level had declined to 22 mg/dL, fomepizole was discontinued, and the patient was able to be discharged without apparent complications. Based on the exponential best fit line for the patient's methanol concentrations, his methanol half-life during fomepizole treatment was approximately 70 hours, significantly longer than the 30-50 hours typically reported. The reasons for this difference are unclear. This report is limited by being a single case. Further study on the kinetics of methanol in the setting of chronic kidney disease is needed.

  18. Excess electrons in methanol clusters: Beyond the one-electron picture

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pohl, Gábor; Mones, Letif; Turi, László

    2016-10-01

    We performed a series of comparative quantum chemical calculations on various size negatively charged methanol clusters, ("separators=" CH 3 OH ) n - . The clusters are examined in their optimized geometries (n = 2-4), and in geometries taken from mixed quantum-classical molecular dynamics simulations at finite temperature (n = 2-128). These latter structures model potential electron binding sites in methanol clusters and in bulk methanol. In particular, we compute the vertical detachment energy (VDE) of an excess electron from increasing size methanol cluster anions using quantum chemical computations at various levels of theory including a one-electron pseudopotential model, several density functional theory (DFT) based methods, MP2 and coupled-cluster CCSD(T) calculations. The results suggest that at least four methanol molecules are needed to bind an excess electron on a hydrogen bonded methanol chain in a dipole bound state. Larger methanol clusters are able to form stronger interactions with an excess electron. The two simulated excess electron binding motifs in methanol clusters, interior and surface states, correlate well with distinct, experimentally found VDE tendencies with size. Interior states in a solvent cavity are stabilized significantly stronger than electron states on cluster surfaces. Although we find that all the examined quantum chemistry methods more or less overestimate the strength of the experimental excess electron stabilization, MP2, LC-BLYP, and BHandHLYP methods with diffuse basis sets provide a significantly better estimate of the VDE than traditional DFT methods (BLYP, B3LYP, X3LYP, PBE0). A comparison to the better performing many electron methods indicates that the examined one-electron pseudopotential can be reasonably used in simulations for systems of larger size.

  19. Excess electrons in methanol clusters: Beyond the one-electron picture.

    PubMed

    Pohl, Gábor; Mones, Letif; Turi, László

    2016-10-28

    We performed a series of comparative quantum chemical calculations on various size negatively charged methanol clusters, CH 3 OH n - . The clusters are examined in their optimized geometries (n = 2-4), and in geometries taken from mixed quantum-classical molecular dynamics simulations at finite temperature (n = 2-128). These latter structures model potential electron binding sites in methanol clusters and in bulk methanol. In particular, we compute the vertical detachment energy (VDE) of an excess electron from increasing size methanol cluster anions using quantum chemical computations at various levels of theory including a one-electron pseudopotential model, several density functional theory (DFT) based methods, MP2 and coupled-cluster CCSD(T) calculations. The results suggest that at least four methanol molecules are needed to bind an excess electron on a hydrogen bonded methanol chain in a dipole bound state. Larger methanol clusters are able to form stronger interactions with an excess electron. The two simulated excess electron binding motifs in methanol clusters, interior and surface states, correlate well with distinct, experimentally found VDE tendencies with size. Interior states in a solvent cavity are stabilized significantly stronger than electron states on cluster surfaces. Although we find that all the examined quantum chemistry methods more or less overestimate the strength of the experimental excess electron stabilization, MP2, LC-BLYP, and BHandHLYP methods with diffuse basis sets provide a significantly better estimate of the VDE than traditional DFT methods (BLYP, B3LYP, X3LYP, PBE0). A comparison to the better performing many electron methods indicates that the examined one-electron pseudopotential can be reasonably used in simulations for systems of larger size.

  20. High performance direct methanol fuel cell with thin electrolyte membrane

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wan, Nianfang

    2017-06-01

    A high performance direct methanol fuel cell is achieved with thin electrolyte membrane. 320 mW cm-2 of peak power density and over 260 mW cm-2 at 0.4 V are obtained when working at 90 °C with normal pressure air supply. It is revealed that the increased anode half-cell performance with temperature contributes primarily to the enhanced performance at elevated temperature. From the comparison of iR-compensated cathode potential of methanol/air with that of H2/air fuel cell, the impact of methanol crossover on cathode performance decreases with current density and becomes negligible at high current density. Current density is found to influence fuel efficiency and methanol crossover significantly from the measurement of fuel efficiency at different current density. At high current density, high fuel efficiency can be achieved even at high temperature, indicating decreased methanol crossover.

  1. Methanex considers methanol, MTBE in Qatar

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    NONE

    CW has learned that Methanex Corp. is considering entering one of two methanol and methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) projects in Qatar. Executive v.p. Michael Wilson says that part of the company`s New Zealand plant could be moved to a site in Qatar, which would lower capital costs for the possible project by $75 million-$100 million. Both Qatar General Petroleum Corp. and Qatar Fuel Additives are developing methanol and MTBE projects at Umm Said, Qatar. Methanex says its goal is to ensure low-cost feedstocks.

  2. Partial oxidative conversion of methane to methanol through selective inhibition of methanol dehydrogenase in methanotrophic consortium from landfill cover soil.

    PubMed

    Han, Ji-Sun; Ahn, Chang-Min; Mahanty, Biswanath; Kim, Chang-Gyun

    2013-11-01

    Using a methanotrophic consortium (that includes Methylosinus sporium NCIMB 11126, Methylosinus trichosporium OB3b, and Methylococcus capsulatus Bath) isolated from a landfill site, the potential for partial oxidation of methane into methanol through selective inhibition of methanol dehydrogenase (MDH) over soluble methane monooxygenase (sMMO) with some selected MDH inhibitors at varied concentration range, was evaluated in batch serum bottle and bioreactor experiments. Our result suggests that MDH activity could effectively be inhibited either at 40 mM of phosphate, 100 mM of NaCl, 40 mM of NH4Cl or 50 μM of EDTA with conversion ratios (moles of CH3OH produced per mole CH4 consumed) of 58, 80, 80, and 43 %, respectively. The difference between extent of inhibition in MDH activity and sMMO activity was significantly correlated (n = 6, p < 0.05) with resultant methane to methanol conversion ratio. In bioreactor study with 100 mM of NaCl, a maximum specific methanol production rate of 9 μmol/mg h was detected. A further insight with qPCR analysis of MDH and sMMO coding genes revealed that the gene copy number continued to increase along with biomass during reactor operation irrespective of presence or absence of inhibitor, and differential inhibition among two enzymes was rather the key for methanol production.

  3. Experimental determination of the respiratory tract deposition of diesel combustion particles in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

    PubMed Central

    2012-01-01

    Background Air pollution, mainly from combustion, is one of the leading global health risk factors. A susceptible group is the more than 200 million people worldwide suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). There are few data on lung deposition of airborne particles in patients with COPD and none for combustion particles. Objectives To determine respiratory tract deposition of diesel combustion particles in patients with COPD during spontaneous breathing. Methods Ten COPD patients and seven healthy subjects inhaled diesel exhaust particles generated during idling and transient driving in an exposure chamber. The respiratory tract deposition of the particles was measured in the size range 10–500 nm during spontaneous breathing. Results The deposited dose rate increased with increasing severity of the disease. However, the deposition probability of the ultrafine combustion particles (< 100 nm) was decreased in COPD patients. The deposition probability was associated with both breathing parameters and lung function, but could be predicted only based on lung function. Conclusions The higher deposited dose rate of inhaled air pollution particles in COPD patients may be one of the factors contributing to their increased vulnerability. The strong correlations between lung function and particle deposition, especially in the size range of 20–30 nm, suggest that altered particle deposition could be used as an indicator respiratory disease. PMID:22839109

  4. Methanol production method and system

    DOEpatents

    Chen, Michael J.; Rathke, Jerome W.

    1984-01-01

    Ethanol is selectively produced from the reaction of methanol with carbon monoxide and hydrogen in the presence of a transition metal carbonyl catalyst. Methanol serves as a solvent and may be accompanied by a less volatile co-solvent. The solution includes the transition metal carbonyl catalysts and a basic metal salt such as an alkali metal or alkaline earth metal formate, carbonate or bicarbonate. A gas containing a high carbon monoxide to hydrogen ratio, as is present in a typical gasifer product, is contacted with the solution for the preferential production of ethanol with minimal water as a byproduct. Fractionation of the reaction solution provides substantially pure ethanol product and allows return of the catalysts for reuse.

  5. Vertically aligned carbon nanotubes/carbon fiber paper composite to support Pt nanoparticles for direct methanol fuel cell application

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, Jing; Yi, Xi-bin; Liu, Shuo; Fan, Hui-Li; Ju, Wei; Wang, Qi-Chun; Ma, Jie

    2017-03-01

    Vertically aligned carbon nanotubes (VACNTs) grown on carbon fiber paper (CFP) by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition is introduced as a catalyst support material for direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs). Well dispersed Pt nanoparticles on VACNTs surface are prepared by impregnation-reduction method. The VACNTs on CFP possess well-maintained alignment, large surface area and good electrical conductivity, which leading to the formation of Pt particles with a smaller size and enhance the Pt utilization rate. The structure and nature of resulting Pt/VACNTs/CFP catalysts for methanol oxidation are investigated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). With the aid of VACNTs, well-dispersed Pt catalysts enable the reversibly rapid redox kinetic since electron transport efficiently passes through a one-dimensional pathway, which leads to enhance the catalytic activity and Pt utilization rate. Compared with the Pt/XC-72/CFP electrode, the electrochemical measurements results display that the Pt/VACNTs/CFP catalyst shows much higher electrocatalytic activity and better stability for methanol oxidation. In addition, the oxidation current from 200 to 1200 s decayed more slowly for the Pt/VACNTs/CFP than that of the Pt/XC-72/CFP catalysts, indicating less accumulation of adsorbed CO species. All those results imply that the Pt/VACNTs/CFP has a great potential for applications in DMFCs.

  6. Engineering the biological conversion of methanol to specialty chemicals in Escherichia coli

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Whitaker, W. Brian; Jones, J. Andrew; Bennett, R. Kyle

    Methanol is an attractive substrate for biological production of chemicals and fuels. Engineering methylotrophic Escherichia coli as a platform organism for converting methanol to metabolites is desirable. Prior efforts to engineer methylotrophic E. coli were limited by methanol dehydrogenases (Mdhs) with unfavorable enzyme kinetics. We engineered E. coli to utilize methanol using a superior NAD-dependent Mdh from Bacillus stearothermophilus and ribulose monophosphate (RuMP) pathway enzymes from B. methanolicus. Using 13C-labeling, we demonstrate this E. coli strain converts methanol into biomass components. For example, the key TCA cycle intermediates, succinate and malate, exhibit labeling up to 39%, while the lower glycolyticmore » intermediate, 3-phosphoglycerate, up to 53%. Multiple carbons are labeled for each compound, demonstrating a cycling RuMP pathway for methanol assimilation to support growth. In conclusion, by incorporating the pathway to synthesize the flavanone naringenin, we demonstrate the first example of in vivo conversion of methanol into a specialty chemical in E. coli.« less

  7. Engineering the biological conversion of methanol to specialty chemicals in Escherichia coli

    DOE PAGES

    Whitaker, W. Brian; Jones, J. Andrew; Bennett, R. Kyle; ...

    2016-11-01

    Methanol is an attractive substrate for biological production of chemicals and fuels. Engineering methylotrophic Escherichia coli as a platform organism for converting methanol to metabolites is desirable. Prior efforts to engineer methylotrophic E. coli were limited by methanol dehydrogenases (Mdhs) with unfavorable enzyme kinetics. We engineered E. coli to utilize methanol using a superior NAD-dependent Mdh from Bacillus stearothermophilus and ribulose monophosphate (RuMP) pathway enzymes from B. methanolicus. Using 13C-labeling, we demonstrate this E. coli strain converts methanol into biomass components. For example, the key TCA cycle intermediates, succinate and malate, exhibit labeling up to 39%, while the lower glycolyticmore » intermediate, 3-phosphoglycerate, up to 53%. Multiple carbons are labeled for each compound, demonstrating a cycling RuMP pathway for methanol assimilation to support growth. In conclusion, by incorporating the pathway to synthesize the flavanone naringenin, we demonstrate the first example of in vivo conversion of methanol into a specialty chemical in E. coli.« less

  8. Spontaneous acute spinal subdural hematoma: spontaneous recovery from severe paraparesis--case report and review.

    PubMed

    Payer, Michael; Agosti, Reto

    2010-11-01

    Spontaneous idiopathic acute spinal subdural hematomas are highly exceptional. Neurological symptoms are usually severe, and rapid diagnosis with MRI is mandatory. Surgical evacuation has frequently been used therapeutically; however, spontaneous recovery in mild cases has also been reported. We present a case of spontaneous recovery from severe paraparesis after spontaneous acute SSDH, and review the English-speaking literature.

  9. EPA relaxes waiver on methanol/gasoline blends

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Not Available

    1986-12-01

    The US Environmental Protection Agency removed a restrictive evaporative index requirement on the Clean Air Act waiver which had been granted to E.I. DuPont de Nemours and Company. On January 17, 1985, EPA granted DuPont a waiver to produce an unleaded gasoline/methanol blend, which contains 5% methanol and 2.5% cosolvent alcohols, provided producers did not exceed an evaporative index designed to limit the release of vapors to the atmosphere. The reconsideration came after a petition by the Oxygenated Fuels Association (OFA) and after EPA reexamined the relevant data. Originally EPA said it did not think the ASTM Standard D439 wasmore » acceptable for controlling the volatility of the methanol blend, because most gasoline being sold actually had a lower volatility. EPA's more recent information, however, shows that volatility levels in commercial gasoline have been rising and are near ASTM's D439 standard. Therefore, applying the ASTM standard to the DuPont blend will mean that evaporative emissions from vehicles using the DuPont blend will be no higher than those from vehicles using other gasolines. Other conditions of the waiver are discussed. These include the use of specific corrosion inhibitors, and 99.85% purity level of methanol. 1 table.« less

  10. Approach to the Treatment of Methanol Intoxication.

    PubMed

    Kraut, Jeffrey A

    2016-07-01

    Methanol intoxication is an uncommon but serious poisoning. Its adverse effects are due primarily to the impact of its major metabolite formic acid and lactic acid resulting from cellular hypoxia. Symptoms including abdominal pain and loss of vision can appear a few hours to a few days after exposure, reflecting the time necessary for accumulation of the toxic byproducts. In addition to a history of exposure, increases in serum osmolal and anion gaps can be clues to its presence. However, increments in both parameters can be absent depending on the nature of the toxic alcohol, time of exposure, and coingestion of ethanol. Definitive diagnosis requires measurement with gas or liquid chromatography, which are laborious and expensive procedures. Tests under study to detect methanol or its metabolite formate might facilitate the diagnosis of this poisoning. Treatment can include administration of ethanol or fomepizole, both inhibitors of the enzyme alcohol dehydrogenase to prevent formation of its metabolites, and hemodialysis to remove methanol and formate. In this Acid-Base and Electrolyte Teaching Case, a patient with methanol intoxication due to ingestion of model airplane fuel is described, and the value and limitations of current and new diagnostic and treatment measures are discussed. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  11. Quantitative Interpretation of Polarization SFG Vibrational Spectra of Air/Methanol Interface

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wu, Hui; Zhang, Wen-kai; Gan, Wei; Cui, Zhi-feng; Wang, Hong-fei

    2006-06-01

    Even though in IR and Raman spectra of liquid methanol there is always an apparent feature for the asymmetric stretching mode of the CH3 group around 2970 cm-1, this feature has not been observed in the Sum Frequency Generation Vibrational Spectroscopy (SFG-VS) in any polarizations from the air/methanol interface. Here we present a treatment based on a corrected bond additivity model to quantitatively interpret the SFG-VS of the air/methanol interface from the IR and Raman spectra of liquid methanol.

  12. Regulation of intracellular formaldehyde toxicity during methanol metabolism of the methylotrophic yeast Pichia methanolica.

    PubMed

    Wakayama, Keishi; Yamaguchi, Sakiko; Takeuchi, Akihito; Mizumura, Tasuku; Ozawa, Shotaro; Tomizuka, Noboru; Hayakawa, Takashi; Nakagawa, Tomoyuki

    2016-11-01

    In this study we found that the methylotrophic yeast Pichia methanolica showed impaired growth on high methanol medium (>5%, or 1.56 M, methanol). In contrast, P. methanolica grew well on glucose medium containing 5% methanol, but the growth defects reappeared on glucose medium supplemented with 5 mM formaldehyde. During methanol growth of P. methanolica, formaldehyde accumulated in the medium up to 0.3 mM before it was consumed rapidly based on cell growth. These findings indicate that the growth defect of P. methanolica on high methanol media is not caused directly by methanol toxicity, but rather by formaldehyde, which is a key toxic intermediate of methanol metabolism. Moreover, during methanol growth of P. methanolica, expression of enzymes in the methanol-oxidation pathway were induced before the alcohol oxidase isozymes Mod1p and Mod2p, and Mod1p expression was induced before Mod2p. These results suggest that to avoid excess accumulation of formaldehyde-the toxic intermediate of methanol metabolism-P. methanolica grown on methanol strictly regulates the order in which methanol-metabolizing enzymes are expressed. Copyright © 2016 The Society for Biotechnology, Japan. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  13. Efficient methanol-degrading aerobic bacteria isolated from a wetland ecosystem.

    PubMed

    Thulasi, Kavitha; Jayakumar, Arjun; Balakrishna Pillai, Aneesh; Gopalakrishnapillai Sankaramangalam, Vinod Kumar; Kumarapillai, Harikrishnan

    2018-04-10

    Methylotrophs present in the soil play an important role in the regulation of one carbon compounds in the environment, and thereby aid in mitigating global warming. The study envisages the isolation and characterization of methanol-degrading bacteria from Kuttanad wetland ecosystem, India. Three methylotrophs, viz. Achromobacter spanius KUT14, Acinetobacter sp. KUT26 and Methylobacterium radiotolerans KUT39 were isolated and their phylogenetic positions were determined by constructing a phylogenetic tree based on 16S rDNA sequences. In vitro activity of methanol dehydrogenase enzyme, responsible for methanol oxidation was evaluated and the genes involved in methanol metabolism, mxaF and xoxF were partially amplified and sequenced. The specific activity of methanol dehydrogenase (451.9 nmol min -1 mg -1 ) observed in KUT39 is the highest, reported ever to our knowledge from a soil bacterium. KUT14 recorded the least activity of 50.15 nmol min -1 mg -1 and is the first report on methylotrophy in A. spanius.

  14. Method validation for methanol quantification present in working places

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Muna, E. D. M.; Bizarri, C. H. B.; Maciel, J. R. M.; da Rocha, G. P.; de Araújo, I. O.

    2015-01-01

    Given the widespread use of methanol by different industry sectors and high toxicity associated with this substance, it is necessary to use an analytical method able to determine in a sensitive, precise and accurate levels of methanol in the air of working environments. Based on the methodology established by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), it was validated a methodology for determination of methanol in silica gel tubes which had demonstrated its effectiveness based on the participation of the international collaborative program sponsored by the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA).

  15. Romania program targets methanol and Fischer-Tropsch research

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Not Available

    1987-03-01

    Currently, the chemical organic industry, the petrochemical and engine fuels industry in Romania are entirely based on hydrocarbons from oil. To reduce the oil dependence of this sector and to ensure the stipulated growth rate of 8-9%, research and development programs have been set up with a view to the diversification of raw materials. In research on hydrocarbons from alcohol conversion, three process variants are known, i.e. olefins from methanol, gasolines from methanol and a combined gasolines and aromatic hydrocarbons from methanol. The Romanian process of methanol conversion to hydrocarbons is very flexible, with all the variants mentioned being carriedmore » out in the same plant by modifying the catalysts. In research on hydrocarbons from synthesis gas a modern process is being developed for gasification of brown coal in a fluidized bed, under pressure, in the presence of oxygen and water vapors. In the field of carbon oxide hydrogenation, studies have been carried out on selective Fischer-Tropsch processes in which the reaction products are high value hydrocarbon fractions.« less

  16. IRIS Toxicological Review of Methanol (Non-Cancer) ...

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    EPA is conducting a peer review and public comment of the scientific basis supporting the human health hazard and dose-response assessment of methanol (non-cancer) that when finalized will appear on the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) database. EPA is conducting a peer review of the scientific basis supporting the human health hazard and dose-response assessment of methanol (non-cancer) that will appear in the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) database.

  17. Phenolic acids as bioindicators of fly ash deposit revegetation.

    PubMed

    Djurdjević, L; Mitrović, M; Pavlović, P; Gajić, G; Kostić, O

    2006-05-01

    The floristic composition, the abundance, and the cover of pioneer plant species of spontaneously formed plant communities and the content of total phenolics and phenolic acids, as humus constituents, of an ash deposit after 7 years of recultivation were studied. The restoration of both the soil and the vegetation on the ash deposits of the "Nikola Tesla-A" thermoelectric power plant in Obrenovac (Serbia) is an extremely slow process. Unfavorable physical and chemical characteristics, the toxicity of fly ash, and extreme microclimatic conditions prevented the development of compact plant cover. The abundance and cover of plants increased from the central part of the deposit towards its edges (ranging from 1-80%). Festuca rubra L., Crepis setosa Hall., Erigeron canadensis L., Cirsium arvense (L.) Scop., Calamagrostis epigeios (L.) Roth., and Tamarix gallica L. were the most abundant species, thus giving the highest cover. Humus generated during the decomposition process of plant remains represents a completely new product absent in the ash as the starting material. The amount of total phenolics and phenolic acids (38.07-185.16 microg/g of total phenolics and 4.12-27.28 microg/g of phenolic acids) in fly ash increased from the center of the deposit towards its edges in correlation with the increase in plant abundance and cover. Ash samples contained high amounts of ferulic, vanillic, and p-coumaric acid, while the content of both p-hydroxybenzoic and syringic acid was relatively low. The presence of phenolic acids indicates the ongoing process of humus formation in the ash, in which the most abundant pioneer plants of spontaneously formed plant communities play the main role. Phenolic compounds can serve as reliable bioindicators in an assessment of the success of the recultivation process of thermoelectric power plants' ash deposits.

  18. [Spectroscopic study of photocatalytic mechanism of methanol and CO2].

    PubMed

    Hai, Feng; Zhang, Qian-cheng; Bai, Feng-rong; Wang, A-nan; Wang, Zhi-wei; Jian, Li

    2011-12-01

    Ni-Ti-O/SiO2 catalyst was prepared by impregnation method, and its photocatalytic performance for carbonylation of methanol with CO2 was investigated under UV light. The in-situ IR, XPS and MS were carried out to analyze the possible photocatalytic reaction mechanism. Results indicated that the Ni-Ti-O/SiO2 exhibited good photocatalytic performance for carbonylation of methanol with CO2, the methanol conversion reached up to 24.9%, and the selectivity for the carbonylated products was more than 60% within 180 min reaction time. The catalyst characterization results showed that the O==C .--O- and CH3OC(O)* might be important intermediate in the carbonylation of methanol with CO2.

  19. High-Performance Direct Methanol Fuel Cells with Precious-Metal-Free Cathode.

    PubMed

    Li, Qing; Wang, Tanyuan; Havas, Dana; Zhang, Hanguang; Xu, Ping; Han, Jiantao; Cho, Jaephil; Wu, Gang

    2016-11-01

    Direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) hold great promise for applications ranging from portable power for electronics to transportation. However, apart from the high costs, current Pt-based cathodes in DMFCs suffer significantly from performance loss due to severe methanol crossover from anode to cathode. The migrated methanol in cathodes tends to contaminate Pt active sites through yielding a mixed potential region resulting from oxygen reduction reaction and methanol oxidation reaction. Therefore, highly methanol-tolerant cathodes must be developed before DMFC technologies become viable. The newly developed reduced graphene oxide (rGO)-based Fe-N-C cathode exhibits high methanol tolerance and exceeds the performance of current Pt cathodes, as evidenced by both rotating disk electrode and DMFC tests. While the morphology of 2D rGO is largely preserved, the resulting Fe-N-rGO catalyst provides a more unique porous structure. DMFC tests with various methanol concentrations are systematically studied using the best performing Fe-N-rGO catalyst. At feed concentrations greater than 2.0 m, the obtained DMFC performance from the Fe-N-rGO cathode is found to start exceeding that of a Pt/C cathode. This work will open a new avenue to use nonprecious metal cathode for advanced DMFC technologies with increased performance and at significantly reduced cost.

  20. A validated near-infrared spectroscopic method for methanol detection in biodiesel

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Paul, Andrea; Bräuer, Bastian; Nieuwenkamp, Gerard; Ent, Hugo; Bremser, Wolfram

    2016-06-01

    Biodiesel quality control is a relevant issue as biodiesel properties influence diesel engine performance and integrity. Within the European metrology research program (EMRP) ENG09 project ‘Metrology for Biofuels’, an on-line/at-site suitable near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) method has been developed in parallel with an improved EN14110 headspace gas chromatography (GC) analysis method for methanol in biodiesel. Both methods have been optimized for a methanol content of 0.2 mass% as this represents the maximum limit of methanol content in FAME according to EN 14214:2009. The NIRS method is based on a mobile NIR spectrometer equipped with a fiber-optic coupled probe. Due to the high volatility of methanol, a tailored air-tight adaptor was constructed to prevent methanol evaporation during measurement. The methanol content of biodiesel was determined from evaluation of NIRS spectra by partial least squares regression (PLS). Both GC analysis and NIRS exhibited a significant dependence on biodiesel feedstock. The NIRS method is applicable to a content range of 0.1% (m/m) to 0.4% (m/m) of methanol with uncertainties at around 6% relative for the different feedstocks. A direct comparison of headspace GC and NIRS for samples of FAMEs yielded that the results of both methods are fully compatible within their stated uncertainties.

  1. Enhancing the methanol tolerance of platinum nanoparticles for the cathode reaction of direct methanol fuel cells through a geometric design.

    PubMed

    Feng, Yan; Ye, Feng; Liu, Hui; Yang, Jun

    2015-11-18

    Mastery over the structure of nanoparticles might be an effective way to enhance their performance for a given application. Herein we demonstrate the design of cage-bell nanostructures to enhance the methanol tolerance of platinum (Pt) nanoparticles while remaining their catalytic activity for oxygen reduction reaction. This strategy starts with the synthesis of core-shell-shell nanoparticles with Pt and silver (Ag) residing respectively in the core and inner shell regions, which are then agitated with saturated sodium chloride (NaCl) solution to eliminate the Ag component from the inner shell region, leading to the formation of bimetallic nanoparticles with a cage-bell structure, defined as a movable Pt core enclosed by a metal shell with nano-channels, which exhibit superior methanol-tolerant property in catalyzing oxygen reduction reaction due to the different diffusion behaviour of methanol and oxygen in the porous metal shell of cage-bell structured nanoparticles. In particular, the use of remarkably inexpensive chemical agent (NaCl) to promote the formation of cage-bell structured particles containing a wide spectrum of metal shells highlights its engineering merit to produce highly selective electrocatalysts on a large scale for the cathode reaction of direct methanol fuel cells.

  2. Towards operating direct methanol fuel cells with highly concentrated fuel

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhao, T. S.; Yang, W. W.; Chen, R.; Wu, Q. X.

    A significant advantage of direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) is the high specific energy of the liquid fuel, making it particularly suitable for portable and mobile applications. Nevertheless, conventional DMFCs have to be operated with excessively diluted methanol solutions to limit methanol crossover and the detrimental consequences. Operation with diluted methanol solutions significantly reduces the specific energy of the power pack and thereby prevents it from competing with advanced batteries. In view of this fact, there exists a need to improve conventional DMFC system designs, including membrane electrode assemblies and the subsystems for supplying/removing reactants/products, so that both the cell performance and the specific energy can be simultaneously maximized. This article provides a comprehensive review of past efforts on the optimization of DMFC systems that operate with concentrated methanol. Based on the discussion of the key issues associated with transport of the reactants/products, the strategies to manage the supply/removal of the reactants/products in DMFC operating with highly concentrated methanol are identified. With these strategies, the possible approaches to achieving the goal of concentrated fuel operation are then proposed. Past efforts in the management of the reactants/products for implementing each of the approaches are also summarized and reviewed.

  3. Methanol unity frays, discounting returns

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Morris, G.D.L.

    1997-02-05

    This article reviews the price variation in methanol for February 1997 and how the company Methanex compares to other producers. The discrepancy between posting prices and transaction prices is noted.

  4. A Methanol Intoxication Outbreak From Recreational Ingestion of Fracking Fluid.

    PubMed

    Collister, David; Duff, Graham; Palatnick, Wesley; Komenda, Paul; Tangri, Navdeep; Hingwala, Jay

    2017-05-01

    Single-patient methanol intoxications are a common clinical presentation, but outbreaks are rare and usually occur in settings in which there is limited access to ethanol and methanol is consumed as a substitute. In this case report, we describe an outbreak of methanol intoxications that was challenging from a public health perspective and discuss strategies for managing such an outbreak. Copyright © 2016 National Kidney Foundation, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. Prediction and validation of hemodialysis duration in acute methanol poisoning

    PubMed Central

    Lachance, Philippe; Mac-Way, Fabrice; Desmeules, Simon; De Serres, Sacha A; Julien, Anne-Sophie; Douville, Pierre; Ghannoum, Marc; Agharazii, Mohsen

    2015-01-01

    The duration of hemodialysis (HD) in methanol poisoning (MP) is dependent on the methanol concentration, the operational parameters used during HD, and the presence and severity of metabolic acidosis. However, methanol assays are not easily available, potentially leading to undue extension or premature termination of treatment. Here we provide a prediction model for the duration of high-efficiency HD in MP. In a retrospective cohort study, we identified 71 episodes of MP in 55 individuals who were treated with alcohol dehydrogenase inhibition and HD. Four patients had residual visual abnormality at discharge and only one patient died. In 46 unique episodes of MP with high-efficiency HD the mean methanol elimination half-life (T1/2) during HD was 108 min in women, significantly different from the 129 min in men. In a training set of 28 patients with MP, using the 90th percentile of gender-specific elimination T1/2 (147 min in men and 141 min in women) and a target methanol concentration of 4 mmol/l allowed all cases to reach a safe methanol of under 6 mmol/l. The prediction model was confirmed in a validation set of 18 patients with MP. High-efficiency HD time in hours can be estimated using 3.390 × (Ln (MCi/4)) for women and 3.534 × (Ln (MCi/4)) for men, where MCi is the initial methanol concentration in mmol/l, provided that metabolic acidosis is corrected. PMID:26244924

  6. Toxicology and the biological role of methanol and ethanol: Current view.

    PubMed

    Pohanka, Miroslav

    2016-03-01

    Alcohol variants such as ethanol and methanol are simple organic compounds widely used in foods, pharmaceuticals, chemical synthesis, etc. Both are becoming an emerging health problem; abuse of ethanol containing beverages can lead to disparate health problems and methanol is highly toxic and unfit for consumption. This review summarizes the basic knowledge about ethanol and methanol toxicity, the effect mechanism on the body, the current care of poisoned individuals and the implication of alcohols in the development of diseases. Alcohol related dementia, stroke, metabolic syndrome and hepatitis are discussed as well. Besides ethanol, methanol toxicity and its biodegradation pathways are addressed. The impact of ethanol and methanol on the body is shown as case reports, along with a discussion on the possible implication of alcohol in Alzheimer's disease and antidotal therapy for methanol poisoning. The role of ethanol in cancer and degenerative disorders seems to be underestimated given the current knowledge. Treatment in case of poisoning is another issue that remains unresolved even though effective protocols and drugs exist.

  7. Engineering the biological conversion of methanol to specialty chemicals in Escherichia coli.

    PubMed

    Whitaker, W Brian; Jones, J Andrew; Bennett, R Kyle; Gonzalez, Jacqueline E; Vernacchio, Victoria R; Collins, Shannon M; Palmer, Michael A; Schmidt, Samuel; Antoniewicz, Maciek R; Koffas, Mattheos A; Papoutsakis, Eleftherios T

    2017-01-01

    Methanol is an attractive substrate for biological production of chemicals and fuels. Engineering methylotrophic Escherichia coli as a platform organism for converting methanol to metabolites is desirable. Prior efforts to engineer methylotrophic E. coli were limited by methanol dehydrogenases (Mdhs) with unfavorable enzyme kinetics. We engineered E. coli to utilize methanol using a superior NAD-dependent Mdh from Bacillus stearothermophilus and ribulose monophosphate (RuMP) pathway enzymes from B. methanolicus. Using 13 C-labeling, we demonstrate this E. coli strain converts methanol into biomass components. For example, the key TCA cycle intermediates, succinate and malate, exhibit labeling up to 39%, while the lower glycolytic intermediate, 3-phosphoglycerate, up to 53%. Multiple carbons are labeled for each compound, demonstrating a cycling RuMP pathway for methanol assimilation to support growth. By incorporating the pathway to synthesize the flavanone naringenin, we demonstrate the first example of in vivo conversion of methanol into a specialty chemical in E. coli. Copyright © 2016 International Metabolic Engineering Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  8. 26 CFR 48.4041-20 - Partially exempt methanol and ethanol fuel.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... 26 Internal Revenue 16 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 true Partially exempt methanol and ethanol fuel. 48... Partially exempt methanol and ethanol fuel. (a) In general. Under section 4041(m), the sale or use of partially exempt methanol or ethanol fuel is taxed at the rate of 41/2 cents per gallon of fuel sold or used...

  9. 26 CFR 48.4041-20 - Partially exempt methanol and ethanol fuel.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-04-01

    ... 26 Internal Revenue 16 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Partially exempt methanol and ethanol fuel. 48... Partially exempt methanol and ethanol fuel. (a) In general. Under section 4041(m), the sale or use of partially exempt methanol or ethanol fuel is taxed at the rate of 41/2 cents per gallon of fuel sold or used...

  10. 26 CFR 48.4041-20 - Partially exempt methanol and ethanol fuel.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-04-01

    ... 26 Internal Revenue 16 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Partially exempt methanol and ethanol fuel. 48... Partially exempt methanol and ethanol fuel. (a) In general. Under section 4041(m), the sale or use of partially exempt methanol or ethanol fuel is taxed at the rate of 41/2 cents per gallon of fuel sold or used...

  11. 26 CFR 48.4041-20 - Partially exempt methanol and ethanol fuel.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-04-01

    ... 26 Internal Revenue 16 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Partially exempt methanol and ethanol fuel. 48... Partially exempt methanol and ethanol fuel. (a) In general. Under section 4041(m), the sale or use of partially exempt methanol or ethanol fuel is taxed at the rate of 41/2 cents per gallon of fuel sold or used...

  12. ICI and Penspen in Nigerian and Qatari methanol deals

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Alperowicz, N.

    The U.K. consulting and engineering company Penspen Ltd. (London) has signed a second joint venture agreement in Qatar and has selected the ICI (London) methanol process. The technology will also be used in a world-scale methanol plant in Nigeria that Penspen is helping to set up. Under the first agreement, signed on January 1 with Qatar General Petroleum Corp. (QGPC), a 50/50 venture is being formed to build a $370-million, 2,000-m.t./day methanol plant at Umm Said. ICI will provide its low-pressure technology and help market 75% of the output. Completion is due late 1994.

  13. Nature, nomenclature and taxonomy of obligate methanol utilizing strains.

    PubMed

    Cercel, M

    1999-01-01

    In a screening program, a number of different bacterial strains with the ability to utilize methanol as a sole carbon and energy source were isolated and described. They are well known methanol utilizing genera Pseudomonas, Klebsiella, Micrococcus, Methylomonas or, on the contrary, the new, unknown genera and species of methylotrophic bacteria. In the last category, Acinetobacter and Alcaligenes are the new reported genera of organisms able to use methanol as a sole carbon and energy source. The present paper reports the very complex physiological and biochemical modifications when very versatile bacteria such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acinetobacter calcoaceticus are cultured on methanol and when the obligate methylotrophic state is compared with the facultative methylotrophic state of the same bacterial strain. Based on experiments and comparisons with literature data, it seems that Methylomonas methanica is the obligate methylotrophic state of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and that Acinetobacter calcoaceticus is the facultative methylotrophic state of Methylococcus capsulatus, an obligate methylotroph. The relationship of the obligate to the facultative and of the facultative to the obligate methylotrophy were established. These new methylotrophic genera and species, the profound physiological and biochemical modifications as well as the new data concerning nature, nomenclature and taxonomy of methanol utilizing bateria were reported for the first time in 1983.

  14. The shock sensitivity of nitromethane/methanol mixtures

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bartram, Brian; Dattelbaum, Dana; Sheffield, Steve; Gibson, Lee

    2013-06-01

    The dilution of liquid explosives has multiple effects on detonation properties including an increase in critical diameter, spatiotemporal lengthening of the chemical reaction zone, and the development of propagating wave instabilities. Earlier detonation studies of NM/methanol mixtures have shown several effects of increasing dilution, including: 1) a continual increase in the critical diameter, 2) lowering of the Chapman-Jouguet detonation pressure, and 3) slowing of the steady detonation velocity (Koldunov et al., Comb. Expl. Shock Waves). Here, we present the results of a series of gas gun-driven plate-impact experiments to study the shock-to-detonation transition in NM/methanol mixtures. Embedded electromagnetic gauges were used to obtain in situ particle velocity wave profiles at multiple Lagrangian positions in the initiating explosive mixture. From the wave profiles obtained in each experiment, an unreacted Hugoniot locus, the initiation mechanism, and the overtake-time-to-detonation were obtained as a function of shock input condition for mixture concentrations from 100% NM to 50 wt%/50 wt% NM/methanol. Desensitization with dilution is less than expected. For example, little change in overtake time occurs in 80 wt%/20 wt% NM/methanol when compared with neat NM. Furthermore, the shock wave profiles from the gauges indicate that wave instabilities grow in as the overdriven detonation wave settles down following the shock-to-detonation transition.

  15. Lanthanide-Dependent Regulation of Methanol Oxidation Systems in Methylobacterium extorquens AM1 and Their Contribution to Methanol Growth.

    PubMed

    Vu, Huong N; Subuyuj, Gabriel A; Vijayakumar, Srividhya; Good, Nathan M; Martinez-Gomez, N Cecilia; Skovran, Elizabeth

    2016-04-01

    Methylobacterium extorquens AM1 has two distinct types of methanol dehydrogenase (MeDH) enzymes that catalyze the oxidation of methanol to formaldehyde. MxaFI-MeDH requires pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ) and Ca in its active site, while XoxF-MeDH requires PQQ and lanthanides, such as Ce and La. Using MeDH mutant strains to conduct growth analysis and MeDH activity assays, we demonstrate that M. extorquens AM1 has at least one additional lanthanide-dependent methanol oxidation system contributing to methanol growth. Additionally, the abilities of different lanthanides to support growth were tested and strongly suggest that both XoxF and the unknown methanol oxidation system are able to use La, Ce, Pr, Nd, and, to some extent, Sm. Further, growth analysis using increasing La concentrations showed that maximum growth rate and yield were achieved at and above 1 μM La, while concentrations as low as 2.5 nM allowed growth at a reduced rate. Contrary to published data, we show that addition of exogenous lanthanides results in differential expression from the xox1 and mxa promoters, upregulating genes in the xox1 operon and repressing genes in the mxa operon. Using transcriptional reporter fusions, intermediate expression from both the mxa and xox1 promoters was detected when 50 to 100 nM La was added to the growth medium, suggesting that a condition may exist under which M. extorquens AM1 is able to utilize both enzymes simultaneously. Together, these results suggest that M. extorquens AM1 actively senses and responds to lanthanide availability, preferentially utilizing the lanthanide-dependent MeDHs when possible. The biological role of lanthanides is a nascent field of study with tremendous potential to impact many areas in biology. Our studies demonstrate that there is at least one additional lanthanide-dependent methanol oxidation system, distinct from the MxaFI and XoxF MeDHs, that may aid in classifying additional environmental organisms as methylotrophs. Further

  16. Lanthanide-Dependent Regulation of Methanol Oxidation Systems in Methylobacterium extorquens AM1 and Their Contribution to Methanol Growth

    PubMed Central

    Vu, Huong N.; Subuyuj, Gabriel A.; Vijayakumar, Srividhya; Good, Nathan M.; Martinez-Gomez, N. Cecilia

    2016-01-01

    ABSTRACT Methylobacterium extorquens AM1 has two distinct types of methanol dehydrogenase (MeDH) enzymes that catalyze the oxidation of methanol to formaldehyde. MxaFI-MeDH requires pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ) and Ca in its active site, while XoxF-MeDH requires PQQ and lanthanides, such as Ce and La. Using MeDH mutant strains to conduct growth analysis and MeDH activity assays, we demonstrate that M. extorquens AM1 has at least one additional lanthanide-dependent methanol oxidation system contributing to methanol growth. Additionally, the abilities of different lanthanides to support growth were tested and strongly suggest that both XoxF and the unknown methanol oxidation system are able to use La, Ce, Pr, Nd, and, to some extent, Sm. Further, growth analysis using increasing La concentrations showed that maximum growth rate and yield were achieved at and above 1 μM La, while concentrations as low as 2.5 nM allowed growth at a reduced rate. Contrary to published data, we show that addition of exogenous lanthanides results in differential expression from the xox1 and mxa promoters, upregulating genes in the xox1 operon and repressing genes in the mxa operon. Using transcriptional reporter fusions, intermediate expression from both the mxa and xox1 promoters was detected when 50 to 100 nM La was added to the growth medium, suggesting that a condition may exist under which M. extorquens AM1 is able to utilize both enzymes simultaneously. Together, these results suggest that M. extorquens AM1 actively senses and responds to lanthanide availability, preferentially utilizing the lanthanide-dependent MeDHs when possible. IMPORTANCE The biological role of lanthanides is a nascent field of study with tremendous potential to impact many areas in biology. Our studies demonstrate that there is at least one additional lanthanide-dependent methanol oxidation system, distinct from the MxaFI and XoxF MeDHs, that may aid in classifying additional environmental organisms as

  17. Phenotypic characterization of ten methanol oxidation (Mox) mutant classes in methylobacterium AM1

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Nunn, D.N.; Lidstrom, M.E.

    Twenty-five methanol oxidation mutants of the facultative methylotroph Methylobacterium strain AM1 have been characterized by complementation analysis and assigned to ten complementation groups, Mox A1,A2,A3 and B-H. We have characterized each of the mutants belonging to the ten Mox complementation groups by PMS-DCPIP dye linked methanol dehydrogenase activity, by methanol-dependent whole cell oxygen consumption, by the presence or absence of methanol dehydrogenase protein by SDS-polyacrylamide gels and Western blotting, by the absorption spectra of purified mutant methanol dehydrogenase proteins and by the presence or absence of the soluble cytochrome c proteins of Methylobacterium AM1. We propose functions for each ofmore » the genes deficient in the mutants of the ten Mox complementation groups. These functions include two linked genes that encode the methanol dehydrogenase structural protein and the soluble cytochrome c/sub L/, a gene encoding a secretion function essential for the synthesis and export of methanol dehydrogenase and cytochrome c/sub L/, three gene functions responsible for the proper association of the PQQ prosthetic group with the methanol dehydrogenase apoprotein and four positive regulatory gene functions controlling the expression of the ability to oxidize methanol. 24 refs., 5 figs., 2 tabs.« less

  18. Water co-catalyzed selective dehydrogenation of methanol to formaldehyde and hydrogen

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shan, Junjun; Lucci, Felicia R.; Liu, Jilei; El-Soda, Mostafa; Marcinkowski, Matthew D.; Allard, Lawrence F.; Sykes, E. Charles H.; Flytzani-Stephanopoulos, Maria

    2016-08-01

    The non-oxidative dehydrogenation of methanol to formaldehyde is considered a promising method to produce formaldehyde and clean hydrogen gas. Although Cu-based catalysts have an excellent catalytic activity in the oxidative dehydrogenation of methanol, metallic Cu is commonly believed to be unreactive for the dehydrogenation of methanol in the absence of oxygen adatoms or oxidized copper. Herein we show that metallic Cu can catalyze the dehydrogenation of methanol in the absence of oxygen adatoms by using water as a co-catalyst both under realistic reaction conditions using silica-supported PtCu nanoparticles in a flow reactor system at temperatures below 250 °C, and in ultra-high vacuum using model PtCu(111) catalysts. Adding small amounts of isolated Pt atoms into the Cu surface to form PtCu single atom alloys (SAAs) greatly enhances the dehydrogenation activity of Cu. Under the same reaction conditions, the yields of formaldehyde from PtCu SAA nanoparticles are more than one order of magnitude higher than on the Cu nanoparticles, indicating a significant promotional effect of individual, isolated Pt atoms. Moreover, this study also shows the unexpected role of water in the activation of methanol. Water, a catalyst for methanol dehydrogenation at low temperatures, becomes a reactant in the methanol steam reforming reactions only at higher temperatures over the same metal catalyst.

  19. Methanol infrastructure — will it affect the introduction of SPFC vehicles?

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hart, D.; Leach, M. A.; Fouquet, R.; Pearson, P. J.; Bauen, A.

    The possibility that future solid polymer fuel cell vehicles will be fuelled by methanol has been suggested. If this is the case, it will have significant implications for the future structure of the methanol supply industry, and methanol supply and availability may have an impact on the take-up of these SPFC vehicles. In this study, a model assessing the possible future penetration of methanol SPFC vehicles was constructed. This suggested that it would be possible for SPFC vehicles to achieve rapid market penetration after an initially slow start. A further model indicated that methanol supply would be adequate for vehicle demand until about 2013, when significant new capacity would be required. The cost of this new capacity was estimated, along with the cost of providing refuelling infrastructure such as road tankers, storage, and suitable fuelling stations. Amortising the cost over a short period (to 2013) could double the pre-tax price of methanol as a fuel, while over a longer timeframe (to 2029) it would add less than 10% to this value. The model suggests that methanol capacity need not be a constraint to the future introduction of SPFC vehicles using it as a fuel, but that other factors such as fuel purity and safety must be carefully considered before real costs can be calculated.

  20. Interaction of alkanes with an amorphous methanol film at 15-180 K

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Souda, Ryutaro

    2005-09-15

    The hydrogen-bond imperfections and glass-liquid transition of the amorphous methanol film have been investigated on the basis of the film dewetting and the incorporation/desorption of alkane molecules adsorbed on the surface. The butane is incorporated completely in the bulk of the porous methanol film up to 70 K. At least two distinct states exist for the incorporated butane; one is assignable to solvated molecules in the bulk and the other is weakly bound species at the surface or in the subsurface site. For the nonporous methanol film, the uptake of butane in the bulk is quenched but butane forms amore » surface complex with methanol above 80 K. The butane incorporated in the bulk of the glassy methanol film is released at 120 K, where dewetting of the methanol film occurs simultaneously due to evolution of the supercooled liquid phase.« less

  1. Methanol Oxidation Using Ozone on Titania-Supported Vanadium Catalyst

    EPA Science Inventory

    Ozone-enhanced catalytic oxidation of methanol has been conducted at mild temperatures of 100 to 250NC using V2O5/TiO2 catalyst prepared by the sol-gel method. The catalyst was characterized using XRD, surface area measurements, and temperature-programmed desorption of methanol. ...

  2. Corrosion of aluminum alloys by chlorinated hydrocarbon/methanol mixtures

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    De Forest, W. S.

    1967-01-01

    Laboratory investigations show that water-free mixtures of Freon MF /trichlorofluoromethane/ and methanol vigorously attack aluminum alloys which contain significant amounts of copper. Freon MF alone did not attack the aluminum alloys at room temperature. Pure methanol had only a slight corrosive effect on the alloy.

  3. TiO2 Nanotube-Carbon (TNT-C) as Support for Pt-based Catalyst for High Methanol Oxidation Reaction in Direct Methanol Fuel Cell.

    PubMed

    Abdullah, M; Kamarudin, S K; Shyuan, L K

    2016-12-01

    In this study, TiO 2 nanotubes (TNTs) were synthesized via a hydrothermal method using highly concentrated NaOH solutions varying from 6 to 12 M at 180 °C for 48 h. The effects of the NaOH concentration and the TNT crystal structure on the performance for methanol oxidation were investigated to determine the best catalyst support for Pt-based catalysts. The results showed that TNTs produced with 10 M NaOH exhibited a length and a diameter of 550 and 70 nm, respectively; these TNTs showed the best nanotube structure and were further used as catalyst supports for a Pt-based catalyst in a direct methanol fuel cell. The synthesized TNT and Pt-based catalysts were analysed by FESEM, TEM, BET, EDX, XRD and FTIR. The electrochemical performance of the catalysts was investigated using cyclic voltammetry (CV) and chronoamperometric (CA) analysis to further understand the methanol oxidation in the direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC). Finally, the result proves that Pt-Ru/TNT-C catalyst shows high performance in methanol oxidation as the highest current density achieved at 3.3 mA/cm 2 (normalised by electrochemically active surface area) and high catalyst tolerance towards poisoning species was established.

  4. Structure and energetics of hydrogen-bonded networks of methanol on close packed transition metal surfaces

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Murphy, Colin J.; Carrasco, Javier; Lawton, Timothy J.; Liriano, Melissa L.; Baber, Ashleigh E.; Lewis, Emily A.; Michaelides, Angelos; Sykes, E. Charles H.

    2014-07-01

    Methanol is a versatile chemical feedstock, fuel source, and energy storage material. Many reactions involving methanol are catalyzed by transition metal surfaces, on which hydrogen-bonded methanol overlayers form. As with water, the structure of these overlayers is expected to depend on a delicate balance of hydrogen bonding and adsorbate-substrate bonding. In contrast to water, however, relatively little is known about the structures methanol overlayers form and how these vary from one substrate to another. To address this issue, herein we analyze the hydrogen bonded networks that methanol forms as a function of coverage on three catalytically important surfaces, Au(111), Cu(111), and Pt(111), using a combination of scanning tunneling microscopy and density functional theory. We investigate the effect of intermolecular interactions, surface coverage, and adsorption energies on molecular assembly and compare the results to more widely studied water networks on the same surfaces. Two main factors are shown to direct the structure of methanol on the surfaces studied: the surface coverage and the competition between the methanol-methanol and methanol-surface interactions. Additionally, we report a new chiral form of buckled hexamer formed by surface bound methanol that maximizes the interactions between methanol monomers by sacrificing interactions with the surface. These results serve as a direct comparison of interaction strength, assembly, and chirality of methanol networks on Au(111), Cu(111), and Pt(111) which are catalytically relevant for methanol oxidation, steam reforming, and direct methanol fuel cells.

  5. New functionalized IRMOF-10 with strong affinity for methanol: A simulation study

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Liu, Zewei; Zhang, Kai; Wu, Ying; Xi, Hongxia

    2018-05-01

    Grand Canonical Monte Carlo (GCMC) method simulation combined with density functional theory (DFT) calculation were used to investigate the methanol adsorption in IRMOF-10, with nitrogen and metal-doping functionalizations in order to understand the underlying performance of MOFs in methanol adsorption. New doped IRMOF-10s (M-2N-IRMOF-10, M = Be, Mg, Ca, Sr, Ba) were theoretically constructed by binding nitrogen atoms of organic linkers in N-doping IRMOF-10 (2N-IRMOF-10) with various metal atoms. 2N-IRMOF-10 shows only a little higher methanol capacity in the measured pressure range. However, M-2N-IRMOF-10s (especially Be-2N-IRMOF-10) demonstrate much higher methanol capacity due to the stronger interaction between the induced Be atoms and methanol molecules. Furthermore, the obtained results can be attributed to the new adsorption sites created by metal-doping, as revealed by the more exothermic binding energies (BEs) on Be-sites (-160.8 kJ/mol) than Zn-sites (-19.4 kJ/mol). According to the simulation results, it can be concluded that functionalized IRMOF-10 are capable of enhancing the adsorption capacity of methanol at pressure from 0 to 12 kPa at 298 K. This study provides a new functionalized method to effectively enhance methanol adsorption capacity of MOFs, which might extend the application of MOFs on methanol adsorption in the near future.

  6. Liquid methanol under a static electric field

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cassone, Giuseppe; Giaquinta, Paolo V.; Saija, Franz; Saitta, A. Marco

    2015-02-01

    We report on an ab initio molecular dynamics study of liquid methanol under the effect of a static electric field. We found that the hydrogen-bond structure of methanol is more robust and persistent for field intensities below the molecular dissociation threshold whose value (≈0.31 V/Å) turns out to be moderately larger than the corresponding estimate obtained for liquid water. A sustained ionic current, with ohmic current-voltage behavior, flows in this material for field intensities above 0.36 V/Å, as is also the case of water, but the resulting ionic conductivity (≈0.40 S cm-1) is at least one order of magnitude lower than that of water, a circumstance that evidences a lower efficiency of proton transfer processes. We surmise that this study may be relevant for the understanding of the properties and functioning of technological materials which exploit ionic conduction, such as direct-methanol fuel cells and Nafion membranes.

  7. Growth of Bacillus methanolicus in 2 M methanol at 50 °C: the effect of high methanol concentration on gene regulation of enzymes involved in formaldehyde detoxification by the ribulose monophosphate pathway.

    PubMed

    Bozdag, Ahmet; Komives, Claire; Flickinger, Michael C

    2015-07-01

    Bacillus methanolicus MGA3 is a Gram-positive aerobic methylotroph growing optimally at 50-53°C. Methylotrophy in B. methanolicus is encoded on pBM19 and by two chromosomal copies of the methanol dehydrogenase (mdh), hexulose phosphate synthase (hps) and phosphohexuloisomerase (phi) genes. However, there are no published studies on the regulation of methylotrophy or the dominant mechanism of detoxification of intracellular formaldehyde in response to high methanol concentration. The µ max of B. methanolicus MGA3 was assessed on methanol, mannitol and glucose. B. methanolicus achieved a µ max at 25 mM initial methanol of 0.65 ± 0.007 h(-1), which decreased to 0.231 ± 0.004 h(-1) at 2 M initial methanol. Slow growth was also observed with initial methanol concentrations of >2 M. The µ max on mannitol and glucose are 0.532 ± 0.002 and 0.336 ± 0.003 h(-1), respectively. Spiking cultures with additional methanol (100 mM) did not disturb the growth rate of methanol-grown cells, whereas, a 50 mM methanol spike halted the growth in mannitol. Surprisingly, growth in methanol was inhibited by 1 mM formaldehyde, while mannitol-grown cells tolerated 2 mM. Moreover, mannitol-grown cells removed formaldehyde faster than methanol-grown cells. Further, we show that methanol oxidation in B. methanolicus MGA3 is mainly carried out by the pBM19-encoded mdh. Formaldehyde and formate addition down-regulate the mdh and hps genes in methanol-grown cells. Similarly, they down-regulate mdh genes in mannitol-grown cells, but up-regulate hps. Phosphofructokinase (pfk) is up-regulated in both methanol and mannitol-grown cells, which suggests that pfk may be a possible synthetic methylotrophy target to reduce formaldehyde growth toxicity at high methanol concentrations.

  8. Neat methanol fuel cell power plant

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Abens, S.; Farooque, M.

    1985-12-01

    Attention is given to a fuel cell development effort which has been directed, by ease-of-supply, low weight, and low volume criteria toward the use of undiluted methanol. Partial oxidation and internal water recovery concepts are incorporated, allowing the onboard dilution of methanol fuel through mixing with exhaust-recovered water. This scheme is successfully demonstrated for the case of a 3 kW unit employing commercial cross flow heat exchangers, as well as for a 5 kW reformer flue exhaust water recovery design with U.S. Air force baseload stationary applications. The USAF powerplant has an overall thermal efficiency of 32 percent at rated load.

  9. Production of methanol from heat-stressed pepper and corn leaf disks

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Anderson, J.A.

    Early Calwonder'' pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) and Jubilee'' corn (Zea mays L.) leaf disks exposed to high temperature stress produced ethylene, ethane, methanol, acetaldehyde, and ethanol based on comparison of retention times during gas chromatography to authentic standards. Methanol, ethanol, and acetaldehyde were also identified by mass spectroscopy. Corn leaf disks produced lower levels of ethylene, ethane, and methanol, but more acetaldehyde and ethanol than pepper. Production of ethane, a by-product of lipid peroxidation, coincided with an increase in electrolyte leakage (EL) in pepper but not in corn. Compared with controls, pepper leaf disks infiltrated with linolenic acid evolved significantlymore » greater amounts of ethane, acetaldehyde, and methanol and similar levels of ethanol. EL and volatile hydrocarbon production were not affected by fatty acid infiltration in corn. Infiltration of pepper leaves with buffers increasing in pH from 5.5 to 9.5 increased methanol production.« less

  10. Research Progress on the Indirect Hydrogenation of Carbon Dioxide to Methanol.

    PubMed

    Du, Xian-Long; Jiang, Zheng; Su, Dang Sheng; Wang, Jian-Qiang

    2016-02-19

    Methanol is a sustainable source of liquid fuels and one of the most useful organic chemicals. To date, most of the work in this area has focused on the direct hydrogenation of CO2 to methanol. However, this process requires high operating temperatures (200-250 °C), which limits the theoretical yield of methanol. Thus, it is desirable to find a new strategy for the efficient conversion of CO2 to methanol at relatively low reaction temperatures. This Minireview seeks to outline the recent advances on the indirect hydrogenation of CO2 to methanol. Much emphasis is placed on discussing specific systems, including hydrogenation of CO2 derivatives (organic carbonates, carbamates, formates, cyclic carbonates, etc.) and cascade reactions, with the aim of critically highlighting both the achievements and remaining challenges associated with this field. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  11. A hydrophilic-hydrophobic dual-layer microporous layer enabling the improved water management of direct methanol fuel cells operating with neat methanol

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yan, X. H.; Zhao, T. S.; Zhao, G.; An, L.; Zhou, X. L.

    2015-10-01

    Passive direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) operating with neat methanol can achieve the maximum system energy density. However, the anodic methanol oxidation reaction requires reactant water, which is completely supplied by water generated at the cathode, causing the system to experience a critical issue known as water starvation. A solution to this problem involves increasing the water recovery flux to meet the rate of water consumption of the anodic reaction, and increase the local water concentration as high as possible at the anode catalyst layer (CL) to improve the anodic kinetics. In the present work, a new microporous layer (MPL) consisting of a hydrophilic layer and a hydrophobic layer is proposed. The purposes of these two layers are to, respectively, trap and retain water and to create capillary pressure to prevent water loss. Our experiments have shown that the use of this novel MPL at the anode and cathode can increase the rate of water recovery and water retention, resulting in an increase in the local water concentration. As a result, the use of this dual-layer MPL to either electrode of a passive DMFC operating with neat methanol leads to a significant performance boost.

  12. Evaluation of the Ramazzini Foundation Study of Methanol in Rats

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    Evaluation of the Ramazzini Foundation Study of Methanol in Rats: A Comparison of Diagnoses by the RF Study Pathologist and a Recent NTP Review Team, summarized by George Cruzan and submitted to the Methanol Institute

  13. Interstellar Methanol from the Lab to Protoplanetary Disks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Drozdovskaya, Maria; Walsh, Catherine; Visser, Ruud; Harsono, Daniel; van Dishoeck, Ewine

    2015-08-01

    Interstellar methanol is considered to be a parent species of larger, more complex organic molecules. It holds a central role in many astrochemical models [e.g. 1]. Methanol has also been the focus of several laboratory studies [e.g. 2, 3] in an effort to gain insight into grain-surface chemistry, which potentially builds chemical complexity already in the cold, dark phases of protostellar evolution. The case of methanol is a prime example of experimental work having implications on astronomical scales. For this meeting, I would like to highlight how physical and chemical models can be unified to simulate infalling material during the birth of a low-mass protostar. An axisymmetric 2D semi-analytic collapse model [4], wavelength-dependent radiative transfer calculations with RADMC3D [5] and a comprehensive gas-grain chemical network [6] are used to study two physical scenarios. In the first case, the dominant disc growth mechanism is viscous spreading, while in the second, continuous infall of matter prevails. The results show that the infall path influences the abundance of methanol entering each type of disk, ranging from complete loss of methanol to an enhancement by a factor of >1 relative to the prestellar phase [7]. This work illustrates how the experimentally verified hydrogenation sequence of carbon monoxide leading to methanol influences the delivery of methanol ice to the planet- and comet-forming zones of protoplanetary disks. Such intriguing links will soon be tested by upcoming cometary data from the Rosetta mission and ALMA observations.[1] Garrod R. T., Herbst E., 2006, A&A, 457, 927[2] Watanabe N., Nagaoka A., Shiraki T., Kouchi A., 2004, ApJ, 616, 638[3] Fuchs G. W., Cuppen H. M., Ioppolo S., Romanzin C., Bisschop S. E., Andersson S., van Dishoeck E. F., Linnartz H., 2009, A&A, 505, 629[4] Visser R., van Dishoeck E. F., Doty S. D., Dullemond C. P., 2009, A&A, 495, 881[5] Dullemond C. P., Dominik C., 2004, A&A, 417, 159[6] Walsh C., Millar T. J

  14. Process assessment of small scale low temperature methanol synthesis

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hendriyana, Susanto, Herri; Subagjo

    2015-12-01

    Biomass is a renewable energy resource and has the potential to make a significant impact on domestic fuel supplies. Biomass can be converted to fuel like methanol via several step process. The process can be split into following main steps: biomass preparation, gasification, gas cooling and cleaning, gas shift and methanol synthesis. Untill now these configuration still has a problem like high production cost, catalyst deactivation, economy of scale and a huge energy requirements. These problems become the leading inhibition for biomass conversion to methanol, which should be resolved to move towards the economical. To address these issues, we developed various process and new configurations for methanol synthesis via methyl formate. This configuration combining two reactors: the one reactor for the carbonylation of methanol and CO to form methyl formate, and the second for the hydrogenolysis of methyl formate and H2 to form two molecule of methanol. Four plant process configurations were compared with the biomass basis is 300 ton/day. The first configuration (A) is equipped with a steam reforming process for converting methane to CO and H2 for increasing H2/CO ratio. CO2 removal is necessary to avoid poisoning the catalyst. COSORB process used for the purpose of increasing the partial pressure of CO in the feed gas. The steam reforming process in B configuration is not used with the aim of reducing the number of process equipment, so expect lower investment costs. For C configuration, the steam reforming process and COSORB are not used with the aim of reducing the number of process equipment, so expect lower investment costs. D configuration is almost similar to the configuration A. This configuration difference is in the synthesis of methanol which was held in a single reactor. Carbonylation and hydrogenolysis reactions carried out in the same reactor one. These processes were analyzed in term of technical process, material and energy balance and economic

  15. Process assessment of small scale low temperature methanol synthesis

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Hendriyana; Chemical Engineering Department, Faculty of Industrial Technology, InstitutTeknologi Bandung; Susanto, Herri, E-mail: herri@che.itb.ac.id

    2015-12-29

    Biomass is a renewable energy resource and has the potential to make a significant impact on domestic fuel supplies. Biomass can be converted to fuel like methanol via several step process. The process can be split into following main steps: biomass preparation, gasification, gas cooling and cleaning, gas shift and methanol synthesis. Untill now these configuration still has a problem like high production cost, catalyst deactivation, economy of scale and a huge energy requirements. These problems become the leading inhibition for biomass conversion to methanol, which should be resolved to move towards the economical. To address these issues, we developedmore » various process and new configurations for methanol synthesis via methyl formate. This configuration combining two reactors: the one reactor for the carbonylation of methanol and CO to form methyl formate, and the second for the hydrogenolysis of methyl formate and H{sub 2} to form two molecule of methanol. Four plant process configurations were compared with the biomass basis is 300 ton/day. The first configuration (A) is equipped with a steam reforming process for converting methane to CO and H{sub 2} for increasing H{sub 2}/CO ratio. CO{sub 2} removal is necessary to avoid poisoning the catalyst. COSORB process used for the purpose of increasing the partial pressure of CO in the feed gas. The steam reforming process in B configuration is not used with the aim of reducing the number of process equipment, so expect lower investment costs. For C configuration, the steam reforming process and COSORB are not used with the aim of reducing the number of process equipment, so expect lower investment costs. D configuration is almost similar to the configuration A. This configuration difference is in the synthesis of methanol which was held in a single reactor. Carbonylation and hydrogenolysis reactions carried out in the same reactor one. These processes were analyzed in term of technical process, material and

  16. Spontaneous generation of rapidly transmissible prions in transgenic mice expressing wild-type bank vole prion protein.

    PubMed

    Watts, Joel C; Giles, Kurt; Stöhr, Jan; Oehler, Abby; Bhardwaj, Sumita; Grillo, Sunny K; Patel, Smita; DeArmond, Stephen J; Prusiner, Stanley B

    2012-02-28

    Currently, there are no animal models of the most common human prion disorder, sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), in which prions are formed spontaneously from wild-type (WT) prion protein (PrP). Interestingly, bank voles (BV) exhibit an unprecedented promiscuity for diverse prion isolates, arguing that bank vole PrP (BVPrP) may be inherently prone to adopting misfolded conformations. Therefore, we constructed transgenic (Tg) mice expressing WT BVPrP. Tg(BVPrP) mice developed spontaneous CNS dysfunction between 108 and 340 d of age and recapitulated the hallmarks of prion disease, including spongiform degeneration, pronounced astrogliosis, and deposition of alternatively folded PrP in the brain. Brain homogenates of ill Tg(BVPrP) mice transmitted disease to Tg(BVPrP) mice in ∼35 d, to Tg mice overexpressing mouse PrP in under 100 d, and to WT mice in ∼185 d. Our studies demonstrate experimentally that WT PrP can spontaneously form infectious prions in vivo. Thus, Tg(BVPrP) mice may be useful for studying the spontaneous formation of prions, and thus may provide insight into the etiology of sporadic CJD.

  17. Design of a novel automated methanol feed system for pilot-scale fermentation of Pichia pastoris.

    PubMed

    Hamaker, Kent H; Johnson, Daniel C; Bellucci, Joseph J; Apgar, Kristie R; Soslow, Sherry; Gercke, John C; Menzo, Darrin J; Ton, Christopher

    2011-01-01

    Large-scale fermentation of Pichia pastoris requires a large volume of methanol feed during the induction phase. However, a large volume of methanol feed is difficult to use in the processing suite because of the inconvenience of constant monitoring, manual manipulation steps, and fire and explosion hazards. To optimize and improve safety of the methanol feed process, a novel automated methanol feed system has been designed and implemented for industrial fermentation of P. pastoris. Details of the design of the methanol feed system are described. The main goals of the design were to automate the methanol feed process and to minimize the hazardous risks associated with storing and handling large quantities of methanol in the processing area. The methanol feed system is composed of two main components: a bulk feed (BF) system and up to three portable process feed (PF) systems. The BF system automatically delivers methanol from a central location to the portable PF system. The PF system provides precise flow control of linear, step, or exponential feed of methanol to the fermenter. Pilot-scale fermentations with linear and exponential methanol feeds were conducted using two Mut(+) (methanol utilization plus) strains, one expressing a recombinant therapeutic protein and the other a monoclonal antibody. Results show that the methanol feed system is accurate, safe, and efficient. The feed rates for both linear and exponential feed methods were within ± 5% of the set points, and the total amount of methanol fed was within 1% of the targeted volume. Copyright © 2011 American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE).

  18. Optimizing membrane electrode assembly of direct methanol fuel cells for portable power

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Liu, Fuqiang

    Direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) for portable power applications require high power density, high-energy conversion efficiency and compactness. These requirements translate to fundamental properties of high methanol oxidation and oxygen reduction kinetics, as well as low methanol and water crossover. In this thesis a novel membrane electrode assembly (MEA) for direct methanol fuel cells has been developed, aiming to improve these fundamental properties. Firstly, methanol oxidation kinetics has been enhanced and methanol crossover has been minimized by proper control of ionomer crystallinity and its swelling in the anode catalyst layer through heat-treatment. Heat-treatment has a major impact on anode characteristics. The short-cured anode has low ionomer crystallinity, and thus swells easily when in contact with methanol solution to create a much denser anode structure, giving rise to higher methanol transport resistance than the long-cured anode. Variations in interfacial properties in the anode catalyst layer (CL) during cell conditioning were also characterized, and enhanced kinetics of methanol oxidation and severe limiting current phenomenon were found to be caused by a combination of interfacial property variations and swelling of ionomer over time. Secondly, much effort has been expended to develop a cathode CL suitable for operation under low air stoichiometry. The effects of fabrication procedure, ionomer content, and porosity distribution on the microstructure and cathode performance under low air stoichiometry are investigated using electrochemical and surface morphology characterizations to reveal the correlation between microstructure and electrochemical behavior. At the same time, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models of DMFC cathodes have been developed to theoretically interpret the experimental results, to investigate two-phase transport, and to elucidate mechanism of cathode mixed potential due to methanol crossover. Thirdly, a MEA with low

  19. Photonic Crystals-Inhibited Spontaneous Emission: Optical Antennas-Enhanced Spontaneous Emission

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yablonovitch, Eli

    Photonic crystals are also part of everyday technological life in opto-electronic telecommunication devices that provide us with internet, cloud storage, and email. But photonic crystals have also been identified in nature, in the coloration of peacocks, parrots, chameleons, butterflies and many other species.In spite of its broad applicability, the original motivation of photonic crystals was to create a ``bandgap'' in which the spontaneous emission of light would be inhibited. Conversely, the opposite is now possible. The ``optical antenna'' can accelerate spontaneous emission. Over 100 years after the radio antenna, we finally have tiny ``optical antennas'' which can act on molecules and quantum dots. Employing optical antennas, spontaneous light emission can become faster than stimulated emission.

  20. Acute toxicity of methanol in the folate-deficient acatalasemic mouse.

    PubMed

    Smith, E N; Taylor, R T

    1982-01-01

    Formate acidosis is the chief measurable biochemical characteristic of acute methanol toxicity in man. Its marked elevation in the blood stream of primates has been proposed to account for their much greater susceptibility versus rodents to methanol poisoning. Therefore, a study was undertaken to assess whether folic acid deficient (FAD) mice which accumulate formate are much more sensitive to the lethal effects of this alcohol than folic acid sufficient (FAS) mice. Moreover, because some formate is oxidized by catalase-H2O2 in rodents, but not in primates, we also compared the urinary excretion and blood plasma accumulation of formate and the methanol sensitivity of acatalasemic mice. Methanol-dosed C57BL/6Csb (acatalasemic) mice exhibit slightly lower LD50S than CSa (normal catalase) mice, irrespective of their folate state. CSb-FAD mice excreted much more formate and developed higher plasma formate concentrations (11-17 mM) than identically dosed CSa-FAD animals (6 mM). However, in no instance did a folate deficiency produce a large reciprocal decrease in the oral or i.p. LD50 that would be expected from a huge increase (greater than 10-fold) in the 24-h blood plasma formate level. A low methionine (0.2%) intake did not decrease the oral methanol LD50 of CSb-FAD mice, although excess dietary methionine (1.8%) did lower it from 7.1 to 6.4 g/kg. Methanol treated (4 g/kg) Csb-FAD mice excreted 30.8-48.2% of the oral dose as urinary formate, depending on the level of dietary methionine. Csb-FAS and -FAD mice which were given 2 g/kg sodium formate orally (LD50 = 4.7 and 3.7 g/kg) cleared this dose from the blood within 24 h and excreted 58% and 76% of it, respectively, in the urine. Our results indicate that the plasma formate concentration does not correlate well with methanol lethality in Csb-FAS vs. -FAD mice. In addition, urinary excretion, not oxidation, is the primary means by which mice, and probably rats, eliminate high levels of blood formate. Since the Csb

  1. The Methanol Poisoning Outbreaks in Libya 2013 and Kenya 2014

    PubMed Central

    Rostrup, Morten; Edwards, Jeffrey K.; Abukalish, Mohamed; Ezzabi, Masoud; Some, David; Ritter, Helga; Menge, Tom; Abdelrahman, Ahmed; Rootwelt, Rebecca; Janssens, Bart; Lind, Kyrre; Paasma, Raido; Hovda, Knut Erik

    2016-01-01

    Background Outbreaks of methanol poisoning occur frequently on a global basis, affecting poor and vulnerable populations. Knowledge regarding methanol is limited, likely many cases and even outbreaks go unnoticed, with patients dying unnecessarily. We describe findings from the first three large outbreaks of methanol poisoning where Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) responded, and evaluate the benefits of a possible future collaboration between local health authorities, a Non-Governmental Organisation and international expertise. Methods Retrospective study of three major methanol outbreaks in Libya (2013) and Kenya (May and July 2014). Data were collected from MSF field personnel, local health personnel, hospital files, and media reports. Findings In Tripoli, Libya, over 1,000 patients were poisoned with a reported case fatality rate of 10% (101/1,066). In Kenya, two outbreaks resulted in approximately 341 and 126 patients, with case fatality rates of 29% (100/341) and 21% (26/126), respectively. MSF launched an emergency team with international experts, medications and equipment, however, the outbreaks were resolving by the time of arrival. Interpretation Recognition of an outbreak of methanol poisoning and diagnosis seem to be the most challenging tasks, with significant delay from time of first presentations to public health warnings being issued. In spite of the rapid response from an emergency team, the outbreaks were nearly concluded by the time of arrival. A major impact on the outcome was not seen, but large educational trainings were conducted to increase awareness and knowledge about methanol poisoning. Based on this training, MSF was able to send a local emergency team during the second outbreak, supporting that such an approach could improve outcomes. Basic training, simplified treatment protocols, point-of-care diagnostic tools, and early support when needed, are likely the most important components to impact the consequences of methanol poisoning

  2. The Methanol Poisoning Outbreaks in Libya 2013 and Kenya 2014.

    PubMed

    Rostrup, Morten; Edwards, Jeffrey K; Abukalish, Mohamed; Ezzabi, Masoud; Some, David; Ritter, Helga; Menge, Tom; Abdelrahman, Ahmed; Rootwelt, Rebecca; Janssens, Bart; Lind, Kyrre; Paasma, Raido; Hovda, Knut Erik

    2016-01-01

    Outbreaks of methanol poisoning occur frequently on a global basis, affecting poor and vulnerable populations. Knowledge regarding methanol is limited, likely many cases and even outbreaks go unnoticed, with patients dying unnecessarily. We describe findings from the first three large outbreaks of methanol poisoning where Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) responded, and evaluate the benefits of a possible future collaboration between local health authorities, a Non-Governmental Organisation and international expertise. Retrospective study of three major methanol outbreaks in Libya (2013) and Kenya (May and July 2014). Data were collected from MSF field personnel, local health personnel, hospital files, and media reports. In Tripoli, Libya, over 1,000 patients were poisoned with a reported case fatality rate of 10% (101/1,066). In Kenya, two outbreaks resulted in approximately 341 and 126 patients, with case fatality rates of 29% (100/341) and 21% (26/126), respectively. MSF launched an emergency team with international experts, medications and equipment, however, the outbreaks were resolving by the time of arrival. Recognition of an outbreak of methanol poisoning and diagnosis seem to be the most challenging tasks, with significant delay from time of first presentations to public health warnings being issued. In spite of the rapid response from an emergency team, the outbreaks were nearly concluded by the time of arrival. A major impact on the outcome was not seen, but large educational trainings were conducted to increase awareness and knowledge about methanol poisoning. Based on this training, MSF was able to send a local emergency team during the second outbreak, supporting that such an approach could improve outcomes. Basic training, simplified treatment protocols, point-of-care diagnostic tools, and early support when needed, are likely the most important components to impact the consequences of methanol poisoning outbreaks in these challenging contexts.

  3. Co-Consumption of Methanol and Succinate by Methylobacterium extorquens AM1

    PubMed Central

    Peyraud, Rémi; Kiefer, Patrick; Christen, Philipp; Portais, Jean-Charles; Vorholt, Julia A.

    2012-01-01

    Methylobacterium extorquens AM1 is a facultative methylotrophic Alphaproteobacterium and has been subject to intense study under pure methylotrophic as well as pure heterotrophic growth conditions in the past. Here, we investigated the metabolism of M. extorquens AM1 under mixed substrate conditions, i.e., in the presence of methanol plus succinate. We found that both substrates were co-consumed, and the carbon conversion was two-thirds from succinate and one-third from methanol relative to mol carbon. 13C-methanol labeling and liquid chromatography mass spectrometry analyses revealed the different fates of the carbon from the two substrates. Methanol was primarily oxidized to CO2 for energy generation. However, a portion of the methanol entered biosynthetic reactions via reactions specific to the one-carbon carrier tetrahydrofolate. In contrast, succinate was primarily used to provide precursor metabolites for bulk biomass production. This work opens new perspectives on the role of methylotrophy when substrates are simultaneously available, a situation prevailing under environmental conditions. PMID:23133625

  4. Non-linear and non-local behaviour in spontaneously electrical solids.

    PubMed

    Roman, M; Taj, S; Gutowski, M; McCoustra, M R S; Dunn, A C; Keolopile, Z G; Rosu-Finsen, A; Cassidy, A M; Field, D

    2018-02-14

    Using reflection-absorption infrared spectroscopy (RAIRS), we show that solids displaying spontaneous dipole orientation possess quite general non-local and non-linear characteristics, exemplified through their internal electric fields. The most graphic illustration of this, uncovered originally through electron beam studies, may be found in films of cis-methyl formate (cis-MF), for which data demonstrated the counter-intuitive property that the degree of dipole order in the film does not monotonically decrease as the temperature of deposition rises, but rather increases sharply above ∼77 K. Here we show how RAIRS provides independent evidence to support this conclusion. These new data confirm (i) that the behaviour of spontelectrics is governed by an expression for the degree of dipole orientation, which is continuous in temperature, but with a discontinuity in the derivative, and (ii) that the temperature of deposition associated with this discontinuity matches the temperature above which dipole order switches from the expected reduction with temperature to an increase with temperature.

  5. Portable DMFC system with methanol sensor-less control

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chen, C. Y.; Liu, D. H.; Huang, C. L.; Chang, C. L.

    This work develops a prototype 20 W portable DMFC by system integration of stack, condenser, methanol sensor-less control and start-up characteristics. The effects of these key components and control schemes on the performance are also discussed. To expedite the use of portable DMFC in electronic applications, the system utilizes a novel methanol sensor-less control method, providing improved fuel efficiency, durability, miniaturization and cost reduction. The operating characteristics of the DMFC stack are applied to control the fuel ejection time and period, enabling the system to continue operating even when the MEAs of the stack are deteriorated. The portable system is also designed with several features including water balance and quick start-up (in 5 min). Notably, the proposed system using methanol sensor-less control with injection of pure methanol can power the DVD player and notebook PC. The system specific energy and energy density following three days of operation are 362 Wh kg -1 and 335 Wh L -1, respectively, which are better than those of lithium batteries (∼150 Wh kg -1 and ∼250 Wh L -). This good energy storage feature demonstrates that the portable DMFC is likely to be valuable in computer, communication and consumer electronic (3C) markets.

  6. A Rare Cause of Metabolic Acidosis: Fatal Transdermal Methanol Intoxication in an Infant.

    PubMed

    Sahbudak Bal, Zumrut; Can, Fulya Kamit; Anil, Ayse Berna; Bal, Alkan; Anil, Murat; Gokalp, Gamze; Yavascan, Onder; Aksu, Nejat

    2016-08-01

    Oral methanol intoxication is common, but dermal intoxication is rare. We report a previously healthy 19-month-old female infant admitted to the emergency department (ED) with vomiting and tonic-clonic seizure. On physical examination, she was comatose and presented signs of decompensated shock with Kussmaul breathing. Her left thigh was edematous, with purple coloration. Methanol intoxication was suspected due to high anion gap metabolic acidosis (pH, 6.89; HCO3, <3 meq/L) and exposure to spirit-soaked bandages (%96 methanol) for 24 hours and 3 days. The patient's serum methanol level was 20.4 mg/dL. She was treated with fomepizole and continuous venovenous hemodialysis (CVVHD) in the pediatric intensive care unit, and methanol levels decreased to 0 mg/dL after 12 hours. During follow-up, massive edema and subarachnoid hemorrhage in the occipital lobe were detected by computed tomography of the brain. The patient died after 7 days.Although methanol intoxication occurs predominantly in adults, it must be considered in children with high-anion gap metabolic acidosis. This case report demonstrates that fatal transdermal methanol intoxication can occur in children, and it is the second report in the English literature of transdermal methanol intoxication in an infant.

  7. ATOM-ECONOMICAL PATHWAYS TO METHANOL FUEL CELL FROM BIOMASS

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    MAHAJAN,D.; WEGRZYN,J.E.

    1999-03-01

    An economical production of alcohol fuels from biomass, a feedstock low in carbon and high in water content, is of interest. At Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), a Liquid Phase Low Temperature (LPLT) concept is under development to improve the economics by maximizing the conversion of energy carrier atoms (C,H) into energy liquids (fuel). So far, the LPLT concept has been successfully applied to obtain highly efficient methanol synthesis. This synthesis was achieved with specifically designed soluble catalysts, at temperatures < 150 C. A subsequent study at BNL yielded a water-gas-shift (WGS) catalyst for the production of hydrogen from a feedstockmore » of carbon monoxide and H{sub 2}O at temperatures < 120 C. With these LPLT technologies as a background, this paper extends the discussion of the LPLT concept to include methanol decomposition into 3 moles of H{sub 2} per mole of methanol. The implication of these technologies for the atom-economical pathways to methanol fuel cell from biomass is discussed.« less

  8. The JPL Direct Methanol Liquid-feed PEM Fuel Cell

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Halpert, G.; Surampudi, S.

    1994-01-01

    Recently, there has been a breakthrough in fuel cell technology in the Energy Storage Systems Group at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory with the develpment of a direct methanol, liquid-feed, solid polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cell... The methanol liquid-feed, solid polymer electrolyte (PEM) design has numerous system level advantages over the gas-feed design. These include:...

  9. CHARACTERIZATION OF EMISSIONS FROM A VARIABLE GASOLINE/METHANOL FUELED CAR

    EPA Science Inventory

    In response to the occurrence of the increasingly severe ambient ozone exceedances, regional environmental managers are examining the possibility of a cleaner fuel for automobiles. t this time the leading candidate is methanol. n anticipation of a shift to methanol, variable-fuel...

  10. Spontaneous Oscillations and Waves during Chemical Vapor Deposition of InN

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jiang, F.; Munkholm, A.; Wang, R.-V.; Streiffer, S. K.; Thompson, Carol; Fuoss, P. H.; Latifi, K.; Elder, K. R.; Stephenson, G. B.

    2008-08-01

    We report observations of self-sustaining spatiotemporal chemical oscillations during metal-organic chemical vapor deposition of InN onto GaN. Under constant supply of vapor precursors trimethylindium and NH3, the condensed-phase cycles between crystalline islands of InN and elemental In droplets. Propagating fronts between regions of InN and In occur with linear, circular, and spiral geometries. The results are described by a model in which the nitrogen activity produced by surface-catalyzed NH3 decomposition varies with the exposed surface areas of GaN, InN, and In.

  11. Spontaneous oscillations and waves during chemical vapor deposition of InN.

    PubMed

    Jiang, F; Munkholm, A; Wang, R-V; Streiffer, S K; Thompson, Carol; Fuoss, P H; Latifi, K; Elder, K R; Stephenson, G B

    2008-08-22

    We report observations of self-sustaining spatiotemporal chemical oscillations during metal-organic chemical vapor deposition of InN onto GaN. Under constant supply of vapor precursors trimethylindium and NH3, the condensed-phase cycles between crystalline islands of InN and elemental In droplets. Propagating fronts between regions of InN and In occur with linear, circular, and spiral geometries. The results are described by a model in which the nitrogen activity produced by surface-catalyzed NH3 decomposition varies with the exposed surface areas of GaN, InN, and In.

  12. Discovery of Methanol in a Planetary Birthplace

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kohler, Susanna

    2016-05-01

    Data from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) has recently revealed the first detection of gas-phase methanol, a derivative of methane, in a protoplanetary disk. This milestone discovery is an important step in understanding the conditions for planet formation that can lead to life-supporting planets like Earth.Planetary ChemistryOne major goal in the study of exoplanets is to find planets that orbit in their host stars habitable zones, a measure that determines whether the planet receives the right amount of sunlight to support liquid water. But theres another crucial element in the formation of a life-supporting planet: chemistry.To understand the chemistry of newly born planets, we need to study protoplanetary disks because its from these that young planets form. The elements and molecules contained in these dusty disks are what initially make up the atmospheres of planets forming within the disks.The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array under the southern sky. [ESO/B. Tafreshi]The Hunt for ComplexityThe detection of complex molecules in protoplanetary disks is an important milestone, because complex molecules are necessary to build the correct chemistry to support life. Unfortunately, detecting these molecules is very difficult, requiring observations with both high spatial resolution and high sensitivity. Thus far, though weve observed elements and simple molecules in protoplanetary disks, detections of complex molecules have been elusive with only one success before now.Luckily, we now have an observatory up to the challenge! ALMAs unprecedented spatial resolution and sensitivity has recently allowed a team of scientists led by Catherine Walsh (Leiden University) to observe gas-phase methanol in a protoplanetary disk for the first time. This detection was made in the disk around the young star TW Hya, and it represents one of the largest molecules that has ever been observed in a disk to date.Locating IcesThe model (purple line

  13. Methanol Uptake By Low Temperature Aqueous Sulfuric Acid Solutions

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Iraci, Laura T.; Essin, Andrew M.; Golden, David M.; Hipskind, R. Stephen (Technical Monitor)

    2001-01-01

    To evaluate the role of upper tropospheric and lower stratospheric aerosols in the global budget of methanol, the solubility and reactivity of CH3OH in aqueous sulfuric acid solutions are under investigation. Using standard uptake techniques in a Knudsen cell reactor, we have measured the effective Henry's law coefficient, H(*), for methanol dissolution into 45 to 70 percent by weight H2SO4. We find that methanol solubility ranges from 10(exp 5) to 10(exp 8) M/atm and increases with decreasing temperature and with increasing sulfuric acid content. These solubility measurements include uptake due to physical solvation and all rapid equilibria which are established in solution. Our data indicate that simple uptake by aqueous sulfuric acid particles will not be a significant sink for methanol in the UT/LS. These results differ from those recently reported in the literature, and an explanation of this disparity will be presented. In addition to solvation, reaction between primary alcohols and sulfuric acid does occur, leading to the production of alkyl sulfates. Literature values for the rate of this reaction suggest that formation of CH3OSO3H may proceed in the atmosphere but is not significant under our experimental conditions. Results obtained using a complementary equilibrium measurement technique confirm this directly. In addition, the extent of methanol sequestration via formation of mono- and dimethylsulfate will be evaluated under several atmospheric conditions.

  14. Enhanced Methanol Production in Plants Provides Broad Spectrum Insect Resistance

    PubMed Central

    Dixit, Sameer; Upadhyay, Santosh Kumar; Singh, Harpal; Sidhu, Om Prakash; Verma, Praveen Chandra; K, Chandrashekar

    2013-01-01

    Plants naturally emit methanol as volatile organic compound. Methanol is toxic to insect pests; but the quantity produced by most of the plants is not enough to protect them against invading insect pests. In the present study, we demonstrated that the over-expression of pectin methylesterase, derived from Arabidopsis thaliana and Aspergillus niger, in transgenic tobacco plants enhances methanol production and resistance to polyphagous insect pests. Methanol content in the leaves of transgenic plants was measured using proton nuclear spectroscopy (1H NMR) and spectra showed up to 16 fold higher methanol as compared to control wild type (WT) plants. A maximum of 100 and 85% mortality in chewing insects Helicoverpa armigera and Spodoptera litura larvae was observed, respectively when fed on transgenic plants leaves. The surviving larvae showed less feeding, severe growth retardation and could not develop into pupae. In-planta bioassay on transgenic lines showed up to 99 and 75% reduction in the population multiplication of plant sap sucking pests Myzus persicae (aphid) and Bemisia tabaci (whitefly), respectively. Most of the phenotypic characters of transgenic plants were similar to WT plants. Confocal microscopy showed no deformities in cellular integrity, structure and density of stomata and trichomes of transgenic plants compared to WT. Pollen germination and tube formation was also not affected in transgenic plants. Cell wall enzyme transcript levels were comparable with WT. This study demonstrated for the first time that methanol emission can be utilized for imparting broad range insect resistance in plants. PMID:24223989

  15. Visual and neurologic sequelae of methanol poisoning in Saudi Arabia

    PubMed Central

    Galvez-Ruiz, Alberto; Elkhamary, Sahar M.; Asghar, Nasira; Bosley, Thomas M.

    2015-01-01

    Objectives: To present the visual sequelae of methanol poisoning and to emphasize the characteristics of methanol exposure in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Methods: A retrospective case series was carried out on 50 sequential patients with methanol poisoning seen at the King Khaled Eye Specialist Hospital and King Saud University Hospitals in Riyadh, KSA between 2008 and 2014. All patients were examined by a neuro-ophthalmologist at least one month after methanol intoxication. Results: All 50 patients were young or middle-aged males. All admitted to drinking unbranded alcohol within 2-3 days before profound or relatively profound, painless, bilateral visual loss. Mean visual acuity in this group was hand motions (logMAR 2.82; range 0.1 - 5.0) with some eye to eye variability within individuals. Worse visual acuity was correlated with advancing age (Pearson correlation: oculus dextrus [right eye] - 0.37, p=0.008; oculus sinister [left eye] - 0.36, p=0.011). All patients had optic atrophy bilaterally, and all tested patients had visual field defects. Tremors with or without rigidity were present in 12 patients, and 11 of 30 patients who had neuroimaging performed had evidence of putaminal necrosis. Conclusion: Methanol intoxication causes visual loss within 12-48 hours due to relatively severe, painless, bilateral optic nerve damage that may be somewhat variable between eyes, and is generally worse with advancing age. The coincidence of bilateral optic nerve damage and bilateral putaminal necrosis in a young or middle-aged male is very suspicious for methanol-induced damage. PMID:25935177

  16. Predicted exhaust emissions from a methanol and jet fueled gas turbine combustor

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Adelman, H. G.; Browning, L. H.; Pefley, R. K.

    1975-01-01

    A computer model of a gas turbine combustor has been used to predict the kinetic combustion and pollutant formation processes for methanol and simulated jet fuel. Use of the kinetic reaction mechanisms has also allowed a study of ignition delay and flammability limit of these two fuels. The NOX emissions for methanol were predicted to be from 69 to 92% lower than those for jet fuel at the same equivalence ratio which is in agreement with experimentally observed results. The high heat of vaporization of methanol lowers both the combustor inlet mixture temperatures and the final combustion temperatures. The lower combustion temperatures lead to low NOX emissions while the lower inlet mixture temperatures increase methanol's ignition delay. This increase in ignition delay dictates the lean flammability limit of methanol to be 0.8, while jet fuel is shown to combust at 0.4.

  17. Investigation of the In-Situ Oxidation of Methanol in Fuel Cells.

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1981-09-01

    ability of the catalyst to tolerate carbon monoxide. Finally, a performance curve was obtained for the anodic oxidation of methanol : CH3OH ... CH3OH + H20 •» C02 + 3H2 In present methanol -air fuel cell power plants , the steam reforming process is usually carried out in a unit which is...KCY YIO"(CS (Continue on reverse ride it neeessnry and identity ay block number) Fuel Cell Platinum Catalysts Methanol Direct Oxidation Internal

  18. Biological conversion of biogas to methanol using methanotrophs isolated from solid-state anaerobic digestate.

    PubMed

    Sheets, Johnathon P; Ge, Xumeng; Li, Yueh-Fen; Yu, Zhongtang; Li, Yebo

    2016-02-01

    The aim of this work was to isolate methanotrophs (methane oxidizing bacteria) that can directly convert biogas produced at a commercial anaerobic digestion (AD) facility to methanol. A methanotrophic bacterium was isolated from solid-state anaerobic digestate. The isolate had characteristics comparable to obligate methanotrophs from the genus Methylocaldum. This newly isolated methanotroph grew on biogas or purified CH4 and successfully converted biogas from AD to methanol. Methanol production was achieved using several methanol dehydrogenase (MDH) inhibitors and formate as an electron donor. The isolate also produced methanol using phosphate with no electron donor or using formate with no MDH inhibitor. The maximum methanol concentration (0.43±0.00gL(-1)) and 48-h CH4 to methanol conversion (25.5±1.1%) were achieved using biogas as substrate and a growth medium containing 50mM phosphate and 80mM formate. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Spontaneous correction of pathologic tooth migration and reduced infrabony pockets following nonsurgical periodontal therapy: a case report.

    PubMed

    Sato, Shuichi; Ujiie, Hisashi; Ito, Koichi

    2004-10-01

    This case report describes the spontaneous correction of pathologic tooth migration and reduced infrabony pockets after nonsurgical periodontal therapy. A 3-mm diastema between the maxillary incisors was closed completely, and the mandibular teeth, which had migrated pathologically, returned to the optimal position. Clinical evaluation showed a significant reduction in probing depth, with increased clinical attachment and bone deposition demonstrated radiologically.

  20. Bibliometric profile of the global scientific research on methanol poisoning (1902-2012).

    PubMed

    Zyoud, Sa'ed H; Al-Jabi, Samah W; Sweileh, Waleed M; Awang, Rahmat; Waring, W Stephen

    2015-01-01

    Methanol poisoning is on the rise and has been associated with high morbidity and mortality; it has resulted in growing research in the field of toxicology. The aim of this study was to reveal underlying patterns in scientific outputs related to methanol poisoning at the global level by evaluating different bibliometric indices. We searched for publications that contained specific words regarding methanol poisoning in Scopus database. A total of 912 articles, with 8,317 citations and with an average of 9.1 citations per document, were retrieved on methanol poisoning, and the bulk of the articles were published from the USA (20.9%), followed by Spain (4.4%), Canada (4.3%), India (3.1%), and France (3.0%). The articles were published belonging to 57 countries. No data related to methanol poisoning were published from 155 (73.1%) out of 212 countries. Twenty-one documents (2.3%) were published in Clinical Toxicology, whereas 18 (2.0%) were published in The Lancet. Scientific production related to methanol poisoning is increasing. articles have been published in a wide range of journals with a variety of subject areas, most notably clinical toxicology; and the country with the greatest production was the USA.

  1. Spasmogenic and spasmolytic activities of Agastache mexicana ssp. mexicana and A. mexicana ssp. xolocotziana methanolic extracts on the guinea pig ileum.

    PubMed

    Ventura-Martínez, Rosa; Rodríguez, Rodolfo; González-Trujano, María Eva; Ángeles-López, Guadalupe E; Déciga-Campos, Myrna; Gómez, Claudia

    2017-01-20

    Agastache mexicana has been used in traditional medicine for relief of abdominal pain and treatment of other diseases. Two subspecies have been identified: A. mexicana ssp. mexicana (AMM) and A. mexicana ssp. xolocotziana (AMX) and both are used traditionally without distinction or in combination. To determine the effect of methanol extracts of A. mexicana ssp. mexicana and A. mexicana ssp. xolocotziana on gut motility and their possible mechanism of action. The effect of AMM and AMX methanol extracts were tested on the spontaneous activity in the isolated guinea pig ileum and on tissues pre-contracted with KCl, electrical field stimulation (EFS) or ACh. In addition, the possible mechanism of action of each subspecies on gut motility was analyzed in the presence of hexametonium, indomethacin, L-NAME, verapamil, atropine or pyrylamine. A comparative chromatographic profile of these extracts was also done to indicate the most abundant flavonoids presents in methanol extracts of both subspecies. AMM, but not AMX, induced a contractile effect in the guinea pig ileum. This spasmogenic effect was partially inhibited by atropine, antagonist of muscarinic receptors; and pyrilamine, antagonist of H 1 receptors. In contrast, AMX, but not AMM, diminished the contractions induced by KCl, EFS or ACh. The spasmolytic activity of AMX was partially inhibited by hexamethonium, ganglionic blocker; and indomethacin, inhibitor of the synthesis of prostaglandins; but not by L-NAME, inhibitor of nitric oxide synthase. In addition, AMX diminished the maximal contraction induced by CaCl 2 in a calcium-free medium. Chromatographic analyses of these methanol extracts showed the presence of acacetin and tilanin in both. These results suggest that in folk medicine only AMX should be used as spasmolytic, and not in combination with AMM as traditionally occurs, due to the spasmogenic effects of the latter. In addition, activation of nicotinic receptors, prostaglandins and calcium channels, but

  2. The stabilization of unstable detonation waves for the mixture of nitromethane/methanol

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Utkin, A. V.; Koldunov, S. A.; Mochalova, V. M.; Torunov, S. I.; Lapin, S. M.

    2015-11-01

    Using a laser interferometer VISAR the measurements of the particle velocity profiles in detonation waves for nitromethane/methanol mixtures with additions of a sensitizer diethylenetriamine were conducted. It is shown that the detonation front in a mixture of nitromethane/methanol is unstable and sensitizer is an effective method for the flow stabilization. If the diluent concentration is less than 10%, the detonation front is stabilized by adding of 1% diethylenetriamine. At higher concentrations of methanol, the sensitizer does not reject instability, but the amplitude of oscillations decreases in several times. An increase of the limit concentration of methanol at the addition of diethylenetriamine to the mixture was found.

  3. ACUTE METHANOL TOXICITY IN MINIPIGS

    EPA Science Inventory

    The pig hos been proposed as a potential animal model for methanol-induced neuro-ocular toxicosis in humans because of its reported low liver tetrahydro folate levels and therefore, slower formate metabolism as compared to humans. o determine the validity of the animal model, min...

  4. Stress corrosion behavior of Ru-enhanced alpha-beta titanium alloys in methanol solutions

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Schutz, R.W.; Horrigan, J.M.; Bednarowicz, T.A.

    1998-12-31

    Conservative, practical guidelines for the minimum water content required to prevent methanolic stress corrosion cracking (SCC) of Ti-6Al-4V-Ru and Ti-3Al-2.5V-Ru alloy tubulars have been developed from slow strain rate testing in plain and acidified NaCl-saturated methanol-water solutions at 25 C. A minimum methanol water content of 10 wt.% is proposed for Ti-6Al-4V-Ru, whereas 2-3 wt.% is sufficient for the lower strength Ti-3Al-2.5V-Ru alloy. Although HCl-acidification aggravated methanolic SCC, intermixing of methanol with crude oil or pure hydrocarbons, H{sub 2}S gas saturation, and/or increasing temperature diminished cracking susceptibility in these alloy tubulars.

  5. Structural insights into methanol-stable variants of lipase T6 from Geobacillus stearothermophilus.

    PubMed

    Dror, Adi; Kanteev, Margarita; Kagan, Irit; Gihaz, Shalev; Shahar, Anat; Fishman, Ayelet

    2015-11-01

    Enzymatic production of biodiesel by transesterification of triglycerides and alcohol, catalyzed by lipases, offers an environmentally friendly and efficient alternative to the chemically catalyzed process while using low-grade feedstocks. Methanol is utilized frequently as the alcohol in the reaction due to its reactivity and low cost. However, one of the major drawbacks of the enzymatic system is the presence of high methanol concentrations which leads to methanol-induced unfolding and inactivation of the biocatalyst. Therefore, a methanol-stable lipase is of great interest for the biodiesel industry. In this study, protein engineering was applied to substitute charged surface residues with hydrophobic ones to enhance the stability in methanol of a lipase from Geobacillus stearothermophilus T6. We identified a methanol-stable variant, R374W, and combined it with a variant found previously, H86Y/A269T. The triple mutant, H86Y/A269T/R374W, had a half-life value at 70 % methanol of 324 min which reflects an 87-fold enhanced stability compared to the wild type together with elevated thermostability in buffer and in 50 % methanol. This variant also exhibited an improved biodiesel yield from waste chicken oil compared to commercial Lipolase 100L® and Novozyme® CALB. Crystal structures of the wild type and the methanol-stable variants provided insights regarding structure-stability correlations. The most prominent features were the extensive formation of new hydrogen bonds between surface residues directly or mediated by structural water molecules and the stabilization of Zn and Ca binding sites. Mutation sites were also characterized by lower B-factor values calculated from the X-ray structures indicating improved rigidity.

  6. Estimations of the lethal and exposure doses for representative methanol symptoms in humans.

    PubMed

    Moon, Chan-Seok

    2017-01-01

    The aim of this review was to estimate the lethal and exposure doses of a representative symptom (blindness) of methanol exposure in humans by reviewing data from previous articles. Available articles published from 1970 to 2016 that investigated the dose-response relationship for methanol exposure (i.e., the exposure concentration and the biological markers/clinical symptoms) were evaluated; the MEDLINE and RISS (Korean search engine) databases were searched. The available data from these articles were carefully selected to estimate the range and median of a lethal human dose. The regression equation and correlation coefficient (between the exposure level and urinary methanol concentration as a biological exposure marker) were assumed from the previous data. The lethal human dose of pure methanol was estimated at 15.8-474 g/person as a range and as 56.2 g/person as the median. The dose-response relationship between methanol vapor in ambient air and urinary methanol concentrations was thought to be correlated. An oral intake of 3.16-11.85 g/person of pure methanol could cause blindness. The lethal dose from respiratory intake was reported to be 4000-13,000 mg/l. The initial concentration of optic neuritis and blindness were shown to be 228.5 and 1103 mg/l, respectively, for a 12-h exposure. The concentration of biological exposure indices and clinical symptoms for methanol exposure might have a dose-response relationship according to previous articles. Even a low dose of pure methanol through oral or respiratory exposure might be lethal or result in blindness as a clinical symptom.

  7. Serendipitous images of methanol in Comet Levy (1900 XX)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Hoban, Susan

    1993-01-01

    Reuter's (1992) model of the IR fluorescence of methanol is used to retrieve a methanol production rate of 3 +/- 1 x 10 exp 26/s and an abundance relative to water of about 0.1 percent. It is argued that calibration is of paramount importance and that a near-simultaneous spectrum is necessary for achieving a reliable estimate of the continuum underlying the emission feature.

  8. Biomarkers to evaluate the effects of temperature and methanol on recombinant Pichia pastoris.

    PubMed

    Zepeda, Andrea B; Figueroa, Carolina A; Abdalla, Dulcineia S P; Maranhão, Andrea Q; Ulloa, Patricio H; Pessoa, Adalberto; Farías, Jorge G

    2014-01-01

    Pichia pastoris is methylotrophic yeast used as an efficient expression system for heterologous protein production. In order to evaluate the effects of temperature (10 and 30 °C) and methanol (1 and 3% (v/v)) on genetically-modified Pichia pastoris, different biomarkers were evaluated: Heat stress (HSF-1 and Hsp70), oxidative stress (OGG1 and TBARS) and antioxidant (GLR). Three yeast cultures were performed: 3X = 3% methanol-10 °C, 4X = 3% methanol-30 °C, and 5X = 1% methanol-10°C. The expression level of HIF-1α, HSF-1, HSP-70 and HSP-90 biomarkers were measured by Western blot and in situ detection was performed by immunocytochemistry. Ours results show that at 3% methanol -30 °C there is an increase of mitochondrial OGG1 (mtOGG1), Glutathione Reductase (GLR) and TBARS. In addition, there was a cytosolic expression of HSF-1 and HSP-70, which indicates a deprotection against nucleolar fragmentation (apoptosis). On the other hand, at 3% methanol -10 °C and 1% and at methanol -10 °C conditions there was nuclear expression of OGG1, lower levels of TBARS and lower expression of GLR, cytosolic expression of HSF-1 and nuclear expression HSP-70. In conclusion, our results suggest that 3% methanol-30 °C is a condition that induces a strong oxidative stress and risk factors of apoptosis in modified-genetically P. pastoris.

  9. Biomarkers to evaluate the effects of temperature and methanol on recombinant Pichia pastoris

    PubMed Central

    Zepeda, Andrea B.; Figueroa, Carolina A.; Abdalla, Dulcineia S.P.; Maranhão, Andrea Q.; Ulloa, Patricio H.; Pessoa, Adalberto; Farías, Jorge G.

    2014-01-01

    Pichia pastoris is methylotrophic yeast used as an efficient expression system for heterologous protein production. In order to evaluate the effects of temperature (10 and 30 °C) and methanol (1 and 3% (v/v)) on genetically-modified Pichia pastoris, different biomarkers were evaluated: Heat stress (HSF-1 and Hsp70), oxidative stress (OGG1 and TBARS) and antioxidant (GLR). Three yeast cultures were performed: 3X = 3% methanol-10 °C, 4X = 3% methanol-30 °C, and 5X = 1% methanol-10°C. The expression level of HIF-1α, HSF-1, HSP-70 and HSP-90 biomarkers were measured by Western blot and in situ detection was performed by immunocytochemistry. Ours results show that at 3% methanol −30 °C there is an increase of mitochondrial OGG1 (mtOGG1), Glutathione Reductase (GLR) and TBARS. In addition, there was a cytosolic expression of HSF-1 and HSP-70, which indicates a deprotection against nucleolar fragmentation (apoptosis). On the other hand, at 3% methanol −10 °C and 1% and at methanol −10 °C conditions there was nuclear expression of OGG1, lower levels of TBARS and lower expression of GLR, cytosolic expression of HSF-1 and nuclear expression HSP-70. In conclusion, our results suggest that 3% methanol-30 °C is a condition that induces a strong oxidative stress and risk factors of apoptosis in modified-genetically P. pastoris. PMID:25242930

  10. Cobalt porphyrin-based material as methanol tolerant cathode in single chamber microbial fuel cells (SCMFCs)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Liu, Bingchuan; Brückner, Cristian; Lei, Yu; Cheng, Yue; Santoro, Carlo; Li, Baikun

    2014-07-01

    This study focused on the development of novel cathode material based on the pyrolysis of [meso-tetrakis(2-thienyl)porphyrinato]Co(II) (CoTTP) for use in single chamber microbial fuel cells (SCMFCs) to treat wastewater containing methanol. The cathodes produced at two loadings (0.5 and 1.0 mg cm-2) were examined in batch mode SCMFCs treating methanol of different concentrations (ranging from 0.005 to 0.04 M) over a 900 h operational period. Methanol was completely removed in SCMFCs, and the cycle duration was prolonged at high methanol concentrations, indicating methanol was used as fuel in SCMFCs. Methanol had more poisoning effects to the traditional platinum (Pt) cathodes than to the CoTTP cathodes. Specifically, power generations from SCMFCs with Pt cathodes gradually decreased over time, while the ones with CoTTP cathodes remained stable, even at the highest methanol concentration (0.04 M). Cathode linear sweep voltammetry (LSVs) indicated that the electrocatalytic activity of the Pt cathode was suppressed by methanol. Higher CoTTP loadings had similar open circuit potential (OCP) but higher electrocatalytic activity than lower loadings. This study demonstrated that methanol can be co-digested with wastewater and converted to power in MFCs, and a novel cathode CoTTP catalyst exhibits higher tolerance towards methanol compared with traditional Pt catalyst.

  11. Surface-Bound Intermediates in Low-Temperature Methanol Synthesis on Copper. Participants and Spectators

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Yang, Yong; Mei, Donghai; Peden, Charles H.F.

    The reactivity of surface adsorbed species present on copper catalysts during methanol synthesis at low temperatures was studied by simultaneous infrared spectroscopy (IR) and mass spectroscopy (MS) measurements during “titration” (transient surface reaction) experiments with isotopic tracing. The results show that adsorbed formate is a major bystander species present on the surface under steady-state methanol synthesis reaction conditions, but it cannot be converted to methanol by reaction with pure H 2, nor with H 2 plus added water. Formate-containing surface adlayers for these experiments were produced during steady state catalysis in (a) H 2:CO 2 (with substantial formate coverage) andmore » (b) moist H 2:CO (with no IR visible formate species). Both these reaction conditions produce methanol at steady state with relatively high rates. Adlayers containing formate were also produced by (c) formic acid adsorption. Various "titration" gases were used to probe these adlayers at modest temperatures (T = 410-450K) and 6 bar total pressure. Methanol gas (up to ~1% monolayer equivalent) was produced in "titration" from the H 2:CO 2 catalytic adlayers by H 2 plus water, but not by dry hydrogen. The decay in the formate IR features accelerated in the presence of added water vapor. The H 2:CO:H 2O catalytic adlayer produced similar methanol titration yields in H 2 plus water but showed no surface formate features in IR (less than 0.2% monolayer coverage). Finally, formate from formic acid chemisorption produced no methanol under any titration conditions. Even under (H 2:CO 2) catalytic reaction conditions, isotope tracing showed that pre-adsorbed formate from formic acid did not contribute to the methanol produced. Although non-formate intermediates exist during low temperature methanol synthesis on copper which can be converted to methanol gas by titration with pure H 2 plus water in sufficient quantities for that intermediate to be observable by IR, formate

  12. [Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis].

    PubMed

    Velkey, Bálint; Vitális, Eszter; Vitális, Zsuzsanna

    2017-01-01

    Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis occurs most commonly in cirrhotic patients with ascites. Pathogens get into the circulation by intestinal translocation and colonize in peritoneal fluid. Diagnosis of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis is based on elevated polymorphonuclear leukocyte count in the ascites (>0,25 G/L). Ascites culture is often negative but aids to get information about antibiotic sensitivity in positive cases. Treatment in stable patient can be intravenous then orally administrated ciprofloxacin or amoxicillin/clavulanic acid, while in severe cases intravenous III. generation cephalosporin. Nosocomial spontaneous bacterial peritonitis often caused by Gram-positive bacteria and multi-resistant pathogens can also be expected thus carbapenem should be the choice of the empiric treatment. Antibiotic prophylaxis should be considered. Norfloxacin is used most commonly, but changes are expected due to increase in quinolone resistance. As a primary prophylaxis, a short-term antibiotic treatment is recommended after gastrointestinal bleeding for 5 days, while long-term prophylaxis is for patients with low ascites protein, and advanced disease (400 mg/day). Secondary prophylaxis is recommended for all patients recovered from spontaneous bacterial peritonitis. Due to increasing antibiotic use of antibiotics prophylaxis is debated to some degree. Orv. Hetil., 2017, 158(2), 50-57.

  13. Photolysis of oxyfluorfen in aqueous methanol.

    PubMed

    Chakraborty, Subhasish K; Chakraborty, Savitri; Bhattacharyya, Anjan; Chowdhury, Ashim

    2013-01-01

    Photolysis of oxyfluorfen, an herbicide of the nitrodiphenyl ether class, was studied in aqueous methanol under UV and sunlight. UV irradiation was carried out in a borosilicate glass photoreactor (containing 250 ppm oxyfluorfen in 50% aqueous methanol) equipped with a quartz filter and 125 watt mercury lamp (maximum output 254 nm) at 25 ± 1°C. Sunlight irradiation was conducted at 28 ± 1°C in borosilicate Erlenmeyer flasks containing 250 ppm oxyfluorfen in 50% aqueous methanol. The samples from both the irradiated conditions were withdrawn at a definite time interval and extracted to measure oxyfluorfen content by gas chromatography-flame ionization detector for rate study. The half-life values were 20 hours and 2.7 days under UV and sunlight exposure, respectively. Photolysis of oxyfluorfen yielded 13 photoproducts of which three were characterized by infrared spectrophotometer and (1)H NMR and (13)C NMR spectroscopy. The rest of the photoproducts were identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and thin layer chromatography (TLC). An ionization potential 70 eV was used for electron impact-mass spectrometry (EI-MS) and methane was used as reagent gas for chemical ionization-mass spectrometry (CI-MS). Two of the photoproducts were also synthesized for comparison. The main phototransformation pathways of oxyfluorfen involved nitro reduction, dechlorination, and hydrolysis as well as nucleophiles displacement reaction.

  14. Crystal growth, structure and morphology of hydrocortisone methanol solvate

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chen, Jianxin; Wang, Jiangkang; Zhang, Ying; Wu, Hong; Chen, Wei; Guo, Zhichao

    2004-04-01

    Hydrocortisone (HC), an important grucocorticoid, was crystallized from methanol solvent in the form of its methanol solvate. Its crystal structure belongs to orthorhombic, space group P2 12 12 1, with the unit cell parameters a=7.712(3) Å, b=14.392(5) Å, c=18.408(6) Å, Z=4. The methanol takes part in intermolecular hydrogen bonding, so if we change the solvent, the crystal habit of HC maybe different. The long parallelepiped morphology was also predicted by Cerius 2TM simulation program. The influence of intermolecular interaction was taken into account in the attachment energy model. The morphology calculation performed on the potential energy minimized model using a generic DREIDING 2.21 force field and developed minimization protocol with derived partial charges fits the experimental crystal shape well.

  15. Methanol shutdowns cause anxiety

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Thomas, N.

    1996-10-23

    European methanol players face an anxious few weeks as unscheduled outages combine with planned turnarounds to make an increasingly tight market. Global markets are also described as tightening, with production problems widely reported in North America. Several European producers were in the middle of shutdown periods when problems at Condea`s 400,000-m.t./year unit at Wesseling, Germany reportedly caused production to run at only 50% of capacity. In addition, the methanol plant at the Leuna refinery is said to be operating at only 60% of capacity, and one producer has had to extend a turnaround period. River levels in Germany are alsomore » low, putting pressure on shipments from Rotterdam. {open_quotes}This is a very difficult situation and we`re living hand to mouth,{close_quotes} says one producer. Producer sources report bids from consumers up to DM280/m.t. T2 fob Rotterdam, but they are unable to obtain extra product. Derivatives makers may also face problems: One methyl tert-butyl ether producer predicts prices {open_quotes}may hit the roof{close_quotes} once feedstock sourcing problems hit home.« less

  16. Phenotypic characterization of 10 methanol oxidation mutant classes in Methylobacterium sp. strain AM1

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Nunn, D.N.; Lidstrom, M.E.

    Twenty-five methanol oxidation mutants of the facultative methylotroph Methylobacterium sp. strain AM1 have been characterized by complementation analysis and assigned to 10 complementation groups, Mox A1, A2, A3, and B through H. In this study we have characterized each of the mutants belonging to the 10 Mox complementation groups for the following criteria: (i) phenazine methosulfate-dichlorophenolindophenol dye-linked methanol dehydrogenase activity; (ii) methanol-dependent whole-cell oxygen consumption; (iii) the presence or absence of methanol dehydrogenase protein by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and Western blotting; (iv) the absorption spectra of purified mutant methanol dehydrogenase proteins; and (v) the presence or absence ofmore » the soluble cytochrome c proteins of Methylobacterium sp. strain AM1, as determined by reduced-oxidized difference spectra and sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. With this information, we have proposed functions for each of the genes deficient in the mutants of the 10 Mox complementation groups. These proposed gene functions include two linked genes that encode the methanol dehydrogenase structural protein and the soluble cytochrome c/sub L/, a gene encoding a secretion function essential for the synthesis and export of methanol dehydrogenase and cytochrome c/sub L/, three gene functions responsible for the proper association of the pyrrolo-quinoline quinone prosthetic group with the methanol dehydrogenase apoprotein, and four positive regulatory gene functions controlling the expression of the ability to oxidize methanol.« less

  17. Understanding Methanol Coupling on SrTiO 3 from First Principles

    DOE PAGES

    Huang, Runhong; Fung, Victor; Zhang, Yafen; ...

    2018-03-19

    Perovskites are interesting materials for catalysis due to their great tunability. However, the correlation of many reaction processes to the termination of a perovskite surface is still unclear. In this paper, we use the methanol coupling reaction on the SrTiO 3(100) surface as a probe reaction to investigate direct C–C coupling from a computational perspective. We use density functional theory to assess methanol adsorption, C–H activation, and direct C–C coupling reactions on the SrTiO 3(100) surface of different terminations. We find that, although methanol molecules dissociatively adsorb on both A and B terminations with similar strength, the dehydrogenation and C–Cmore » coupling reactions have significantly lower activation energies on the B termination than on the A termination. The predicted formation of methoxy and acetate on the SrTiO 3(100) B termination can well explain the ambient-pressure XPS data of methanol on the single-crystal SrTiO 3(100) surface at 250 °C. Finally, this work suggests that a choice of B termination of perovskites would be beneficial for the C–C coupling reaction of methanol.« less

  18. [Primary spontaneous pneumomediastinum].

    PubMed

    Togashi, K; Hosaka, Y

    2007-12-01

    We report 5 cases of spontaneous pneumomediastinum. They were 4 men and 1 female with a mean age of 17 (14-25). Four patients developed sport-related pneumomediastinum and 1 patient had a karaoke-related condition. Primary spontaneous pneumomediasinum is a rare condition. In addition, there is no previous report describing karaoke-related spontaneous pneumomediastinum. Each of the patients experienced chest pain and/or neck pain before consulting our hospital. Chest roentgenogram and chest computed tomography showed pneumomediastinum without esophageal or tracheal injury. Four patients did not require hospitalization, but 1 patient was necessary to hospitalize for 7 days because of severe chest and neck pain. None of these 5 patients has had any recurrence for more than 1 year. Differentiating this entity from other diseases involving anterior chest pain is important.

  19. Biological methanol production by immobilized Methylocella tundrae using simulated biohythane as a feed.

    PubMed

    Patel, Sanjay K S; Singh, Raushan K; Kumar, Ashok; Jeong, Jae-Hoon; Jeong, Seong Hun; Kalia, Vipin C; Kim, In-Won; Lee, Jung-Kul

    2017-10-01

    Biohythane may be used as an alternative feed for methanol production instead of costly pure methane. In this study, methanol production potential of Methylocella tundrae immobilized through covalent immobilization, adsorption, and encapsulation was evaluated. Cells covalently immobilized on groundnut shells and chitosan showed a relative methanol production potential of 83.9 and 91.6%, respectively, compared to that of free cells. The maximum methanol production by free cells and cells covalently immobilized on groundnut shells and chitosan was 6.73, 6.20, and 7.23mM, respectively, using simulated biohythane as a feed. Under repeated batch conditions of eight cycles, cells covalently immobilized on chitosan and groundnut shells, and cells encapsulated in sodium-alginate resulted in significantly higher cumulative methanol production of 37.76, 31.80, and 25.58mM, respectively, than free cells (18.57mM). This is the first report on immobilization of methanotrophs on groundnut shells and its application in methanol production using biohythane as a feed. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Methanol from wood waste : a technical and economic study

    Treesearch

    A. E. Hokanson; R. M. Rowell

    1977-01-01

    A methanol-from-wood waste facility having a capacity of 50 million gallons per year requires 1,500 ovendry tons (ODT) of wood waste per day. The yield of methanol from wood is about 38 percent, or about 100 gallons per ODT of wood. This yield is based on all process energy required coming from the wood waste. At a wood waste cost of $15/ODT, the selling price of...

  1. Spontaneous evaluative inferences and their relationship to spontaneous trait inferences.

    PubMed

    Schneid, Erica D; Carlston, Donal E; Skowronski, John J

    2015-05-01

    Three experiments are reported that explore affectively based spontaneous evaluative impressions (SEIs) of stimulus persons. Experiments 1 and 2 used modified versions of the savings in relearning paradigm (Carlston & Skowronski, 1994) to confirm the occurrence of SEIs, indicating that they are equivalent whether participants are instructed to form trait impressions, evaluative impressions, or neither. These experiments also show that SEIs occur independently of explicit recall for the trait implications of the stimuli. Experiment 3 provides a single dissociation test to distinguish SEIs from spontaneous trait inferences (STIs), showing that disrupting cognitive processing interferes with a trait-based prediction task that presumably reflects STIs, but not with an affectively based social approach task that presumably reflects SEIs. Implications of these findings for the potential independence of spontaneous trait and evaluative inferences, as well as limitations and important steps for future study are discussed. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

  2. Observation of methanol behavior in fuel cells in situ by NMR spectroscopy.

    PubMed

    Han, Oc Hee; Han, Kee Sung; Shin, Chang Woo; Lee, Juhee; Kim, Seong-Soo; Um, Myung Sup; Joh, Han-Ik; Kim, Soo-Kil; Ha, Heung Yong

    2012-04-16

    The chemical conversion of methanol in direct methanol fuel cells was followed in situ by NMR spectroscopy. Comparing data of the methanol oxidation on Pt and PtRu anode catalysts allowed the role of Ru in both Faradaic and non-Faradaic reactions to be investigated. The spatial distributions of chemicals could also be determined. (Picture: T1-T4=inlet and outlet tubes.). Copyright © 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  3. Organization of Genes Required for the Oxidation of Methanol to Formaldehyde in Three Type II Methylotrophs

    PubMed Central

    Bastien, C.; Machlin, S.; Zhang, Y.; Donaldson, K.; Hanson, R. S.

    1989-01-01

    Restriction maps of genes required for the synthesis of active methanol dehydrogenase in Methylobacterium organophilum XX and Methylobacterium sp. strain AM1 have been completed and compared. In these two species of pink-pigmented, type II methylotrophs, 15 genes were identified that were required for the expression of methanol dehydrogenase activity. None of these genes were required for the synthesis of the prosthetic group of methanol dehydrogenase, pyrroloquinoline quinone. The structural gene required for the synthesis of cytochrome cL, an electron acceptor uniquely required for methanol dehydrogenase, and the genes encoding small basic peptides that copurified with methanol dehydrogenases were closely linked to the methanol dehydrogenase structural genes. A cloned 22-kilobase DNA insert from Methylsporovibrio methanica 81Z, an obligate type II methanotroph, complemented mutants that contained lesions in four genes closely linked to the methanol dehydrogenase structural genes. The methanol dehydrogenase and cytochrome cL structural genes were found to be transcribed independently in M. organophilum XX. Only two of the genes required for methanol dehydrogenase synthesis in this bacterium were found to be cotranscribed. PMID:16348074

  4. Spontaneous regression of neuroblastoma.

    PubMed

    Brodeur, Garrett M

    2018-05-01

    Neuroblastomas are characterized by heterogeneous clinical behavior, from spontaneous regression or differentiation into a benign ganglioneuroma, to relentless progression despite aggressive, multimodality therapy. Indeed, neuroblastoma is unique among human cancers in terms of its propensity to undergo spontaneous regression. The strongest evidence for this comes from the mass screening studies conducted in Japan, North America and Europe and it is most evident in infants with stage 4S disease. This propensity is associated with a pattern of genomic change characterized by whole chromosome gains rather than segmental chromosome changes but the mechanism(s) underlying spontaneous regression are currently a matter of speculation. There is evidence to support several possible mechanisms of spontaneous regression in neuroblastomas: (1) neurotrophin deprivation, (2) loss of telomerase activity, (3) humoral or cellular immunity and (4) alterations in epigenetic regulation and possibly other mechanisms. It is likely that a better understanding of the mechanisms of spontaneous regression will help to identify targeted therapeutic approaches for these tumors. The most easily targeted mechanism is the delayed activation of developmentally programmed cell death regulated by the tropomyosin receptor kinase A (TrkA) pathway. Pan-Trk inhibitors are currently in clinical trials and so Trk inhibition might be used as the first line of therapy in infants with biologically favorable tumors that require treatment. Alternative approaches consist of breaking immune tolerance to tumor antigens but approaches to telomere shortening or epigenetic regulation are not easily druggable. The different mechanisms of spontaneous neuroblastoma regression are reviewed here, along with possible therapeutic approaches.

  5. Hydrostatic pressure effect on PNIPAM cononsolvency in water-methanol solutions.

    PubMed

    Pica, Andrea; Graziano, Giuseppe

    2017-12-01

    When methanol is added to water at room temperature and 1atm, poly (N-isopropylacrylamide), PNIPAM, undergoes a coil-to-globule collapse transition. This intriguing phenomenon is called cononsolvency. Spectroscopic measurements have shown that application of high hydrostatic pressure destroys PNIPAM cononsolvency in water-methanol solutions. We have developed a theoretical approach that identifies the decrease in solvent-excluded volume effect as the driving force of PNIPAM collapse on increasing the temperature. The same approach indicates that cononsolvency, at room temperature and P=1atm, is caused by the inability of PNIPAM to make all the attractive energetic interactions that it could be engaged in, due to competition between water and methanol molecules. The present analysis suggests that high hydrostatic pressure destroys cononsolvency because the coil state becomes more compact, and the quantity measuring PNIPAM-solvent attractions increases in magnitude due to the solution density increase, and the ability of small water molecules to substitute methanol molecules on PNIPAM surface. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  6. Batch conversion of methane to methanol using Methylosinus trichosporium OB3b as biocatalyst.

    PubMed

    Hwang, In Yeub; Hur, Dong Hoon; Lee, Jae Hoon; Park, Chang-Ho; Chang, In Seop; Lee, Jin Won; Lee, Eun Yeol

    2015-03-01

    Recently, methane has attracted much attention as an alternative carbon feedstock since it is the major component of abundant shale and natural gas. In this work, we produced methanol from methane using whole cells of Methylosinus trichosporium OB3b as the biocatalyst. M. trichosporium OB3b was cultured on NMS medium with a supply of 7:3 air/methane ratio at 30°C. The optimal concentrations of various methanol dehydrogenase inhibitors such as potassium phosphate and EDTA were determined to be 100 and 0.5 mM, respectively, for an efficient production of methanol. Sodium formate (40 mM) as a reducing power source was added to enhance the conversion efficiency. A productivity of 49.0 mg/l·h, titer of 0.393 g methanol/l, and conversion of 73.8% (mol methanol/mol methane) were obtained under the optimized batch condition.

  7. Hydrogen Bonding Interaction between Atmospheric Gaseous Amides and Methanol.

    PubMed

    Zhao, Hailiang; Tang, Shanshan; Xu, Xiang; Du, Lin

    2016-12-30

    Amides are important atmospheric organic-nitrogen compounds. Hydrogen bonded complexes of methanol (MeOH) with amides (formamide, N -methylformamide, N , N -dimethylformamide, acetamide, N -methylacetamide and N , N -dimethylacetamide) have been investigated. The carbonyl oxygen of the amides behaves as a hydrogen bond acceptor and the NH group of the amides acts as a hydrogen bond donor. The dominant hydrogen bonding interaction occurs between the carbonyl oxygen and the OH group of methanol as well as the interaction between the NH group of amides and the oxygen of methanol. However, the hydrogen bonds between the CH group and the carbonyl oxygen or the oxygen of methanol are also important for the overall stability of the complexes. Comparable red shifts of the C=O, NH- and OH-stretching transitions were found in these MeOH-amide complexes with considerable intensity enhancement. Topological analysis shows that the electron density at the bond critical points of the complexes fall in the range of hydrogen bonding criteria, and the Laplacian of charge density of the O-H∙∙∙O hydrogen bond slightly exceeds the upper value of the Laplacian criteria. The energy decomposition analysis further suggests that the hydrogen bonding interaction energies can be mainly attributed to the electrostatic, exchange and dispersion components.

  8. Hydrogen Bonding Interaction between Atmospheric Gaseous Amides and Methanol

    PubMed Central

    Zhao, Hailiang; Tang, Shanshan; Xu, Xiang; Du, Lin

    2016-01-01

    Amides are important atmospheric organic–nitrogen compounds. Hydrogen bonded complexes of methanol (MeOH) with amides (formamide, N-methylformamide, N,N-dimethylformamide, acetamide, N-methylacetamide and N,N-dimethylacetamide) have been investigated. The carbonyl oxygen of the amides behaves as a hydrogen bond acceptor and the NH group of the amides acts as a hydrogen bond donor. The dominant hydrogen bonding interaction occurs between the carbonyl oxygen and the OH group of methanol as well as the interaction between the NH group of amides and the oxygen of methanol. However, the hydrogen bonds between the CH group and the carbonyl oxygen or the oxygen of methanol are also important for the overall stability of the complexes. Comparable red shifts of the C=O, NH- and OH-stretching transitions were found in these MeOH–amide complexes with considerable intensity enhancement. Topological analysis shows that the electron density at the bond critical points of the complexes fall in the range of hydrogen bonding criteria, and the Laplacian of charge density of the O–H∙∙∙O hydrogen bond slightly exceeds the upper value of the Laplacian criteria. The energy decomposition analysis further suggests that the hydrogen bonding interaction energies can be mainly attributed to the electrostatic, exchange and dispersion components. PMID:28042825

  9. Ziprasidone-induced spontaneous orgasm.

    PubMed

    Boora, K; Chiappone, K; Dubovsky, S; Xu, J

    2010-06-01

    Neuroleptic treatment in schizophrenic patients has been associated with sexual dysfunction, including impotence and decreased libido. Spontaneous ejaculation without sexual arousal during typical antipsychotic treatment is a rare condition that has been described with zuclopentixol, trifluoperazine, and thiothixene. Here, we are reporting a case of spontaneous orgasm with ziprasidone in a bipolar patient. This patient began to repeatedly experience spontaneous sexual arousal and orgasm, which she had never experienced in the past. Ziprasidone might be causing an increase in sexual orgasm by 5-HT2 receptor antagonism, which preclinical evidence suggests that it facilitates dopamine release in the cortex.

  10. Characterization and evolution of an activator-independent methanol dehydrogenase from Cupriavidus necator N-1.

    PubMed

    Wu, Tung-Yun; Chen, Chang-Ting; Liu, Jessica Tse-Jin; Bogorad, Igor W; Damoiseaux, Robert; Liao, James C

    2016-06-01

    Methanol utilization by methylotrophic or non-methylotrophic organisms is the first step toward methanol bioconversion to higher carbon-chain chemicals. Methanol oxidation using NAD-dependent methanol dehydrogenase (Mdh) is of particular interest because it uses NAD(+) as the electron carrier. To our knowledge, only a limited number of NAD-dependent Mdhs have been reported. The most studied is the Bacillus methanolicus Mdh, which exhibits low enzyme specificity to methanol and is dependent on an endogenous activator protein (ACT). In this work, we characterized and engineered a group III NAD-dependent alcohol dehydrogenase (Mdh2) from Cupriavidus necator N-1 (previously designated as Ralstonia eutropha). This enzyme is the first NAD-dependent Mdh characterized from a Gram-negative, mesophilic, non-methylotrophic organism with a significant activity towards methanol. Interestingly, unlike previously reported Mdhs, Mdh2 does not require activation by known activators such as B. methanolicus ACT and Escherichia coli Nudix hydrolase NudF, or putative native C. necator activators in the Nudix family under mesophilic conditions. This enzyme exhibited higher or comparable activity and affinity toward methanol relative to the B. methanolicus Mdh with or without ACT in a wide range of temperatures. Furthermore, using directed molecular evolution, we engineered a variant (CT4-1) of Mdh2 that showed a 6-fold higher K cat/K m for methanol and 10-fold lower K cat/K m for n-butanol. Thus, CT4-1 represents an NAD-dependent Mdh with much improved catalytic efficiency and specificity toward methanol compared with the existing NAD-dependent Mdhs with or without ACT activation.

  11. Electrophoretic and Electrolytic Deposition of Ceramic Particles on Porous Substrates

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1990-08-30

    hydrodynamic drag force exerted on the particle due to the electroosmotic flow of the solvent inside the pore, the electrophoretic force exerted on the...8217 - electrophoretic velocity UN - electroosmotic velocity b - pore mean radius D - diffusion coefficient k - local deposition rate Large Peclet numbers and small...experimentally as the charge is acquired spontaneously on mixing the particles with the solvent and it may be reversed upon addition ot ionic compounds. The

  12. Carbon Dioxide to Methanol: The Aqueous Catalytic Way at Room Temperature.

    PubMed

    Sordakis, Katerina; Tsurusaki, Akihiro; Iguchi, Masayuki; Kawanami, Hajime; Himeda, Yuichiro; Laurenczy, Gábor

    2016-10-24

    Carbon dioxide may constitute a source of chemicals and fuels if efficient and renewable processes are developed that directly utilize it as feedstock. Two of its reduction products are formic acid and methanol, which have also been proposed as liquid organic chemical carriers in sustainable hydrogen storage. Here we report that both the hydrogenation of carbon dioxide to formic acid and the disproportionation of formic acid into methanol can be realized at ambient temperature and in aqueous, acidic solution, with an iridium catalyst. The formic acid yield is maximized in water without additives, while acidification results in complete (98 %) and selective (96 %) formic acid disproportionation into methanol. These promising features in combination with the low reaction temperatures and the absence of organic solvents and additives are relevant for a sustainable hydrogen/methanol economy. © 2016 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  13. Acidotolerant Bacteria and Fungi as a Sink of Methanol-Derived Carbon in a Deciduous Forest Soil

    PubMed Central

    Morawe, Mareen; Hoeke, Henrike; Wissenbach, Dirk K.; Lentendu, Guillaume; Wubet, Tesfaye; Kröber, Eileen; Kolb, Steffen

    2017-01-01

    Methanol is an abundant atmospheric volatile organic compound that is released from both living and decaying plant material. In forest and other aerated soils, methanol can be consumed by methanol-utilizing microorganisms that constitute a known terrestrial sink. However, the environmental factors that drive the biodiversity of such methanol-utilizers have been hardly resolved. Soil-derived isolates of methanol-utilizers can also often assimilate multicarbon compounds as alternative substrates. Here, we conducted a comparative DNA stable isotope probing experiment under methylotrophic (only [13C1]-methanol was supplemented) and combined substrate conditions ([12C1]-methanol and alternative multi-carbon [13Cu]-substrates were simultaneously supplemented) to (i) identify methanol-utilizing microorganisms of a deciduous forest soil (European beech dominated temperate forest in Germany), (ii) assess their substrate range in the soil environment, and (iii) evaluate their trophic links to other soil microorganisms. The applied multi-carbon substrates represented typical intermediates of organic matter degradation, such as acetate, plant-derived sugars (xylose and glucose), and a lignin-derived aromatic compound (vanillic acid). An experimentally induced pH shift was associated with substantial changes of the diversity of active methanol-utilizers suggesting that soil pH was a niche-defining factor of these microorganisms. The main bacterial methanol-utilizers were members of the Beijerinckiaceae (Bacteria) that played a central role in a detected methanol-based food web. A clear preference for methanol or multi-carbon substrates as carbon source of different Beijerinckiaceae-affiliated phylotypes was observed suggesting a restricted substrate range of the methylotrophic representatives. Apart from Bacteria, we also identified the yeasts Cryptococcus and Trichosporon as methanol-derived carbon-utilizing fungi suggesting that further research is needed to exclude or prove

  14. Methanol-enhanced removal and metabolic conversion of formaldehyde by a black soybean from formaldehyde solutions.

    PubMed

    Tan, Hao; Xiong, Yun; Li, Kun-Zhi; Chen, Li-Mei

    2017-02-01

    Methanol regulation of some biochemical and physiological characteristics in plants has been documented in several references. This study showed that the pretreatment of methanol with an appropriate concentration could stimulate the HCHO uptake by black soybean (BS) plants. The process of methanol-stimulated HCHO uptake by BS plants was optimized using the Central Composite Design and response surface methodology for the three variables, methanol concentration, HCHO concentration, and treatment time. Under optimized conditions, the best stimulation effect of methanol on HCHO uptake was obtained. 13 C-NMR analysis indicated that the H 13 CHO metabolism produced H 13 COOH, [2- 13 C]Gly, and [3- 13 C]Ser in BS plant roots. Methanol pretreatment enhanced the metabolic conversion of H 13 CHO in BS plant roots, which consequently increased HCHO uptake by BS plants. Therefore, methanol pretreatment might be used to increase HCHO uptake by plants in the phytoremediation of HCHO-polluted solutions.

  15. Improvement in methanol production by regulating the composition of synthetic gas mixture and raw biogas.

    PubMed

    Patel, Sanjay K S; Mardina, Primata; Kim, Dongwook; Kim, Sang-Yong; Kalia, Vipin C; Kim, In-Won; Lee, Jung-Kul

    2016-10-01

    Raw biogas can be an alternative feedstock to pure methane (CH4) for methanol production. In this investigation, we evaluated the methanol production potential of Methylosinus sporium from raw biogas originated from an anaerobic digester. Furthermore, the roles of different gases in methanol production were investigated using synthetic gas mixtures of CH4, carbon dioxide (CO2), and hydrogen (H2). Maximum methanol production was 5.13, 4.35, 6.28, 7.16, 0.38, and 0.36mM from raw biogas, CH4:CO2, CH4:H2, CH4:CO2:H2, CO2, and CO2:H2, respectively. Supplementation of H2 into raw biogas increased methanol production up to 3.5-fold. Additionally, covalent immobilization of M. sporium on chitosan resulted in higher methanol production from raw biogas. This study provides a suitable approach to improve methanol production using low cost raw biogas as a feed containing high concentrations of H2S (0.13%). To our knowledge, this is the first report on methanol production from raw biogas, using immobilized cells of methanotrophs. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Low Crossover Polymer Electrolyte Membranes for Direct Methanol Fuel Cells

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Prakash, G. K. Surya; Smart, Marshall; Atti, Anthony R.; Olah, George A.; Narayanan, S. R.; Valdez, T.; Surampudi, S.

    1996-01-01

    Direct Methanol Fuel Cells (DMFC's) using polymer electrolyte membranes are promising power sources for portable and vehicular applications. State of the art technology using Nafion(R) 117 membranes (Dupont) are limited by high methanol permeability and cost, resulting in reduced fuel cell efficiencies and impractical commercialization. Therefore, much research in the fuel cell field is focused on the preparation and testing of low crossover and cost efficient polymer electrolyte membranes. The University of Southern California in cooperation with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory is focused on development of such materials. Interpenetrating polymer networks are an effective method used to blend polymer systems without forming chemical links. They provide the ability to modify physical and chemical properties of polymers by optimizing blend compositions. We have developed a novel interpenetrating polymer network based on poly (vinyl - difluoride)/cross-linked polystyrenesulfonic acid polymer composites (PVDF PSSA). Sulfonation of polystyrene accounts for protonic conductivity while the non-polar, PVDF backbone provides structural integrity in addition to methanol rejection. Precursor materials were prepared and analyzed to characterize membrane crystallinity, stability and degree of interpenetration. USC JPL PVDF-PSSA membranes were also characterized to determine methanol permeability, protonic conductivity and sulfur distribution. Membranes were fabricated into membrane electrode assemblies (MEA) and tested for single cell performance. Tests include cell performance over a wide range of temperatures (20 C - 90 C) and cathode conditions (ambient Air/O2). Methanol crossover values are measured in situ using an in-line CO2 analyzer.

  17. Boron-doped graphene as promising support for platinum catalyst with superior activity towards the methanol electrooxidation reaction

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sun, Yongrong; Du, Chunyu; An, Meichen; Du, Lei; Tan, Qiang; Liu, Chuntao; Gao, Yunzhi; Yin, Geping

    2015-12-01

    We report the synthesis of boron-doped graphene by thermally annealing the mixture of graphene oxide and boric acid, and its usage as the support of Pt catalyst towards the methanol oxidation reaction. The composition, structure and morphology of boron-doped graphene and its supported Pt nanoparticles (Pt/BG) are characterized by transmission electron microscopy, inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. It is revealed that boron atoms are doped into graphene network in the form of BC2O and BCO2 bonds, which lead to the increase in defect sites and facilitate the subsequent deposition of Pt nanoparticles. Therefore, the Pt/BG catalyst presents smaller particle size and narrower size distribution than the graphene supported Pt (Pt/G) catalyst. When evaluated as the electrocatalyst for the methanol oxidation reaction, the Pt/BG catalyst exhibits excellent electrochemical activity and stability demonstrated by cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry tests. The enhanced activity is mainly ascribed to the electronic interaction between boron-doped graphene and Pt nanoparticles, which lowers the d-band center of Pt and thus weakens the absorption of the poisoning intermediate CO. Our work provides an alternative approach of improving the reaction kinetics for the oxidation of small organic molecules.

  18. Electroless deposition of Ni Cu P alloy and study of the influences of some parameters on the properties of deposits

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ashassi-Sorkhabi, H.; Dolati, H.; Parvini-Ahmadi, N.; Manzoori, J.

    2002-01-01

    Cupronickel alloys are known for their excellent corrosion resistance, especially in marine atmosphere. The development of an appropriate electroless bath involves the use of a reducing agent, complexing and stabilizing compounds and metallic salts. In this work, autocatalytic deposition of Ni-Cu-P alloys (28-95 wt.% Ni, 66-0 wt.% Cu, 7.5-3 wt.% P) has been carried out on 302 b steel sheets from bath containing: NiCl 2·6H 2O, CuCl 2·2H 2O, NaH 2PO 2, Na citrate, sulphosalicilic acid and triethanolamine. The effects of pH, temperature, and bath composition on the hardness and the composition of deposits have been studied. In addition, the deposition rates of alloy, nickel, copper and phosphorus were investigated and optimum conditions were obtained. The average rate of alloy deposition was 9 mg cm -2 h -1 and the optimum pH and temperature were 8.5 and 80 °C, respectively. The chemical stability of bath was desirable, and no spontaneous decomposition occurred. The changes in the structure of deposit by heat treatment were studied by the X-ray diffraction (XRD) method. The XRD patterns indicate that the copper content affects the structure changes. With increasing copper content, the phosphorus content decreased and the crystallinity of the deposits grew. After heat treatment of alloys with lower copper content at 400 °C for 1 h, the crystallization to Ni 3P was observed.

  19. Coadsorbed species explain the mechanism of methanol temperature-desorption on CeO 2(111)

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Sutton, Jonathan E.; Steven H. Overbury; Beste, Ariana

    2016-03-24

    Here, we have used density functional theory calculations to investigate the temperature-programmed desorption (TPD) of methanol from CeO 2(111). For the first time, low-temperature water formation and high-temperature methanol desorption are explained by our calculations. High coverages of methanol, which correspond to experimental conditions, are required to properly describe these features of the TPD spectrum. We identify a mechanism for the low-temperature formation of water involving the dissociation of two methanol molecules on the same surface O atom and filling of the resulting surface vacancy with one of the methoxy products. After water desorption, methoxy groups are stabilized on themore » surface and react at higher temperatures to form methanol and formaldehyde by a disproportionation mechanism. Alternatively, the stabilized methoxy groups undergo sequential C–H scission reactions to produce formaldehyde. Calculated energy requirements and methanol/formaldehyde selectivity agree with the experimental data.« less

  20. Spontaneous, Experimentally Induced, and Transmissible AA Amyloidosis in Japanese Quail ( Coturnix japonica).

    PubMed

    Nakayama, Yumi; Kamiie, Junichi; Watanabe, Gen; Suzuki, Kazuhiko; Murakami, Tomoaki

    2017-11-01

    The authors describe a spontaneous case of amyloid A (AA) amyloidosis in an adult female Japanese quail ( Coturnix japonica). The bird developed AA amyloidosis secondary to chronic peritonitis caused by a Gram-negative bacillus infection. Mild amyloid deposition was also identified in the intestinal tract of apparently healthy adult individuals, suggesting that quail may develop intestinal amyloidosis with age. Based on these observations, it was hypothesized that quail can develop AA amyloidosis following inflammatory stimulation with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Therefore, adult quail were repeatedly injected with LPS and the development of AA amyloidosis was confirmed. The amyloid deposition in this model increased when quail amyloid was intravenously injected as an amyloid-enhancing factor. The experiments were repeated with young quail, but amyloid deposits were not observed following LPS injections. However, AA amyloidosis did develop when quail amyloid was injected in addition to LPS. These results indicated that adult quail develop AA amyloidosis after inflammatory stimulation with LPS. Furthermore, quail AA amyloidosis was shown to have transmissibility regardless of age. Interestingly, the authors found that administration of chicken amyloid fibrils also induced AA amyloidosis in young quail. This is the first report of cross-species transmission of avian AA amyloidosis.

  1. High-temperature passive direct methanol fuel cells operating with concentrated fuels

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhao, Xuxin; Yuan, Wenxiang; Wu, Qixing; Sun, Hongyuan; Luo, Zhongkuan; Fu, Huide

    2015-01-01

    Conventionally, passive direct methanol fuel cells (DMFC) are fed with diluted methanol solutions and can hardly be operated at elevated temperatures (>120 °C) because the ionic conductivity of Nafion-type proton exchange membranes depends strongly on water content. Such a system design would limit its energy density and power density in mobile applications. In this communication, a passive vapor feed DMFC capable of operating with concentrated fuels at high temperatures is reported. The passive DMFC proposed in this work consists of a fuel reservoir, a perforated silicone sheet, a vapor chamber, two current collectors and a membrane electrode assembly (MEA) based on a phosphoric acid doped polybenzimidazole (PBI) membrane. The experimental results reveal that the methanol crossover through a PBI membrane is substantially low when compared with the Nafion membranes and the PBI-based passive DMFC can yield a peak power density of 37.2 mW cm-2 and 22.1 mW cm-2 at 180 °C when 16 M methanol solutions and neat methanol are used respectively. In addition, the 132 h discharge test indicates that the performance of this new DMFC is quite stable and no obvious performance degradation is observed after activation, showing its promising applications in portable power sources.

  2. A 6.7 GHz Methanol Maser Survey at High Galactic Latitudes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yang, Kai; Chen, Xi; Shen, Zhi-Qiang; Li, Xiao-Qiong; Wang, Jun-Zhi; Jiang, Dong-Rong; Li, Juan; Dong, Jian; Wu, Ya-Jun; Qiao, Hai-Hua; Ren, Zhiyuan

    2017-09-01

    We performed a systematic 6.7 GHz Class II methanol maser survey using the Shanghai Tianma Radio Telescope toward targets selected from the all-sky Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) point catalog. In this paper, we report the results from the survey of those at high Galactic latitudes, I.e., | b| > 2°. Of 1473 selected WISE point sources at high latitude, 17 point positions that were actually associated with 12 sources were detected with maser emission, reflecting the rarity (1%-2%) of methanol masers in the region away from the Galactic plane. Out of the 12 sources, 3 are detected for the first time. The spectral energy distribution at infrared bands shows that these new detected masers occur in the massive star-forming regions. Compared to previous detections, the methanol maser changes significantly in both spectral profiles and flux densities. The infrared WISE images show that almost all of these masers are located in the positions of the bright WISE point sources. Compared to the methanol masers at the Galactic plane, these high-latitude methanol masers provide good tracers for investigating the physics and kinematics around massive young stellar objects, because they are believed to be less affected by the surrounding cluster environment.

  3. Selective enrichment of a methanol-utilizing consortium using pulp & paper mill waste streams

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Gregory R. Mockos; William A. Smith; Frank J. Loge

    Efficient utilization of carbon inputs is critical to the economic viability of the current forest products sector. Input carbon losses occur in various locations within a pulp mill, including losses as volatile organics and wastewater . Opportunities exist to capture this carbon in the form of value-added products such as biodegradable polymers. Waste activated sludge from a pulp mill wastewater facility was enriched for 80 days for a methanol-utilizing consortium with the goal of using this consortium to produce biopolymers from methanol-rich pulp mill waste streams. Five enrichment conditions were utilized: three high-methanol streams from the kraft mill foul condensatemore » system, one methanol-amended stream from the mill wastewater plant, and one methanol-only enrichment. Enrichment reactors were operated aerobically in sequencing batch mode at neutral pH and 25°C with a hydraulic residence time and a solids retention time of four days. Non-enriched waste activated sludge did not consume methanol or reduce chemical oxygen demand. With enrichment, however, the chemical oxygen demand reduction over 24 hour feed/decant cycles ranged from 79 to 89 %, and methanol concentrations dropped below method detection limits. Neither the non-enriched waste activated sludge nor any of the enrichment cultures accumulated polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) under conditions of nitrogen sufficiency. Similarly, the non-enriched waste activated sludge did not accumulate PHAs under nitrogen limited conditions. By contrast, enriched cultures accumulated PHAs to nearly 14% on a dry weight basis under nitrogen limited conditions. This indicates that selectively-enriched pulp mill waste activated sludge can serve as an inoculum for PHA production from methanol-rich pulp mill effluents.« less

  4. Thermodynamic and Structural Properties of Methanol-Water Solutions Using Non-Additive Interaction Models

    PubMed Central

    Zhong, Yang; Warren, G. Lee; Patel, Sandeep

    2014-01-01

    We study bulk structural and thermodynamic properties of methanol-water solutions via molecular dynamics simulations using novel interaction potentials based on the charge equilibration (fluctuating charge) formalism to explicitly account for molecular polarization at the atomic level. The study uses the TIP4P-FQ potential for water-water interactions, and the CHARMM-based (Chemistry at HARvard Molecular Mechanics) fluctuating charge potential for methanol-methanol and methanol-water interactions. In terms of bulk solution properties, we discuss liquid densities, enthalpies of mixing, dielectric constants, self-diffusion constants, as well as structural properties related to local hydrogen bonding structure as manifested in radial distribution functions and cluster analysis. We further explore the electronic response of water and methanol in the differing local environments established by the interaction of each species predominantly with molecules of the other species. The current force field for the alcohol-water interaction performs reasonably well for most properties, with the greatest deviation from experiment observed for the excess mixing enthalpies, which are predicted to be too favorable. This is qualitatively consistent with the overestimation of the methanol-water gas-phase interaction energy for the lowest-energy conformer (methanol as proton donor). Hydration free energies for methanol in TIP4P-FQ water are predicted to be −5.6±0.2 kcal/mole, in respectable agreement with the experimental value of −5.1 kcal/mole. With respect to solution micro-structure, the present cluster analysis suggests that the micro-scale environment for concentrations where select thermodynamic quantities reach extremal values is described by a bi-percolating network structure. PMID:18074339

  5. The effect of methanol rhizome extract of Nymphaea lotus Linn. (Nymphaeaceae) in animal models of diarrhoea.

    PubMed

    Bello, Fatima Hauwa; Maiha, Bilkisu B; Anuka, Joseph A

    2016-08-22

    Nymphaea lotus, which is widely distributed throughout tropical Africa, enjoys a number of ethnomedical uses in Nigeria. Traditionally, the rhizomes of N. lotus are used to cure diarrhoea. This study aims to evaluate the antidiarrhoeal activity of the methanol rhizome extract of N. lotus plant in laboratory animals. The extract was screened for activity against castor oil-induced diarrhoea and magnesium sulphate-induced diarrhoea as well as effect on gastric transit time in mice. The effect of methanol rhizome extract of Nymphaea lotus on the perfused isolated tissue preparation was also determined. For castor oil-induced diarrhoea, the extract at doses of 200, 400 and 800mg/kg produced significant reduction in the frequency of diarrhoea (at p<0.001, p<0.001 and p<0.01 respectively). The extract at 800mg/kg produced a significant delay in onset of diarrhoea (p<0.05) comparable to loperamide (3mg/kg). The frequency of magnesium sulphate-induced diarrhoea was also significantly reduced in the groups treated with 200, 400 and 800mg/kg of the extract at p<0.001, p<0.001 and p<0.01 respectively. At doses of 200mg/kg and 400mg/kg, the protection produced was comparable to loperamide, 3mg/kg. All treated groups produced significant reduction in the transit of charcoal meal along the intestinal tract at p<0.001. The extract at low concentration (4×10(-4)-6.4×10(-2)mg/ml) had contractile effect on the tone of contraction of the rabbit jejunum while at higher concentrations (8×10(-2)-512×10(-2)mg/ml) produced significant reduction in the tone and rate of spontaneous contraction of rabbit jejunum. The extract at lower concentrations (4×10(-4)-2×10(-2)mg/ml) has no effect on contraction of the guinea pig ileum while higher concentrations (4×10(-2)-512×10(-2)mg/ml) produced significant relaxant activity on guinea pig ileum. This study has shown that the methanol rhizome extract of N. lotus has antidiarrhoeal properties thus justifying its use by the local population for

  6. Organization of genes required for the oxidation of methanol to formaldehyde in three type II methylotrophs

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Bastien, C.; Machlin, S.; Zhang, Y.

    Restriction maps of genes required for the synthesis of active methanol dehydrogenase in Methylobacterium organophilum XX and Methylobacterium sp. strain AM1 have been completed and compared. In these two species of pink-pigmented, type II methylotrophs, 15 genes were identified that were required for the expression of methanol dehydrogenase activity. None of these genes were required for the synthesis of the prosthetic group of methanol dehydrogenase, pyrroloquinoline quinone. The structural gene required for the synthesis of cytochrome c{sub L}, an electron acceptor uniquely required for methanol dehydrogenase, and the genes encoding small basic peptides that copurified with methanol dehydrogenases were closelymore » linked to the methanol dehydrogenase structural genes. A cloned 22-kilobase DNA insert from Methylsporovibrio methanica 81Z, an obligate type II methanotroph, complemented mutants that contained lesions in four genes closely linked to the methanol dehydrogenase structural genes. The methanol dehydrogenase and cytochrome c{sub L} structural genes were found to be transcribed independently in M. organophilum XX. Only two of the genes required for methanol dehydrogenase synthesis in this bacterium were found to be cotranscribed.« less

  7. Catalytic decomposition of methanol for onboard hydrogen generation

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Brabbs, T.

    1978-01-01

    The steam reformation of an equimolar mixture of methanol and water on a copper chromite catalyst was studied at three furnace temperatures and at feed space velocities from 800 to 2600 per hour. The hydrogen space velocity could be related to the reactor temperature by the equation Sv = A exp (-omega T), where A and omega are constants determined for each value of alpha and T is temperature. At a methanol conversion of 0.87 and a reactor temperature of 589 K, the extrapolated value of the hydrogen space velocity was 9400 per hour. This velocity was used to estimate the size of an onboard hydrogen reactor for automotive applications. Such a reactor would need only about 0.8 liter of catalyst to produce 7630 STP liters (1.5 lb) of hydrogen per hour. This quantity of catalyst would fit into nine tubes 17.8 centimeters along and 2.54 centimeters in inside diameter, which is smaller than most mufflers. The reactor products would contain 12 to 13 percent more chemical energy than the incoming methanol and water.

  8. Antiproliferative effect of methanolic extraction of tualang honey on human keloid fibroblasts

    PubMed Central

    2011-01-01

    Background Keloid is a type of scar which extends beyond the boundaries of the original wound. It can spread to the surrounding skin by invasion. The use of Tualang honey is a possible approach for keloid treatment. The objective of this study was to determine the antiproliferative effect of methanolic extraction of Tualang honey to primary human keloid fibroblasts and to identify the volatile compounds in methanol extraction of Tualang honey. Methods Crude Tualang honey was extracted with methanol and then dried using rota vapor to remove remaining methanol from honey. Normal and keloid fibroblasts were verified and treated with the extracted honey. Cell proliferation was tested with [3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yi)-5-(3-carboxymethoxyphenyl)-2-(4-sulfophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium, inner salt] (MTS) assay. Extraction of Tualang honey using methanol was carried out and the extracted samples were analysed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The result was analysed using SPSS and tested with Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney tests. Results Methanolic extraction of honey has positive anti proliferative effect on keloid fibroblasts in a dose-dependent manner. The presence of fatty acids such as palmitic acid, stearic acid, oleic acid, linoleic acid and octadecanoic acid may contribute to the anti-proliferative effect in keloid fibroblasts. Conclusions The methanolic honey extraction has an antiproliferative effect on keloid fibroblasts and a range of volatile compounds has been identified from Tualang honey. The antiproliferative effect of keloid fibroblasts towards Tualang honey may involve cell signaling pathway. Identifying other volatile compounds from different organic solvents should be carried out in future. PMID:21943200

  9. Formation of Hydroxymethyl DNA Adducts in Rats Orally Exposed to Stable Isotope Labeled Methanol

    PubMed Central

    Lu, Kun; Gul, Husamettin; Upton, Patricia B.; Moeller, Benjamin C.; Swenberg, James A.

    2012-01-01

    Methanol is a large volume industrial chemical and widely used solvent and fuel additive. Methanol’s well known toxicity and use in a wide spectrum of applications has raised long-standing environmental issues over its safety, including its carcinogenicity. Methanol has not been listed as a carcinogen by any regulatory agency; however, there are debates about its carcinogenic potential. Formaldehyde, a metabolite of methanol, has been proposed to be responsible for the carcinogenesis of methanol. Formaldehyde is a known carcinogen and actively targets DNA and protein, causing diverse DNA and protein damage. However, formaldehyde-induced DNA adducts arising from the metabolism of methanol have not been reported previously, largely due to the absence of suitable DNA biomarkers and the inability to differentiate what was due to methanol compared with the substantial background of endogenous formaldehyde. Recently, we developed a unique approach combining highly sensitive liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry methods and exposure to stable isotope labeled chemicals to simultaneously quantify formaldehyde-specific endogenous and exogenous DNA adducts. In this study, rats were exposed daily to 500 or 2000 mg/kg [13CD4]-methanol by gavage for 5 days. Our data demonstrate that labeled formaldehyde arising from [13CD4]-methanol induced hydroxymethyl DNA adducts in multiple tissues in a dose-dependent manner. The results also demonstrated that the number of exogenous DNA adducts was lower than the number of endogenous hydroxymethyl DNA adducts in all tissues of rats administered 500 mg/kg per day for 5 days, a lethal dose to humans, even after incorporating an average factor of 4 for reduced metabolism due to isotope effects of deuterium-labeled methanol into account. PMID:22157354

  10. Lightweight Stacks of Direct Methanol Fuel Cells

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Narayanan, Sekharipuram; Valdez, Thomas

    2004-01-01

    An improved design concept for direct methanol fuel cells makes it possible to construct fuel-cell stacks that can weigh as little as one-third as much as do conventional bipolar fuel-cell stacks of equal power. The structural-support components of the improved cells and stacks can be made of relatively inexpensive plastics. Moreover, in comparison with conventional bipolar fuel-cell stacks, the improved fuel-cell stacks can be assembled, disassembled, and diagnosed for malfunctions more easily. These improvements are expected to bring portable direct methanol fuel cells and stacks closer to commercialization. In a conventional bipolar fuel-cell stack, the cells are interspersed with bipolar plates (also called biplates), which are structural components that serve to interconnect the cells and distribute the reactants (methanol and air). The cells and biplates are sandwiched between metal end plates. Usually, the stack is held together under pressure by tie rods that clamp the end plates. The bipolar stack configuration offers the advantage of very low internal electrical resistance. However, when the power output of a stack is only a few watts, the very low internal resistance of a bipolar stack is not absolutely necessary for keeping the internal power loss acceptably low.

  11. Fuel Processing System for a 5kW Methanol Fuel Cell Power Unit.

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1985-11-27

    report documents the development and design of a 5kW neat methanol reformer for phosphoric acid fuel cell power plants . The reformer design was based...VAPORIZATION OF METHANOL ........... 4.3 REFORMING/SHIFT CATALYST BED ......... 2 5.0 COMPONENT TESTING............... 5.1 COMBUSTION TUBE...69 36 Catalyst Bed Temperature Profile Before and After Transient ................. 70 37 Assembly -5kw Neat Methanol Reformer. ......... 72 Page No

  12. Comparison of immunotoxic effects induced by the extracts from methanol and gasoline engine exhausts in vitro.

    PubMed

    Che, Wangjun; Liu, Guiming; Qiu, Hong; Zhang, Hao; Ran, Yun; Zeng, Xianggui; Wen, Weihua; Shu, Ya

    2010-06-01

    Gasoline engine exhaust has been considered as a major source of air pollution in China. Due to lower cyto- and geno-toxicity effects of methanol engine exhaust, methanol is regarded as a potential substitute for gasoline. We have previously compared cyto- and geno-toxicities of gasoline engine exhaust with that of methanol engine exhaust in A549 cells (Zhang et al., 2007).To characterize the immunotoxic effects for gasoline and methanol engine exhausts in immune cell, in this study, we further compared effects of gasoline and methanol engine exhausts on immune function in RAW264.7 cell and rabbit alveolar macrophages. Results showed that both gasoline and methanol engine exhaust could evidently inhibit RAW264.7 cell proliferation, promote RAW264.7 cell apoptosis, decrease E-rosette formation rate and inhibit anti-tumor effects of alveolar macrophages, at the same time, these effects of gasoline engine exhaust were far stronger than those of methanol engine exhaust. In addition, gasoline engine exhaust could significantly inhibit activities of ADCC of alveolar macrophages, but methanol engine exhaust could not. These results suggested that both gasoline and methanol engine exhausts might be immunotoxic atmospheric pollutants, but some effects of gasoline engine exhaust on immunotoxicities may be far stronger than that of methanol engine exhaust. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Utilization of methanol for polymer electrolyte fuel cells in mobile systems

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Schmidt, V. M.; Brockerhoff, P.; Hohlein, B.; Menzer, R.; Stimming, U.

    1994-04-01

    The constantly growing volume of road traffic requires the introduction of new vehicle propulsion systems with higher efficiency and drastically reduced emission rates. As part of the fuel cell programme of the Research Centre Julich a vehicle propulsion system with methanol as secondary energy carrier and a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) as the main component for energy conversion is developed. The fuel gas is produced by a heterogeneously catalyzed steam reforming reaction in which methanol is converted to H2, CO and CO2. The required energy is provided by the catalytic conversion of methanol for both heating up the system and reforming methanol. The high CO content of the fuel gas requires further processing of the gas or the development of new electrocatalysts for the anode. Various Pt-Ru alloys show promising behaviour as CO-tolerant anodes. The entire fuel cell system is discussed in terms of energy and emission balances. The development of important components is described and experimental results are discussed.

  14. Alternative Fuels Data Center: Methanol

    Science.gov Websites

    (CH3OH), also known as wood alcohol, is considered an alternative fuel under the Energy Policy Act of 1992. As an engine fuel, methanol has chemical and physical fuel properties similar to ethanol Ethanol Hydrogen Natural Gas Propane Emerging Fuels Fuel Prices Conserve Fuel Idle Reduction Parts &

  15. Human Papillomavirus Infection as a Possible Cause of Spontaneous Abortion and Spontaneous Preterm Delivery

    PubMed Central

    Ambühl, Lea Maria Margareta; Baandrup, Ulrik; Dybkær, Karen; Blaakær, Jan; Uldbjerg, Niels; Sørensen, Suzette

    2016-01-01

    Based on the current literature, we aimed to provide an overview on Human Papillomavirus prevalence in normal pregnancies and pregnancies with adverse outcome. We conducted a systematic literature search in PubMed and Embase. Data extracted from the articles and used for analysis included HPV prevalence, pregnancy outcome, geographical location, investigated tissue types, and HPV detection methods. The overall HPV prevalence in normal full-term pregnancies was found to be 17.5% (95% CI; 17.3–17.7) for cervix, 8.3% (95% CI; 7.6–9.1) for placental tissue, 5.7% (95% CI; 5.1–6.3) for amniotic fluid, and 10.9% (95% CI; 10.1–11.7) for umbilical cord blood. Summary estimates for HPV prevalence of spontaneous abortions and spontaneous preterm deliveries, in cervix (spontaneous abortions: 24.5%, and preterm deliveries: 47%, resp.) and placenta (spontaneous abortions: 24.9%, and preterm deliveries: 50%, resp.), were identified to be higher compared to normal full-term pregnancies (P < 0.05 and P < 0.0001). Great variation in HPV prevalence was observed between study populations of different geographical locations. This review demonstrates an association between spontaneous abortion, spontaneous preterm delivery, and the presence of HPV in both the cervix and the placenta. However, a reliable conclusion is difficult to draw due to the limited number of studies conducted on material from pregnancies with adverse outcome and the risk of residual confounding. PMID:27110088

  16. Effects of methanol vapor on human neurobehavioral measures. Research report, Jul 88-Oct 90

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Cook, M.R.; Bergman, F.J.; Cohen, H.D.

    1991-01-01

    Methanol may become an important alternative fuel for vehicles in the near future. The objective of the preliminary study was to determine if inhalation exposure to methanol, near the maximum concentration allowed for an eight-hour average exposure in the workplace (200 ppm), would have adverse effects on human neurobehavioral functions. Twelve healthy young men were exposed twice to filtered air and twice to 192 ppm methanol vapors for 75 minutes on different days under double-blind conditions. Twenty-two neurobehavioral and neurophysiological tests were administered before, during, and after exposure to measure visual, behavioral, reasoning, and hearing functions. Exposure to methanol producedmore » significant increases in blood and urine methanol concentration at the end of the exposure period. As expected, no changes in plasma formate were observed. Methanol exposure had no effect on the subjects' performance on most of the tests. However, some methanol-exposed subjects reported more fatigue and lack of concentration. Performance was also slightly impaired on the Sternberg memory task. There were also changes in the latency of the P200 component of the visual- and auditory-event related potential. These effects were small and did not exceed the range of results measured in filtered air-exposed subjects.« less

  17. Single-cell protein from methanol with Enterobacter aerogenes

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Gnan, S.O.; Abodreheba, A.O.

    1987-02-20

    An identified Enterobacter aerogenes utilizing methanol as a sole carbon source was studied for the optimization of biomass production and the reduction of its nucleic acid content. Results indicated that the highest yield and conversion were obtained at 0.5% methanol. The addition of seawater as a source of trace elements has an adverse effect. However, the addition of urea as source of nitrogen enhanced the growth of E. aerogenes. Heat shock at 60 degrees C for one minute followed by incubation at 50 degrees C for 2 hours caused 72.6% reduction in the nucleic acid. 12 references.

  18. In vitro methanol production from methyl coenzyme M using the Methanosarcina barkeri MtaABC protein complex.

    PubMed

    Dong, Ming; Gonzalez, Tara D; Klems, Meghan M; Steinberg, Lisa M; Chen, Wilfred; Papoutsakis, Eleftherios T; Bahnson, Brian J

    2017-09-01

    Methanol:coenzyme M methyltransferase is an enzyme complex composed of three subunits, MtaA, MtaB, and MtaC, found in methanogenic archaea and is needed for their growth on methanol ultimately producing methane. MtaABC catalyzes the energetically favorable methyl transfer from methanol to coenzyme M to form methyl coenzyme M. Here we demonstrate that this important reaction for possible production of methanol from the anaerobic oxidation of methane can be reversed in vitro. To this effect, we have expressed and purified the Methanosarcina barkeri MtaABC enzyme, and developed an in vitro functional assay that demonstrates MtaABC can catalyze the energetically unfavorable (ΔG° = 27 kJ/mol) reverse reaction starting from methyl coenzyme M and generating methanol as a product. Demonstration of an in vitro ability of MtaABC to produce methanol may ultimately enable the anaerobic oxidation of methane to produce methanol and from methanol alternative fuel or fuel-precursor molecules. © 2017 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 33:1243-1249, 2017. © 2017 American Institute of Chemical Engineers.

  19. Solubility of methanol in low-temperature aqueous sulfuric acid and implications for atmospheric particle composition

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Iraci, Laura T.; Essin, Andrew M.; Golden, David M.; Hipskind, R. Stephen (Technical Monitor)

    2001-01-01

    Using traditional Knudsen cell techniques, we find well-behaved Henry's law uptake of methanol in aqueous 45 - 70 wt% H2SO4 solutions at temperatures between 197 and 231 K. Solubility of methanol increases with decreasing temperature and increasing acidity, with an effective Henry's law coefficient ranging from 10(exp 5) - 10(exp 8) M/atm. Equilibrium uptake of methanol into sulfuric acid aerosol particles in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere will not appreciably alter gas-phase concentrations of methanol. The observed room temperature reaction between methanol and sulfuric acid is too slow to provide a sink for gaseous methanol at the temperatures of the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere. It is also too slow to produce sufficient quantities of soluble reaction products to explain the large amount of unidentified organic material seen in particles of the upper troposphere.

  20. Spontaneous rib fractures.

    PubMed

    Katrancioglu, Ozgur; Akkas, Yucel; Arslan, Sulhattin; Sahin, Ekber

    2015-07-01

    Other than trauma, rib fracture can occur spontaneously due to a severe cough or sneeze. In this study, patients with spontaneous rib fractures were analyzed according to age, sex, underlying pathology, treatment, and complications. Twelve patients who presented between February 2009 and February 2011 with spontaneous rib fracture were reviewed retrospectively. The patients' data were evaluated according to anamnesis, physical examination, and chest radiographs. The ages of the patients ranged from 34 to 77 years (mean 55.91 ± 12.20 years), and 7 (58.4%) were male. All patients had severe cough and chest pain. The fractures were most frequently between 4th and 9th ribs; multiple rib fractures were detected in 5 (41.7%) patients. Eight (66.7%) patients had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, 2 (16.7%) had bronchial asthma, and 2 (16.7%) had osteoporosis. Bone densitometry revealed a high risk of bone fracture in all patients. Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or bronchial asthma had been treated with high-dose steroids for over a year. Spontaneous rib fracture due to severe cough may occur in patients with osteoporosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or bronchial asthma, receiving long-term steroid therapy. If these patients have severe chest pain, chest radiography should be performed to check for bone lesions. © The Author(s) 2015.

  1. Role of nickel in high rate methanol degradation in anaerobic granular sludge bioreactors

    PubMed Central

    Fermoso, Fernando G.; Collins, Gavin; Bartacek, Jan; O’Flaherty, Vincent

    2008-01-01

    The effect of nickel deprivation from the influent of a mesophilic (30°C) methanol fed upflow anaerobic sludge bed (UASB) reactor was investigated by coupling the reactor performance to the evolution of the Methanosarcina population of the bioreactor sludge. The reactor was operated at pH 7.0 and an organic loading rate (OLR) of 5–15 g COD l−1 day−1 for 191 days. A clear limitation of the specific methanogenic activity (SMA) on methanol due to the absence of nickel was observed after 129 days of bioreactor operation: the SMA of the sludge in medium with the complete trace metal solution except nickel amounted to 1.164 (±0.167) g CH4-COD g VSS−1 day−1 compared to 2.027 (±0.111) g CH4-COD g VSS−1 day−1 in a medium with the complete (including nickel) trace metal solution. The methanol removal efficiency during these 129 days was 99%, no volatile fatty acid (VFA) accumulation was observed and the size of the Methanosarcina population increased compared to the seed sludge. Continuation of the UASB reactor operation with the nickel limited sludge lead to incomplete methanol removal, and thus methanol accumulation in the reactor effluent from day 142 onwards. This methanol accumulation subsequently induced an increase of the acetogenic activity in the UASB reactor on day 160. On day 165, 77% of the methanol fed to the system was converted to acetate and the Methanosarcina population size had substantially decreased. Inclusion of 0.5 μM Ni (dosed as NiCl2) to the influent from day 165 onwards lead to the recovery of the methanol removal efficiency to 99% without VFA accumulation within 2 days of bioreactor operation. PMID:18247139

  2. Modeling and Simulation of the Direct Methanol Fuel Cell

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wohr, M.; Narayanan, S. R.; Halpert, G.

    1996-01-01

    From intro.: The direct methanol liquid feed fuel cell uses aqueous solutions of methanol as fuel and oxygen or air as the oxidant and uses an ionically conducting polymer membrane such as Nafion(sup r)117 and the electrolyte. This type of direct oxidation cell is fuel versatile and offers significant advantages in terms of simplicity of design and operation...The present study focuses on the results of a phenomenological model based on current understanding of the various processed operating in these cells.

  3. Recycling of carbon dioxide to methanol and derived products - closing the loop.

    PubMed

    Goeppert, Alain; Czaun, Miklos; Jones, John-Paul; Surya Prakash, G K; Olah, George A

    2014-12-07

    Starting with coal, followed by petroleum oil and natural gas, the utilization of fossil fuels has allowed the fast and unprecedented development of human society. However, the burning of these resources in ever increasing pace is accompanied by large amounts of anthropogenic CO2 emissions, which are outpacing the natural carbon cycle, causing adverse global environmental changes, the full extent of which is still unclear. Even through fossil fuels are still abundant, they are nevertheless limited and will, in time, be depleted. Chemical recycling of CO2 to renewable fuels and materials, primarily methanol, offers a powerful alternative to tackle both issues, that is, global climate change and fossil fuel depletion. The energy needed for the reduction of CO2 can come from any renewable energy source such as solar and wind. Methanol, the simplest C1 liquid product that can be easily obtained from any carbon source, including biomass and CO2, has been proposed as a key component of such an anthropogenic carbon cycle in the framework of a "Methanol Economy". Methanol itself is an excellent fuel for internal combustion engines, fuel cells, stoves, etc. It's dehydration product, dimethyl ether, is a diesel fuel and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) substitute. Furthermore, methanol can be transformed to ethylene, propylene and most of the petrochemical products currently obtained from fossil fuels. The conversion of CO2 to methanol is discussed in detail in this review.

  4. Temperature of maximum density and excess thermodynamics of aqueous mixtures of methanol

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    González-Salgado, D.; Zemánková, K.; Noya, E. G.

    In this work, we present a study of representative excess thermodynamic properties of aqueous mixtures of methanol over the complete concentration range, based on extensive computer simulation calculations. In addition to test various existing united atom model potentials, we have developed a new force-field which accurately reproduces the excess thermodynamics of this system. Moreover, we have paid particular attention to the behavior of the temperature of maximum density (TMD) in dilute methanol mixtures. The presence of a temperature of maximum density is one of the essential anomalies exhibited by water. This anomalous behavior is modified in a non-monotonous fashion bymore » the presence of fully miscible solutes that partly disrupt the hydrogen bond network of water, such as methanol (and other short chain alcohols). In order to obtain a better insight into the phenomenology of the changes in the TMD of water induced by small amounts of methanol, we have performed a new series of experimental measurements and computer simulations using various force fields. We observe that none of the force-fields tested capture the non-monotonous concentration dependence of the TMD for highly diluted methanol solutions.« less

  5. Graphene-derived Fe/Co-N-C catalyst in direct methanol fuel cells: Effects of the methanol concentration and ionomer content on cell performance

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Park, Jong Cheol; Choi, Chang Hyuck

    2017-08-01

    Non-precious metal catalysts (typically Fe(Co)-N-C catalysts) have been widely investigated for use as cost-effective cathode materials in low temperature fuel cells. Despite the high oxygen reduction activity and methanol-tolerance of graphene-based Fe(Co)-N-C catalysts in an acidic medium, their use in direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) has not yet been successfully implemented, and only a few studies have investigated this topic. Herein, we synthesized a nano-sized graphene-derived Fe/Co-N-C catalyst by physical ball-milling and a subsequent chemical modification of the graphene oxide. Twelve membrane-electrode-assemblies are fabricated with various cathode compositions to determine the effects of the methanol concentration, ionomer (i.e. Nafion) content, and catalyst loading on the DMFC performance. The results show that a graphene-based catalyst is capable of tolerating a highly-concentrated methanol feed up to 10.0 M. The optimized electrode composition has an ionomer content and catalyst loading of 66.7 wt% and 5.0 mg cm-2, respectively. The highest maximum power density is ca. 32 mW cm-2 with a relatively low PtRu content (2 mgPtRu cm-2). This study overcomes the drawbacks of conventional graphene-based electrodes using a nano-sized graphene-based catalyst and further shows the feasibility of their potential applications in DMFC systems.

  6. Effectiveness of glucose-methanol extender for cryopreservation of Huso huso spermatozoa.

    PubMed

    Aramli, Mohammad Sadegh; Golshahi, Karim; Nazari, Rajab Mohammad; Aramli, Salim; Banan, Ashkan

    2015-11-01

    The present approach was designed to evaluate the methanol-glucose extender effects on sperm cryopreservation in beluga sturgeon, Huso huso. Sperm quality was examined by measuring post-thaw sperm motility and fertilizing rate at hatching stage. We first tested the effect of glucose concentration (0, 0.10, 0.15, 0.20 and 0.30M) in a methanol extender on post-thaw sperm motility. The optimal cryopreservation conditions were found to be 0.2M glucose in the extender. Then, motility and fertilization rates of sperm cryopreserved with 0.2M glucose and 10% methanol (GM) were compared to Tris-sucrose-KCl in 10% methanol extender (TSKM). Additionally, sperm motility and fertilizing ability in relation to 15 and 30min equilibration in GM extender before and after cryopreservation were measured. Higher post-thaw sperm motility duration and percentage as well as fertilization rate were obtained with the GM extender when compared to TSKM extender. Equilibration of sperm in extender did not affect the motility quality of either fresh-diluted or frozen/thawed sperm, while fertilization rate showed a significant decline alone after 30min of post-thaw storage. Our results indicated that the use of a simple extender consisting of 0.2M glucose in 10% methanol can be an alternative cryopreservation method to those previously described for sturgeons. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  7. Methanol and the productivity of tropical crops

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Ferguson, T.U.

    1995-12-31

    Studies are being conducted in Trinidad and Tobago, St. Lucia and St. Kitts/Nevis to determine the effect of aqueous solutions of methanol on the growth and yield of a wide range of vegetable, field and perennial crops. The paper presents a summary of results to data for ten of the crops studied. Six of these crops, lettuce, sweet pepper, tomato, mango and breadfruit, have shown significant increases in growth or yield with methanol application, while others such as pigeon pea, rice, banana and cocoa have shown more limited responses. There appears to be some potential for the use of methanolmore » in tropical crop production but further studies are required before this apparent potential can be harnessed.« less

  8. Novel crosslinked membranes based on sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone) for direct methanol fuel cells.

    PubMed

    Zhu, Yuanqin; Zieren, Shelley; Manthiram, Arumugam

    2011-07-14

    Novel covalently crosslinked membranes based on sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone) and carboxylated polysulfone exhibit much lower methanol crossover and better performance in direct methanol fuel cells at 65 °C in 1 and 2 M methanol solutions compared to Nafion 115 membranes.

  9. Radiation Induced Incorporation of CO in Pure and Aqueous Methanol

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jung, Hak-Jin; Getoff, Nikola; Lorbeer, Eberhard

    1994-05-01

    Pure and aqueous methanol were used for radiation induced incorporation of CO at elevated pressure (up to 15 bar). The initial yields (Gi) of the main products in pure methanol under 15 bar CO and 1 bar N2O were found to be: Gi(formaldehyde) = 3.80 and Gi(glycolic aldehyde) = 2.0. For aqueous (10-2 mol · dm-3) methanol under 15 bar CO (dose: 0.557 kGy, pH = 2): the yields were G(formaldehyde) = 5.44, G(glycolic aldehyde) = 4.0 and G(oxalic acid) = 7.7. At pH = 7 the yields were essentially lower, namely: G(formaldehyde) = 3.2, G(glycolic aldehyde) = 2.0, G(formate) = 3.8 and G(oxalate) = 5.0. Probable reaction-mechanisms for the product formation are discussed.

  10. Methanol partial oxidation on Ag(111) from first principles

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Aljama, Hassan; Yoo, Jong Suk; Nørskov, Jens K.

    In this work, we examine the thermochemistry and kinetics of the partial oxidation of methanol to formaldehyde on silver surfaces. Periodic density functional theory calculations employing the BEEF-vdW functional are used to identify the most stable phases of the silver surface under relevant reaction conditions and the reaction energetics are obtained on these surfaces. The calculated binding energies and transition state energies are used as input in a mean-field microkinetic model providing the reaction kinetics on silver surfaces under different reaction conditions. Our results show that, under conditions pertaining to methanol partial oxidation, oxygen is present at low concentrations andmore » it plays a critical role in the catalytic reaction. Surface oxygen promotes the reaction by activating the OH bond in methanol, thus forming a methoxy intermediate, which can react further to form formaldehyde. Finally, the dissociation of molecular oxygen is identified as the most critical step.« less

  11. Methanol partial oxidation on Ag(111) from first principles

    DOE PAGES

    Aljama, Hassan; Yoo, Jong Suk; Nørskov, Jens K.; ...

    2016-10-26

    In this work, we examine the thermochemistry and kinetics of the partial oxidation of methanol to formaldehyde on silver surfaces. Periodic density functional theory calculations employing the BEEF-vdW functional are used to identify the most stable phases of the silver surface under relevant reaction conditions and the reaction energetics are obtained on these surfaces. The calculated binding energies and transition state energies are used as input in a mean-field microkinetic model providing the reaction kinetics on silver surfaces under different reaction conditions. Our results show that, under conditions pertaining to methanol partial oxidation, oxygen is present at low concentrations andmore » it plays a critical role in the catalytic reaction. Surface oxygen promotes the reaction by activating the OH bond in methanol, thus forming a methoxy intermediate, which can react further to form formaldehyde. Finally, the dissociation of molecular oxygen is identified as the most critical step.« less

  12. The mid-infrared environments of 6.7 GHz methanol masers from the Methanol Multi-Beam Survey

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gallaway, M.; Thompson, M. A.; Lucas, P. W.; Fuller, G. A.; Caswell, J. L.; Green, J. A.; Voronkov, M. A.; Breen, S. L.; Quinn, L.; Ellingsen, S. P.; Avison, A.; Ward-Thompson, D.; Cox, J.

    2013-04-01

    We present a study of the mid-infrared environments and association with star formation tracers of 6.7 GHz methanol masers taken from the Methanol Multi-Beam (MMB) survey. Our ultimate goal is to establish the mass of the host star and its evolutionary stage for each maser site. As a first step, the GLIMPSE survey of the Galactic plane is utilized to investigate the environment of 776 methanol masers and we find that while the majority of the masers are associated with mid-infrared counterparts, a significant fraction (17 per cent) are not associated with any detectable mid-infrared emission. A number of the maser counterparts are clearly extended with respect to the GLIMPSE point spread function and we implement an adaptive non-circular aperture photometry (ANCAP) technique to determine the fluxes of the maser counterparts. The ANCAP technique doubles the number of masers with flux information at all four wavelengths compared to the number of the corresponding counterparts obtained from the GLIMPSE Point Source Catalog. The colours of the maser counterparts are found to be very similar to the smaller study carried out by Ellingsen. The MMB masers are weakly associated with extended green objects and Red MSX Survey embedded sources (YSO and H II region classifications) with 18 and 12 per cent of masers associated with these objects, respectively. The majority of MMB masers (60 per cent) have detectable GLIMPSE infrared counterparts but have not been identified with previously recognized tracers of massive star formation; this confirms that the MMB survey has the potential to identify massive star-forming regions independent of infrared selection.

  13. Transverse myelitis-like presentation of methanol intoxication: A case report and review of the literature.

    PubMed

    Algahtani, Hussein; Shirah, Bader; Ahmad, Raafat; Abobaker, Hind; Hmoud, Mohammed

    2018-01-01

    Methanol is the simplest member of alcohol family. However, it is an extremely toxic substance to humans upon exposure with severe and detrimental effects that range from visual loss to death. Spinal cord involvement in methanol intoxication is a rare occurrence. In this article, we are reporting a case of methanol intoxication with extensive spinal cord involvement possibly due to necrosis. A literature review yielded only two cases of spinal cord involvement due to methanol intoxication. Our article is the first to discuss the spinal cord involvement specifically including interesting neuroimaging features. We recommend performing MRI of the cervicothoracic spine in every methanol intoxication case to exclude both asymptomatic and symptomatic cases of spinal cord involvement.

  14. Is elevated creatinine a reliable marker for methanol toxicity in nitromethane-containing model fuel ingestions in children?

    PubMed

    Padmanabhan, Pradeep; Spiller, Henry A; Ross, Mitchell P; Bosse, George M

    2011-01-01

    In the absence of a rapid serum methanol level estimation, it is difficult to assess the risk from unintentional childhood ingestion of model fuels containing methanol and nitromethane (MFNM). Previous reports have documented false elevations of serum creatinine from the nitromethane in these fuels, suggesting its utility as a readily available marker of significant methanol ingestion. We performed a 2-year retrospective chart review of cases of ingestion of MFNM in children, with both a methanol level and measured creatinine level. Seven children, ages 19 months to 3 years, ingested MFNM. All seven children were seen in a hospital and had measured methanol and creatinine levels. All blood samples for methanol and creatinine were drawn within 3 hours of ingestion with methanol estimation delayed up to 24 hours. Creatinine ranged from 0.39 (0.034 mmol/l) to 10.7 mg/dl (0.95 mmol/l). All methanol levels were <10 mg/dl (0.31 mmol/l) or reported as negative. Fomepizole was initiated empirically in two patients due to delay in obtaining methanol analysis results. Transient elevations of creatinine occurred in five of the seven children. Blood urea nitrogen was within normal limits, and there was no history of renal impairment in these children, suggesting the elevated creatinine was mostly related to nitromethane ingestion. No child had a significantly elevated methanol level. Elevated creatinine level, as measured by Jaffe colorimetric method, is not a reliable marker for elevated methanol levels after unintentional ingestion of MFNM.

  15. Spontaneous tension haemopneumothorax.

    PubMed

    Patterson, Benjamin Oliver; Itam, Sarah; Probst, Fey

    2008-10-31

    We present a patient with sudden onset progressive shortness of breath and no history of trauma, who rapidly became haemodynamically compromised with a pneumothorax and pleural effusion seen on chest radiograph. He was treated for spontaneous tension pneumothorax but this was soon revealed to be a tension haemopneumothorax. He underwent urgent thoracotomy after persistent bleeding to explore an apical vascular abnormality seen on CT scanning. To our knowledge this is the first such case reported.Aetiology and current approach to spontaneous haemothorax are discussed briefly.

  16. Methanol: A Versatile Fuel for Immediate Use

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Reed, T. B.; Lerner, R. M.

    1973-01-01

    Advocates the large-scale production and use of methanol as a substitute for the diminishing reserves of low-cost petroleum resources. Describes the manufacturing process and advantages of the versatile fuel. (JR)

  17. Environmental information volume: Liquid Phase Methanol (LPMEOH{trademark}) project

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    NONE

    1996-05-01

    The purpose of this project is to demonstrate the commercial viability of the Liquid Phase Methanol Process using coal-derived synthesis gas, a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide. This report describes the proposed actions, alternative to the proposed action, the existing environment at the coal gasification plant at Kingsport, Tennessee, environmental impacts, regulatory requirements, offsite fuel testing, and DME addition to methanol production. Appendices include the air permit application, solid waste permits, water permit, existing air permits, agency correspondence, and Eastman and Air Products literature.

  18. Conversion of Methanol, Ethanol and Propanol over Zeolites

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Ramasamy, Karthikeyan K.; Wang, Yong

    2013-06-04

    Renewable fuel from lignocellulosic biomass has recently attracted more attention due to its environmental and the potential economic benefits over the crude oil [1]. In particular the production of fuel range hydrocarbon (HC) from alcohol generated lots of interest since the alcohol can be produced from biomass via thermochemical [2] (mixed alcohol from gasification derived synthesis gas) as well as the biochemical routes [3] (alcohol fermentation). Along with the development of ZSM5 synthesis and the discovery of methanol-to-gasoline (MTG) process by Mobil in 1970’s triggered lots of interest in research and development arena to understand the reaction mechanisms of alcoholsmore » over zeolites in particular ZSM5 [4]. More detailed research on methanol conversion was extensively reported [5] and in recent times the research work can be found on ethanol [6] and other alcohols as well but comprehensive comparison of catalyst activity and the deactivation mechanism of the conversion of various alcohols over zeolites has not been reported. The experiments were conducted on smaller alcohols such as methanol, ethanol and 1-propanol over HZSM5. The experimental results on the catalyst activity and the catalyst deactivation mechanism will be discussed.« less

  19. Recombinant protein expression in Pichia pastoris strains with an engineered methanol utilization pathway

    PubMed Central

    2012-01-01

    Βackground The methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris has become an important host organism for recombinant protein production and is able to use methanol as a sole carbon source. The methanol utilization pathway describes all the catalytic reactions, which happen during methanol metabolism. Despite the importance of certain key enzymes in this pathway, so far very little is known about possible effects of overexpressing either of these key enzymes on the overall energetic behavior, the productivity and the substrate uptake rate in P. pastoris strains. Results A fast and easy-to-do approach based on batch cultivations with methanol pulses was used to characterize different P. pastoris strains. A strain with MutS phenotype was found to be superior over a strain with Mut+ phenotype in both the volumetric productivity and the efficiency in expressing recombinant horseradish peroxidase C1A. Consequently, either of the enzymes dihydroxyacetone synthase, transketolase or formaldehyde dehydrogenase, which play key roles in the methanol utilization pathway, was co-overexpressed in MutS strains harboring either of the reporter enzymes horseradish peroxidase or Candida antarctica lipase B. Although the co-overexpression of these enzymes did not change the stoichiometric yields of the recombinant MutS strains, significant changes in the specific growth rate, the specific substrate uptake rate and the specific productivity were observed. Co-overexpression of dihydroxyacetone synthase yielded a 2- to 3-fold more efficient conversion of the substrate methanol into product, but also resulted in a reduced volumetric productivity. Co-overexpression of formaldehyde dehydrogenase resulted in a 2-fold more efficient conversion of the substrate into product and at least similar volumetric productivities compared to strains without an engineered methanol utilization pathway, and thus turned out to be a valuable strategy to improve recombinant protein production. Conclusions Co

  20. CO2 to methanol conversion using hydride terminated porous silicon nanoparticles.

    PubMed

    Dasog, M; Kraus, S; Sinelnikov, R; Veinot, J G C; Rieger, B

    2017-03-09

    Porous silicon nanoparticles (Si-NPs) prepared via magnesiothermic reduction were used to convert carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) into methanol. The hydride surface of the silicon nanoparticles acted as a CO 2 reducing reagent without any catalyst at temperatures above 100 °C. The Si nanoparticles were reused up to four times without significant loss in methanol yields. The reduction process was monitored using in situ FT-IR and the materials were characterized using SEM, TEM, NMR, XPS, and powder XRD techniques. The influence of reaction temperature, pressure, and Si-NP concentration on CO 2 reduction were also investigated. Finally, Si particles produced directly from sand were used to convert CO 2 to methanol.

  1. Respiration in vitro: I. Spontaneous activity.

    PubMed

    Hamada, O; Garcia-Rill, E; Skinner, R D

    1992-01-01

    The present report describes respiratory-like activity recorded from intercostal muscles in the neonatal rat in vitro brain stem-spinal cord, rib-attached preparation. In this preparation from 1- to 4-day-old rats, spontaneous rhythmic and synchronized upward movements of the rib cage coincided with the recorded muscle activity. Spontaneous respiratory-like activity showed a frequency in the range of 0.05-0.2 Hz, with single-, double-, and mixed-burst patterns. Spontaneous activity declined over time, but increased in frequency as temperature increased. Multilevel recordings showed a cephalocaudal order of bursting of intercostal muscles. Brain stem transections at the prepontine level did not affect spontaneous frequency, whereas premedullary transections resulted in an increase in spontaneous respiratory frequency. High spinal transections eliminated spontaneous respiratory-like activity. These results suggest that there is a well-organized pontomedullary pattern generator for respiratory-like activity in this preparation, which can be modulated by temperature. The characteristics of these electromyographic (EMG) recordings allow comparison with previous in vitro studies of respiratory-like activity using nerve activity and in vivo studies using EMG activity. These results provide basic information on the spontaneous activity of this preparation as a prelude to the study of the effects of electrical stimulation of the spinal cord to induce respiratory-like activity, as described in the companion article.

  2. Thermodynamic characteristics of the adsorption of 1,3,4-oxadiazoles and 1,2,4,5-tetrazines from methanol and water-methanol solutions onto hypercrosslinked polystyrene

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Saifutdinov, B. R.; Davankov, V. A.; Il'in, M. M.

    2017-03-01

    The thermodynamic characteristics of the adsorption of several 1,3,4-oxadiazoles and 1,2,4,5- tetrazines from methanol and water-methanol solutions onto neutral hypercrosslinked polystyrene with a degree of crosslinking of 150% are determined via high performance liquid chromatography. It is shown how the obtained characteristics depend on the molecular structure of adsorbed substances and the composition of the liquid phase in which adsorption occurs.

  3. Protective effect of crude Curcuma longa and its methanolic extract in alloxanized rabbits.

    PubMed

    Ahmad, Mobasher; Kamran, Sairah Hafeez; Mobasher, Afroze

    2014-01-01

    Curcuma longa (C. longa) is commonly found in different areas of Pakistan. It has been locally utilized as a traditional medicine. The aim of this study was to evaluate the antidiabetic, hepatoprotective and total antioxidant effect of the crude drug and its methanolic extract in rabbits. Diabetes was induced with alloxan (180mg/kg). Two major groups were designed, curative and protective groups. In curative group the crude drug and its methanolic extract was orally administered to the diabetic animals and acute study was performed. On the other hand in protective group the crude drug and its methanolic extract were administered for eight days prior to the diabetes induction. Results indicated that in Curative group the crude and methanolic extract of C. longa significantly improved the levels of serum glucose, serum transaminases and antioxidant activity (AOA). In protective group, serum glucose, serum transaminases were not significantly increased by alloxan, in both crude as well as methanolic extract group. This study shows that C. longa acts as antidiabetic, hepatoprotective and antioxidant in diabetes especially type 1 diabetes.

  4. HYDROGEN BONDING IN THE METHANOL DIMER

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    In this work, two methanol molecules are placed in different arrangements to study hydrogen bonding in carbohydrate materials such as cellulose. Energy was calculated as a function of both hydrogen bond length and angle over wide ranges, using quantum mechanics (QM). The QM wavefunctions are analyze...

  5. Performance of PEM Liquid-Feed Direct Methanol-Air Fuel Cells

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Narayanan, S. R.

    1995-01-01

    A direct methanol-air fuel cell operating at near atmospheric pressure, low-flow rate air, and at temperatures close to 60oC would tremendously enlarge the scope of potential applications. While earlier studies have reported performance with oxygen, the present study focuses on characterizing the performance of a PEM liquid feed direct methanol-air cell consisting of components developed in house. These cells employ Pt-Ru catalyst in the anode, Pt at the cathode and Nafion 117 as the PEM. The effect of pressure, flow rate of air and temperature on cell performance has been studied. With air, the performance level is as high as 0.437 V at 300 mA/cm2 (90oC, 20 psig, and excess air flow) has been attained. Even more significant is the performance level at 60oC, 1 atm and low flow rates of air (3-5 times stoichiometric), which is 0.4 V at 150 mA/cm2. Individual electrode potentials for the methanol and air electrode have been separated and analyzed. Fuel crossover rates and the impact of fuel crossover on the performance of the air electrode have also been measured. The study identifies issues specific to the methanol-air fuel cell and provides a basis for improvement strategies.

  6. Selective Enrichment of a Methanol-Utilizing Consortium Using Pulp and Paper Mill Waste Streams

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mockos, Gregory R.; Smith, William A.; Loge, Frank J.; Thompson, David N.

    Efficient utilization of carbon inputs is critical to the economic viability of the current forest products sector. Input carbon losses occur in various locations within a pulp mill, including losses as volatile organics and wastewater. Opportunities exist to capture this carbon in the form of value-added products such as biodegradable polymers. Wasteactivated sludge from a pulp mill wastewater facility was enriched for 80 days for a methanol-utilizing consortium with the goal of using this consortium to produce biopolymers from methanol-rich pulp mill waste streams. Five enrichment conditions were utilized: three high-methanol streams from the kraft mill foul condensate system, one methanol-amended stream from the mill wastewater plant, and one methanol-only enrichment. Enrichment reactors were operated aerobically in sequencing batch mode at neutral pH and 25°C with a hydraulic residence time and a solids retention time of 4 days. Non-enriched waste activated sludge did not consume methanol or reduce chemical oxygen demand. With enrichment, however, the chemical oxygen demand reduction over 24-h feed/ decant cycles ranged from 79 to 89%, and methanol concentrations dropped below method detection limits. Neither the non-enriched waste-activated sludge nor any of the enrichment cultures accumulated polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) under conditions of nitrogen sufficiency. Similarly, the non-enriched waste activated sludge did not accumulate PHAs under nitrogen-limited conditions. By contrast, enriched cultures accumulated PHAs to nearly 14% on a dry weight basis under nitrogen-limited conditions. This indicates that selectively enriched pulp mill waste activated sludge can serve as an inoculum for PHA production from methanol-rich pulp mill effluents.

  7. Spontaneous Periodic Delamination of Thin Films To Form Crack-Free Metal and Silicon Ribbons with High Stretchability.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Qiuting; Tang, Yichao; Hajfathalian, Maryam; Chen, Chunxu; Turner, Kevin T; Dikin, Dmitriy A; Lin, Gaojian; Yin, Jie

    2017-12-27

    Design of electronic materials with high stretchability is of great importance for realizing soft and conformal electronics. One strategy of realizing stretchable metals and semiconductors is to exploit the buckling of materials bonded to elastomers. However, the level of stretchability is often limited by the cracking and fragmentation of the materials that occurs when constrained buckling occurs while bonded to the substrate. Here, we exploit a failure mechanism, spontaneous buckling-driven periodic delamination, to achieve high stretchability in metal and silicon films that are deposited on prestrained elastomer substrates. We find that both globally periodic buckle-delaminated pattern and ordered cracking patterns over large areas are observed in the spontaneously buckle-delaminated thin films. The geometry of periodic delaminated buckles and cracking periodicity can be predicted by theoretical models. By patterning the films into ribbons with widths smaller than the predicted cracking periodicity, we demonstrate the design of crack-free and spontaneous delaminated ribbons on highly prestrained elastomer substrates, which provides a high stretchability of about 120% and 400% in Si and Au ribbons, respectively. We find that the high stretchability is mainly attributed to the largely relaxed strain in the ribbons via spontaneous buckling-driven delamination, as made evident by the small maximum tensile strain in both ribbons, which is measured to be over 100 times smaller than that of the substrate prestrain.

  8. Simulation assisted characterization of kaolinite-methanol intercalation complexes synthesized using cost-efficient homogenization method

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Makó, Éva; Kovács, András; Ható, Zoltán; Kristóf, Tamás

    2015-12-01

    Recent experimental and simulation findings with kaolinite-methanol intercalation complexes raised the question of the existence of more stable structures in wet and dry state, which has not been fully cleared up yet. Experimental and molecular simulation analyses were used to investigate different types of kaolinite-methanol complexes, revealing their real structures. Cost-efficient homogenization methods were applied to synthesize the kaolinite-dimethyl sulfoxide and kaolinite-urea pre-intercalation complexes of the kaolinite-methanol ones. The tested homogenization method required an order of magnitude lower amount of reagents than the generally applied solution method. The influence of the type of pre-intercalated molecules and of the wetting or drying (at room temperature and at 150 °C) procedure on the intercalation was characterized experimentally by X-ray diffraction and thermal analysis. Consistent with the suggestion from the present simulations, 1.12-nm and 0.83-nm stable kaolinite-methanol complexes were identified. For these complexes, our molecular simulations predict either single-layered structures of mobile methanol/water molecules or non-intercalated structures of methoxy-functionalized kaolinite. We found that the methoxy-modified kaolinite can easily be intercalated by liquid methanol.

  9. Perioperative spontaneous bilateral suprachoroidal hemorrhage

    PubMed Central

    Haridas, Anjana; Litwin, Andre S.; Coker, Timothy

    2011-01-01

    Summary Suprachoroidal hemorrhage is a rare condition, occurring most commonly in the perioperative period, although cases of unilateral spontaneous hemorrhages have been reported. We report a case of bilateral spontaneous suprachoroidal hemorrhage and discuss the potential causative factors. PMID:23362387

  10. Preparation and Characterization of Zirconia-Coated Nanodiamonds as a Pt Catalyst Support for Methanol Electro-Oxidation

    PubMed Central

    Lu, Jing; Zang, Jianbing; Wang, Yanhui; Xu, Yongchao; Xu, Xipeng

    2016-01-01

    Zirconia-coated nanodiamond (ZrO2/ND) electrode material was successfully prepared by one-step isothermal hydrolyzing from ND-dispersed ZrOCl2·8H2O aqueous solution. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy reveals that a highly conformal and uniform ZrO2 shell was deposited on NDs by this simple method. The coating obtained at 90 °C without further calcination was mainly composed of monoclinic nanocrystalline ZrO2 rather than common amorphous Zr(OH)4 clusters. The ZrO2/NDs and pristine ND powder were decorated with platinum (Pt) nanoparticles by electrodeposition from 5 mM chloroplatinic acid solution. The electrochemical studies indicate that Pt/ZrO2/ND catalysts have higher electrocatalytic activity and better stability for methanol oxidation than Pt/ND catalysts in acid. PMID:28335361

  11. LINEAR POLARIZATION OF CLASS I METHANOL MASERS IN MASSIVE STAR-FORMING REGIONS

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Kang, Ji-hyun; Byun, Do-Young; Kim, Kee-Tae

    Class I methanol masers are found to be good tracers of the interaction between outflows from massive young stellar objects with their surrounding media. Although polarization observations of Class II methanol masers have been able to provide information about magnetic fields close to the central (proto)stars, polarization observations of Class I methanol masers are rare, especially at 44 and 95 GHz. We present the results of linear polarization observations of 39 Class I methanol maser sources at 44 and 95 GHz. These two lines are observed simultaneously with one of the 21 m Korean VLBI Network telescopes in single-dish mode.more » Approximately 60% of the observed sources have fractional polarizations of a few percent in at least one transition. This is the first reported detection of linear polarization of the 44 GHz methanol maser. The two maser transitions show similar polarization properties, indicating that they trace similar magnetic environments, although the fraction of the linear polarization is slightly higher at 95 GHz. We discuss the association between the directions of polarization angles and outflows. We also discuss some targets having different polarization properties at both lines, including DR21(OH) and G82.58+0.20, which show the 90° polarization angle flip at 44 GHz.« less

  12. Controlled Synthesis of Pt Nanowires with Ordered Large Mesopores for Methanol Oxidation Reaction

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, Chengwei; Xu, Lianbin; Yan, Yushan; Chen, Jianfeng

    2016-08-01

    Catalysts for methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) are at the heart of key green-energy fuel cell technology. Nanostructured Pt materials are the most popular and effective catalysts for MOR. Controlling the morphology and structure of Pt nanomaterials can provide opportunities to greatly increase their activity and stability. Ordered nanoporous Pt nanowires with controlled large mesopores (15, 30 and 45 nm) are facilely fabricated by chemical reduction deposition from dual templates using porous anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) membranes with silica nanospheres self-assembled in the channels. The prepared mesoporous Pt nanowires are highly active and stable electrocatalysts for MOR. The mesoporous Pt nanowires with 15 nm mesopores exhibit a large electrochemically active surface area (ECSA, 40.5 m2 g-1), a high mass activity (398 mA mg-1) and specific activity (0.98 mA cm-2), and a good If/Ib ratio (1.15), better than the other mesoporous Pt nanowires and the commercial Pt black catalyst.

  13. In situ XPS study of methanol reforming on PdGa near-surface intermetallic phases

    PubMed Central

    Rameshan, Christoph; Stadlmayr, Werner; Penner, Simon; Lorenz, Harald; Mayr, Lukas; Hävecker, Michael; Blume, Raoul; Rocha, Tulio; Teschner, Detre; Knop-Gericke, Axel; Schlögl, Robert; Zemlyanov, Dmitry; Memmel, Norbert; Klötzer, Bernhard

    2012-01-01

    In situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and low-energy ion scattering were used to study the preparation, (thermo)chemical and catalytic properties of 1:1 PdGa intermetallic near-surface phases. Deposition of several multilayers of Ga metal and subsequent annealing to 503–523 K led to the formation of a multi-layered 1:1 PdGa near-surface state without desorption of excess Ga to the gas phase. In general, the composition of the PdGa model system is much more variable than that of its PdZn counterpart, which results in gradual changes of the near-surface composition with increasing annealing or reaction temperature. In contrast to near-surface PdZn, in methanol steam reforming, no temperature region with pronounced CO2 selectivity was observed, which is due to the inability of purely intermetallic PdGa to efficiently activate water. This allows to pinpoint the water-activating role of the intermetallic/support interface and/or of the oxide support in the related supported PdxGa/Ga2O3 systems, which exhibit high CO2 selectivity in a broad temperature range. In contrast, corresponding experiments starting on the purely bimetallic model surface in oxidative methanol reforming yielded high CO2 selectivity already at low temperatures (∼460 K), which is due to efficient O2 activation on PdGa. In situ detected partial and reversible oxidative Ga segregation on intermetallic PdGa is associated with total oxidation of intermediate C1 oxygenates to CO2. PMID:22875996

  14. Determination of antioxidant activities, total phenolic and flavanoid contents in Bougainvillea glabra bracts at various methanol concentrations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Markandan, Shalini; Abdullah, Aminah; Musa, Khalid Hamid; Subramaniam, Vimala; Stockham, Katherine

    2016-11-01

    The Bougainvillea glabra bract was extracted using three ratios of methanolic solvents at 50%, 70% and 100%. In this study, the methanolic extracts of B. glabra bract were evaluated for antioxidant properties and quantification of phenolics and flavanoids. Methanol at 100% was the highest extraction efficiency among three other methanolic with yield value of 38%. The content of phenolics and flavonoids of B. glabra bracts in methanol 100% were 63.92±0.90 GAE mg/100g and 249.53±26.20 QE mg/100g respectively. The antioxidant activity was measured using three different bioassays namely, DPPH, ABTS and FRAP. The results were expressed as mg Trolox equivalent per 100 g where Trolox is a vitamin E analog. Among these methanol extracts, highest antioxidant capacity was observed in the pure methanol concentration. Positive correlation was observed in B. glabra bract between DPPH assay and TPC, r2=1.00. The methanol extract at 100% was rich in polyphenolics, which indicating that the B. glabra bract has the potential to be recommended as a good dietary source of natural antioxidants.

  15. C1 Metabolism in Corynebacterium glutamicum: an Endogenous Pathway for Oxidation of Methanol to Carbon Dioxide

    PubMed Central

    Witthoff, Sabrina; Mühlroth, Alice

    2013-01-01

    Methanol is considered an interesting carbon source in “bio-based” microbial production processes. Since Corynebacterium glutamicum is an important host in industrial biotechnology, in particular for amino acid production, we performed studies of the response of this organism to methanol. The C. glutamicum wild type was able to convert 13C-labeled methanol to 13CO2. Analysis of global gene expression in the presence of methanol revealed several genes of ethanol catabolism to be upregulated, indicating that some of the corresponding enzymes are involved in methanol oxidation. Indeed, a mutant lacking the alcohol dehydrogenase gene adhA showed a 62% reduced methanol consumption rate, indicating that AdhA is mainly responsible for methanol oxidation to formaldehyde. Further studies revealed that oxidation of formaldehyde to formate is catalyzed predominantly by two enzymes, the acetaldehyde dehydrogenase Ald and the mycothiol-dependent formaldehyde dehydrogenase AdhE. The Δald ΔadhE and Δald ΔmshC deletion mutants were severely impaired in their ability to oxidize formaldehyde, but residual methanol oxidation to CO2 was still possible. The oxidation of formate to CO2 is catalyzed by the formate dehydrogenase FdhF, recently identified by us. Similar to the case with ethanol, methanol catabolism is subject to carbon catabolite repression in the presence of glucose and is dependent on the transcriptional regulator RamA, which was previously shown to be essential for expression of adhA and ald. In conclusion, we were able to show that C. glutamicum possesses an endogenous pathway for methanol oxidation to CO2 and to identify the enzymes and a transcriptional regulator involved in this pathway. PMID:24014532

  16. Combinatorial electrochemical synthesis and screening of Pt-WO3 catalysts for electro-oxidation of methanol

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jayaraman, Shrisudersan; Baeck, Sung-Hyeon; Jaramillo, Thomas F.; Kleiman-Shwarsctein, Alan; McFarland, Eric W.

    2005-06-01

    An automated system for high-throughput electrochemical synthesis and screening of fuel cell electro-oxidation catalysts is described. This system consists of an electrode probe that contains counter and reference electrodes that can be positioned inside an array of electrochemical cells created within a polypropylene block. The electrode probe is attached to an automated of X-Y-Z motion system. An externally controlled potentiostat is used to apply the electrochemical potential to the catalyst substrate. The motion and electrochemical control are integrated using a user-friendly software interface. During automated synthesis the deposition potential and/or current may be controlled by a pulse program triggered by the software using a data acquisition board. The screening includes automated experiments to obtain cyclic voltammograms. As an example, a platinum-tungsten oxide (Pt-WO3) library was synthesized and characterized for reactivity towards methanol electro-oxidation.

  17. Bacillus methanolicus sp. nov., a new species of thermotolerant, methanol-utilizing, endospore-forming bacteria.

    PubMed

    Arfman, N; Dijkhuizen, L; Kirchhof, G; Ludwig, W; Schleifer, K H; Bulygina, E S; Chumakov, K M; Govorukhina, N I; Trotsenko, Y A; White, D

    1992-07-01

    The generic position of 14 strains of gram-positive bacteria able to use methanol as a growth substrate was determined. All are obligately aerobic, thermotolerant organisms that are able to grow at temperatures of 35 to 60 degrees C. Nine of the strains produce oval spores at a subterminal-to-central position in slightly swollen rod-shaped cells. DNA-DNA hybridization studies, 5S rRNA sequence analysis, and physiological characteristics revealed that all 14 strains cluster as a well-defined group and form a distinct new genospecies. Analysis of the 16S and 5S rRNA sequences indicated that this new species is distinct from Bacillus brevis but closely related to B. firmus and B. azotoformans. The name proposed for this new species is B. methanolicus. The type strain, PB1, has been deposited in the National Collection of Industrial and Marine Bacteria as NCIMB 13113.

  18. Biotic, abiotic and management controls on methanol fluxes above a temperate mountain grassland

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hörtnagl, Lukas; Bamberger, Ines; Graus, Martin; Ruuskanen, Taina; Schnitzhofer, Ralf; Müller, Markus; Hansel, Armin; Wohlfahrt, Georg

    2010-05-01

    It was previously hypothesised that (i) stomatal conductance and plant growth play a key role in the emission of methanol (Hüve et al. 2007, Niinemets et al. 2004), (ii) methanol fluxes increase with air temperature (Niinemets and Reichstein 2003), and (iii) during cutting (leaf wounding) events and during drying high amounts of methanol are emitted into the atmosphere (Davison et al. 2008). Methanol fluxes were measured above a managed, temperate mountain grassland in Stubai Valley (Tyrol, Austria) during two growing seasons (2008 and 2009). Half-hourly flux values were calculated by means of the disjunct eddy covariance method using 3-dimensional wind-data of a sonic anemometer and mixing ratios of methanol measured with a proton-transfer-reaction-mass-spectrometer (PTR-MS). The surface conductance to water vapour was derived from measured evapotranspiration by inverting the Penman-Monteith combination equation (Wohlfahrt et al., 2009) for dry canopy conditions and used as a proxy for canopyscale stomatal conductance. Methanol fluxes exhibited a clear diurnal cycle with closetozero fluxes during nighttime and emissions, up to 10 nmol m-2 s-1, which followed the diurnal course of radiation and air temperature during daytime. Higher emissions of up to 30 nmol m-2 s-1were observed during cut events and spreading of organic manure. Methanol fluxes showed positive correlations with air temperature, stomatal conductance, and photosynthetically active radiation (PAR), confirming previous studies (e.g. Niinemets and Reichstein 2003). All three previously mentioned factors combined together were able to explain 40% of the observed flux variability. The influence of rapid changes in stomatal conductance on methanol fluxes, pointed out in earlier studies at the leaf-level (e.g. Niinemets and Reichstein 2003), could not be confirmed on ecosystem scale, possibly due to within-canopy gradients in stomatal conductance and the fact that fluxes were determined as half

  19. Selective electrocatalysts toward a prototype of the membraneless direct methanol fuel cell.

    PubMed

    Feng, Yan; Yang, Jinhua; Liu, Hui; Ye, Feng; Yang, Jun

    2014-01-22

    Mastery over the structure of nanomaterials enables control of their properties to enhance their performance for a given application. Herein we demonstrate the design and fabrication of Pt-based nanomaterials with enhanced catalytic activity and superior selectivity toward the reactions in direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) upon the deep understanding of the mechanisms of these electrochemical reactions. In particular, the ternary Au@Ag2S-Pt nanocomposites display superior methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) selectivity due to the electronic coupling effect among different domains of the nanocomposites, while the cage-bell structured Pt-Ru nanoparticles exhibit excellent methanol tolerance for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) at the cathode because of the differential diffusion of methanol and oxygen in the porous Ru shell of the cage-bell nanoparticles. The good catalytic selectivity of these Pt-based nanomaterials via structural construction enables a DMFC to be built without a proton exchange membrane between the fuel electrode and the oxygen electrode.

  20. Selective electrocatalysts toward a prototype of the membraneless direct methanol fuel cell

    PubMed Central

    Feng, Yan; Yang, Jinhua; Liu, Hui; Ye, Feng; Yang, Jun

    2014-01-01

    Mastery over the structure of nanomaterials enables control of their properties to enhance their performance for a given application. Herein we demonstrate the design and fabrication of Pt-based nanomaterials with enhanced catalytic activity and superior selectivity toward the reactions in direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) upon the deep understanding of the mechanisms of these electrochemical reactions. In particular, the ternary Au@Ag2S-Pt nanocomposites display superior methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) selectivity due to the electronic coupling effect among different domains of the nanocomposites, while the cage-bell structured Pt-Ru nanoparticles exhibit excellent methanol tolerance for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) at the cathode because of the differential diffusion of methanol and oxygen in the porous Ru shell of the cage-bell nanoparticles. The good catalytic selectivity of these Pt-based nanomaterials via structural construction enables a DMFC to be built without a proton exchange membrane between the fuel electrode and the oxygen electrode. PMID:24448514

  1. WATER AND METHANOL MASER ACTIVITIES IN THE NGC 2024 FIR 6 REGION

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Choi, Minho; Kang, Miju; Byun, Do-Young

    The NGC 2024 FIR 6 region was observed in the water maser line at 22 GHz and the methanol class I maser lines at 44, 95, and 133 GHz. The water maser spectra displayed several velocity components and month-scale time variabilities. Most of the velocity components may be associated with FIR 6n, while one component was associated with FIR 4. A typical lifetime of the water maser velocity components is about eight months. The components showed velocity fluctuations with a typical drift rate of about 0.01 km s{sup -1} day{sup -1}. The methanol class I masers were detected toward FIRmore » 6. The methanol emission is confined within a narrow range around the systemic velocity of the FIR 6 cloud core. The methanol masers suggest the existence of shocks driven by either the expanding H II region of FIR 6c or the outflow of FIR 6n.« less

  2. Development of soil chemical and biological properties in the initial stages of post-mining deposition sites.

    PubMed

    Monokrousos, Nikolaos; Boutsis, George; Diamantopoulos, John D

    2014-12-01

    The aim of this study was to assess the seasonal development of the physicochemical (pH, organic C, organic N, extractable P, Ca(2+), Mg(2+)) and biological soil properties (microbial biomass, activities of urease, dehydrogenase and alkaline phosphatase) of the topsoil of mine deposition sites that differed based on the material used exclusively for their creation: (a) marlstones, (b) red-grey formations (RGF), and (c) fly ash (FA), during the first year after their creation. Our hypothesis was that all deposition sites, regardless the material they consist of, present equal opportunities for the establishment of spontaneous vegetation. All macronutrients concentrations (P, Ca(2+), and Mg(2+)) remained constant with time and were found to be higher in the FA sites. Organic C, organic N, all enzyme activities, and microbial biomass were higher in the RGF and marl depositions, with marl sites presenting the highest values. All values of biological variables, with the exception of alkaline phosphatase, increased with time. The alkaline environment along with the slow improvement in soil biological properties of the FA sites seemed to present the most unfavorable conditions for spontaneous vegetation growth. On the contrary, the other two spoil materials presented significant improvement in the initial stages of soil formation in terms of soil functionality.

  3. Chemical Aspects of Astrophysically Observed Extraterrestrial Methanol, Hydrocarbon Derivatives, and Ions.

    PubMed

    Olah, George A; Mathew, Thomas; Prakash, G K Surya; Rasul, Golam

    2016-02-10

    Astrophysically observed extraterrestrial molecular matter contains, besides hydrogen and water, methane and methanol as the most abundant species. Feasible pathways and chemical aspects of their formation as well as of derived hydrocarbon homologues and their ions (carbocations and carbanions) are discussed on the basis of observed similarities with our studied terrestrial chemistry. The preferred pathway for converting extraterrestrial methane according to Ali et al. is based on CH5(+) and Olah's related nonclassical carbonium ion chemistry. On the basis of the observed higher reactivity of methanol compared with methane in various chemical reactions, a feasible new pathway is proposed for the conversion of extraterrestrial methanol to hydrocarbons, their derivatives, and carbocations together with a possible connection with methonium ion-based chemistry.

  4. Automated MALDI matrix deposition method with inkjet printing for imaging mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Baluya, Dodge L; Garrett, Timothy J; Yost, Richard A

    2007-09-01

    Careful matrix deposition on tissue samples for matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) is critical for producing reproducible analyte ion signals. Traditional methods for matrix deposition are often considered an art rather than a science, with significant sample-to-sample variability. Here we report an automated method for matrix deposition, employing a desktop inkjet printer (<$200) with 5760 x 1440 dpi resolution and a six-channel piezoelectric head that delivers 3 pL/drop. The inkjet printer tray, designed to hold CDs and DVDs, was modified to hold microscope slides. Empty ink cartridges were filled with MALDI matrix solutions, including DHB in methanol/water (70:30) at concentrations up to 40 mg/mL. Various samples (including rat brain tissue sections and standards of small drug molecules) were prepared using three deposition methods (electrospray, airbrush, inkjet). A linear ion trap equipped with an intermediate-pressure MALDI source was used for analyses. Optical microscopic examination showed that matrix crystals were formed evenly across the sample. There was minimal background signal after storing the matrix in the cartridges over a 6-month period. Overall, the mass spectral images gathered from inkjet-printed tissue specimens were of better quality and more reproducible than from specimens prepared by the electrospray and airbrush methods.

  5. Fuel and power coproduction: The Liquid Phase Methanol (LPMEOH{trademark}) process demonstration at Kingsport

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Drown, D.P.; Brown, W.R.; Heydorn, E.C.

    1997-12-31

    The Liquid Phase Methanol (LPMEOH{trademark}) process uses a slurry bubble column reactor to convert syngas (primarily a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen) to methanol. Because of its superior heat management, the process is able to be designed to directly handle the carbon monoxide (CO)-rich syngas characteristic of the gasification of coal, petroleum coke, residual oil, wastes, or of other hydrocarbon feedstocks. When added to an integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) power plant, the LPMEOH{trademark} process converts a portion of the CO-rich syngas produced by the gasifier to methanol, and the remainder of the unconverted gas is used to fuelmore » the gas turbine combined-cycle power plant. The LPMEOH{trademark} process has the flexibility to operate in a daily electricity demand load-following manner. Coproduction of power and methanol via IGCC and the LPMEOH{trademark} process provides opportunities for energy storage for electrical demand peak shaving, clean fuel for export, and/or chemical methanol sales.« less

  6. Room temperature stable COx-free H2 production from methanol with magnesium oxide nanophotocatalysts

    PubMed Central

    Liu, Zhengqing; Yin, Zongyou; Cox, Casandra; Bosman, Michel; Qian, Xiaofeng; Li, Na; Zhao, Hongyang; Du, Yaping; Li, Ju; Nocera, Daniel G.

    2016-01-01

    Methanol, which contains 12.6 weight percent hydrogen, is a good hydrogen storage medium because it is a liquid at room temperature. However, by releasing the hydrogen, undesirable CO and/or CO2 byproducts are formed during catalytic fuel reforming. We show that alkaline earth metal oxides, in our case MgO nanocrystals, exhibit stable photocatalytic activity for CO/CO2-free H2 production from liquid methanol at room temperature. The performance of MgO nanocrystals toward methanol dehydrogenation increases with time and approaches ~320 μmol g−1 hour−1 after a 2-day photocatalytic reaction. The COx-free H2 production is attributed to methanol photodecomposition to formaldehyde, photocatalyzed by surface electronic states of unique monodispersed, porous MgO nanocrystals, which were synthesized with a novel facile colloidal chemical strategy. An oxygen plasma treatment allows for the removal of organic surfactants, producing MgO nanocrystals that are well dispersible in methanol. PMID:28508036

  7. Visual evoked potentials in patients after methanol poisoning.

    PubMed

    Urban, Pavel; Zakharov, Sergey; Diblík, Pavel; Pelclová, Daniela; Ridzoň, Petr

    2016-01-01

    We report the results of the visual evoked potentials (VEP) examination in patients after severe poisoning by methanol. The group of 47 patients (38 males and 9 females) was assembled out of persons who survived an outbreak of poisoning by the methanol adulterated alcohol beverages, which happened in the Czech Republic in 2012-2013. The visual evoked potentials examination was performed using monocular checkerboard pattern-reversal stimulation. Two criteria of abnormality were chosen: missing evoked response, and wave P1 latency > 117 ms. Non-parametric statistical methods (median, range, and the median test) were used to analyze factors influencing the VEP abnormality. The visual evoked potential was abnormal in 20 patients (43%), 5 of them had normal visual acuity on the Snellen chart. The VEP abnormality did not correlate significantly with initial serum concentrations of methanol, formic acid or lactate; however, it showed statistically significant inverse relation to the initial serum pH: the subgroup with the abnormal VEP had significantly lower median pH in comparison with the subgroup with the normal VEP (7.16 vs. 7.34, p = 0.04). The abnormality was not related to chronic alcohol abuse. The visual evoked potentials examination appeared sensitive enough to detected even subclinical impairment of the optic system. Metabolic acidosis is likely to be the key factor related to the development of visual damage induced by methanol. The examination performed with a delay of 1-9 months after the poisoning documented the situation relatively early after the event. It is considered as a baseline for the planned long-term follow-up of the patients, which will make it possible to assess the dynamics of the observed changes, their reversibility, and the occurrence of potential late sequelae. This work is available in Open Access model and licensed under a CC BY-NC 3.0 PL license.

  8. Combinatorial discovery of new methanol-tolerant non-noble metal cathode electrocatalysts for direct methanol fuel cells.

    PubMed

    Yu, Jong-Sung; Kim, Min-Sik; Kim, Jung Ho

    2010-12-14

    Combinatorial synthesis and screening were used to identify methanol-tolerant non-platinum cathode electrocatalysts for use in direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs). Oxygen reduction consumes protons at the surface of DMFC cathode catalysts. In combinatorial screening, this pH change allows one to differentiate active catalysts using fluorescent acid-base indicators. Combinatorial libraries of carbon-supported catalyst compositions containing Ru, Mo, W, Sn, and Se were screened. Ternary and quaternary compositions containing Ru, Sn, Mo, Se were more active than the "standard" Alonso-Vante catalyst, Ru(3)Mo(0.08)Se(2), when tested in liquid-feed DMFCs. Physical characterization of the most active catalysts by powder X-ray diffraction, gas adsorption, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy revealed that the predominant crystalline phase was hexagonal close-packed (hcp) ruthenium, and showed a surface mostly covered with oxide. The best new catalyst, Ru(7.0)Sn(1.0)Se(1.0), was significantly more active than Ru(3)Se(2)Mo(0.08), even though the latter contained smaller particles.

  9. Optical antenna enhanced spontaneous emission

    PubMed Central

    Eggleston, Michael S.; Messer, Kevin; Zhang, Liming; Yablonovitch, Eli; Wu, Ming C.

    2015-01-01

    Atoms and molecules are too small to act as efficient antennas for their own emission wavelengths. By providing an external optical antenna, the balance can be shifted; spontaneous emission could become faster than stimulated emission, which is handicapped by practically achievable pump intensities. In our experiments, InGaAsP nanorods emitting at ∼200 THz optical frequency show a spontaneous emission intensity enhancement of 35× corresponding to a spontaneous emission rate speedup ∼115×, for antenna gap spacing, d = 40 nm. Classical antenna theory predicts ∼2,500× spontaneous emission speedup at d ∼ 10 nm, proportional to 1/d2. Unfortunately, at d < 10 nm, antenna efficiency drops below 50%, owing to optical spreading resistance, exacerbated by the anomalous skin effect (electron surface collisions). Quantum dipole oscillations in the emitter excited state produce an optical ac equivalent circuit current, Io = qω|xo|/d, feeding the antenna-enhanced spontaneous emission, where q|xo| is the dipole matrix element. Despite the quantum-mechanical origin of the drive current, antenna theory makes no reference to the Purcell effect nor to local density of states models. Moreover, plasmonic effects are minor at 200 THz, producing only a small shift of antenna resonance frequency. PMID:25624503

  10. Optical antenna enhanced spontaneous emission

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Eggleston, Michael S.; Messer, Kevin; Zhang, Liming

    Atoms and molecules are too small to act as efficient antennas for their own emission wavelengths. By providing an external optical antenna, the balance can be shifted; spontaneous emission could become faster than stimulated emission, which is handicapped by practically achievable pump intensities. In our experiments, InGaAsP nanorods emitting at ~200 THz optical frequency show a spontaneous emission intensity enhancement of 35 × corresponding to a spontaneous emission rate speedup ~115 ×, for antenna gap spacing, d = 40 nm. Classical antenna theory predicts ~2,500 × spontaneous emission speedup at d ~10 nm, proportional to 1/d 2. Unfortunately, at dmore » < 10 nm, antenna efficiency drops below 50%, owing to optical spreading resistance, exacerbated by the anomalous skin effect (electron surface collisions). Quantum dipole oscillations in the emitter excited state produce an optical ac equivalent circuit current, I(o) = qω|x(o)|/d, feeding the antenna-enhanced spontaneous emission, where q|x(o)| is the dipole matrix element. Despite the quantum-mechanical origin of the drive current, antenna theory makes no reference to the Purcell effect nor to local density of states models. Additionally, plasmonic effects are minor at 200 THz, producing only a small shift of antenna resonance frequency.« less

  11. Optical antenna enhanced spontaneous emission.

    PubMed

    Eggleston, Michael S; Messer, Kevin; Zhang, Liming; Yablonovitch, Eli; Wu, Ming C

    2015-02-10

    Atoms and molecules are too small to act as efficient antennas for their own emission wavelengths. By providing an external optical antenna, the balance can be shifted; spontaneous emission could become faster than stimulated emission, which is handicapped by practically achievable pump intensities. In our experiments, InGaAsP nanorods emitting at ∼ 200 THz optical frequency show a spontaneous emission intensity enhancement of 35 × corresponding to a spontaneous emission rate speedup ∼ 115 ×, for antenna gap spacing, d = 40 nm. Classical antenna theory predicts ∼ 2,500 × spontaneous emission speedup at d ∼ 10 nm, proportional to 1/d(2). Unfortunately, at d < 10 nm, antenna efficiency drops below 50%, owing to optical spreading resistance, exacerbated by the anomalous skin effect (electron surface collisions). Quantum dipole oscillations in the emitter excited state produce an optical ac equivalent circuit current, I(o) = qω|x(o)|/d, feeding the antenna-enhanced spontaneous emission, where q|x(o)| is the dipole matrix element. Despite the quantum-mechanical origin of the drive current, antenna theory makes no reference to the Purcell effect nor to local density of states models. Moreover, plasmonic effects are minor at 200 THz, producing only a small shift of antenna resonance frequency.

  12. Optical antenna enhanced spontaneous emission

    DOE PAGES

    Eggleston, Michael S.; Messer, Kevin; Zhang, Liming; ...

    2015-01-26

    Atoms and molecules are too small to act as efficient antennas for their own emission wavelengths. By providing an external optical antenna, the balance can be shifted; spontaneous emission could become faster than stimulated emission, which is handicapped by practically achievable pump intensities. In our experiments, InGaAsP nanorods emitting at ~200 THz optical frequency show a spontaneous emission intensity enhancement of 35 × corresponding to a spontaneous emission rate speedup ~115 ×, for antenna gap spacing, d = 40 nm. Classical antenna theory predicts ~2,500 × spontaneous emission speedup at d ~10 nm, proportional to 1/d 2. Unfortunately, at dmore » < 10 nm, antenna efficiency drops below 50%, owing to optical spreading resistance, exacerbated by the anomalous skin effect (electron surface collisions). Quantum dipole oscillations in the emitter excited state produce an optical ac equivalent circuit current, I(o) = qω|x(o)|/d, feeding the antenna-enhanced spontaneous emission, where q|x(o)| is the dipole matrix element. Despite the quantum-mechanical origin of the drive current, antenna theory makes no reference to the Purcell effect nor to local density of states models. Additionally, plasmonic effects are minor at 200 THz, producing only a small shift of antenna resonance frequency.« less

  13. XoxF Is Required for Expression of Methanol Dehydrogenase in Methylobacterium extorquens AM1 ▿

    PubMed Central

    Skovran, Elizabeth; Palmer, Alexander D.; Rountree, Austin M.; Good, Nathan M.; Lidstrom, Mary E.

    2011-01-01

    In Gram-negative methylotrophic bacteria, the first step in methylotrophic growth is the oxidation of methanol to formaldehyde in the periplasm by methanol dehydrogenase. In most organisms studied to date, this enzyme consists of the MxaF and MxaI proteins, which make up the large and small subunits of this heterotetrameric enzyme. The Methylobacterium extorquens AM1 genome contains two homologs of MxaF, XoxF1 and XoxF2, which are ∼50% identical to MxaF and ∼90% identical to each other. It was previously reported that xoxF is not required for methanol growth in M. extorquens AM1, but here we show that when both xoxF homologs are absent, strains are unable to grow in methanol medium and lack methanol dehydrogenase activity. We demonstrate that these defects result from the loss of gene expression from the mxa promoter and suggest that XoxF is part of a complex regulatory cascade involving the 2-component systems MxcQE and MxbDM, which are required for the expression of the methanol dehydrogenase genes. PMID:21873495

  14. Potential of Immobilized Whole-Cell Methylocella tundrae as a Biocatalyst for Methanol Production from Methane.

    PubMed

    Mardina, Primata; Li, Jinglin; Patel, Sanjay K S; Kim, In-Won; Lee, Jung-Kul; Selvaraj, Chandrabose

    2016-07-28

    Methanol is a versatile compound that can be biologically synthesized from methane (CH4) by methanotrophs using a low energy-consuming and environment-friendly process. Methylocella tundrae is a type II methanotroph that can utilize CH4 as a carbon and energy source. Methanol is produced in the first step of the metabolic pathway of methanotrophs and is further oxidized into formaldehyde. Several parameters must be optimized to achieve high methanol production. In this study, we optimized the production conditions and process parameters for methanol production. The optimum incubation time, substrate, pH, agitation rate, temperature, phosphate buffer and sodium formate concentration, and cell concentration were determined to be 24 h, 50% CH4, pH 7, 150 rpm, 30°C, 100 mM and 50 mM, and 18 mg/ml, respectively. The optimization of these parameters significantly improved methanol production from 0.66 to 5.18 mM. The use of alginate-encapsulated cells resulted in enhanced methanol production stability and reusability of cells after five cycles of reuse under batch culture conditions.

  15. Creatinine elevation associated with nitromethane exposure: a marker of potential methanol toxicity.

    PubMed

    Cook, Matthew D; Clark, Richard F

    2007-10-01

    Nitromethane, methanol, and oil are the common components of radio-controlled (R/C) vehicle fuels. Nitromethane can cause a false elevation of serum creatinine concentration as measured by the widely used Jaffe colorimetric method. We gathered data from our poison control system and from previously published case reports to see if a correlation exists between serum methanol concentrations and spuriously elevated serum creatinine concentrations after human exposures to R/C fuel. The California Poison Control System (CPCS) computerized database was queried for all cases of human exposure to R/C vehicle fuel reported between December 1, 2002 and December 1, 2004. Serum creatinine and methanol concentrations were recorded when available, as was the method used to determine serum creatinine. A MEDLINE search was used to obtain previously published cases of human nitromethane exposure associated with falsely elevated creatinine concentrations. During the 2-year period, serum creatinine concentrations were recorded in 7 of 26 R/C fuel exposures (all ingestions), and 6 of these were abnormal (range of 1.9-11.5 mg/dL). In this series, the higher the serum creatinine concentration measured by Jaffe method, the higher the serum methanol concentration. The MEDLINE search yielded data from six previously published case reports on this topic. The data from these case reports seem to follow the trend seen in our case series. These data suggest that a spuriously elevated serum creatinine (by Jaffe method) may have value as an early surrogate marker of methanol poisoning in those who ingest R/C fuel. Also, the degree to which the serum creatinine is elevated may indicate the severity of methanol poisoning.

  16. (14)C METHANOL INCORPORATION INTO DNA AND SPECIFIC PROTEINS OF ORGANOGENESIS STAGE MOUSE EMBRYOS IN VITRO

    EPA Science Inventory

    Methanol (MeOH), a widely used industrial solvent and alternative motor fuel, has been shown to be mutagenic and teratogenic. We have demonstrated that methanol is teratogenic in mice in vivo and causes dysmorphogenesis in cultured organogenesis stage mouse embryos. Methanol is ...

  17. First Detection of Methanol in a Class O Protostellar Disk

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Velusamy, T.; Langer, William D.; Goldsmith, Paul F.

    2000-01-01

    We report the detection of emission from methanol in a compact source coincident with the position of the L1157 infrared source, which we attribute to molecules in the disk surrounding this young, Class O protostellar object. In addition, we identify a spectral feature in the outflow corresponding to an ethanol transition. Using the Caltech Owens Valley Millimeter Array with a synthesized beam size of 2", we detect spatially unresolved methanol in the 2(sub k) - 1(sub k) transitions at 3mm, which is coincident in position with the peak of the continuum emission. The gas phase methanol could be located in the central region (< 100 AU radius) of a flat disk, or in an extended heated surface layer (approx. 200 AU radius) of a flared disk. The fractional abundance of methanol X(CH3OH) is approx. 2 x l0(exp -8) in the flat disk model, and 3 x l0(exp -7) for the flared disk. The fractional abundance is small in the disk as a whole, but considerably larger in the warm portions. This difference indicates that substantial chemical processing probably takes place in the disk via depletion and desorption. The methanol desorbed from the grains in the warm surface layers returns to the icy grain mantles in the cooler interior of the disk, where it is available to become part of the composition of solar system-like bodies, such as comets, formed in the outer circumstellar region. This first millimeter-wavelength detection of a complex organic molecule in a young protostellar disk has implications for disk structure and chemical evolution and for potential use as a temperature probe. The research of TV and WL was conducted at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology with support from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

  18. Spontaneous combustion of hydrogen

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Nusselt, Wilhelm; Pothmann, PH

    1923-01-01

    It is shown by the author's experiments that hydrogen which escapes to the atmosphere through openings in the system may burn spontaneously if it contains dust. Purely thermal reasoning can not account for the combustion. It seems to be rather an electrical ignition. In order to determine whether the cause of the spontaneous ignition was thermo-chemical, thermo-mechanical, or thermo-electrical, the experiments in this paper were performed.

  19. Reversible Activation of Halophilic β-lactamase from Methanol-Induced Inactive Form: Contrast to Irreversible Inactivation of Non-Halophilic Counterpart.

    PubMed

    Tokunaga, Hiroko; Maeda, Junpei; Arakawa, Tsutomu; Tokunaga, Masao

    2017-06-01

    Effects of a water-miscible organic solvent, methanol, on the structure and activity of halophilic β-lactamase derived from Chromohalobacter sp.560 (HaBla), were investigated by means of circular dichroism (CD) measurement and enzymatic activity determination. Beta-lactamase activity was enhanced about 1.2-fold in the presence of 10-20% methanol. CD measurement of HaBla revealed different structures depending on the methanol concentration: native-like active form (Form I) in 10-20% methanol and methanol-induced inactive form at higher concentration (Form II in 40-60% and Form III in 75-80% methanol). Incubation of HaBla with 40% methanol led to the complete loss of activity within ~80 min accompanied by the formation of Form II, whose activity was recovered promptly up to ~80% of full activity upon dilution of the methanol concentration to 10%. In addition, when the protein concentration was sufficiently high (e.g., 0.7 mg/ml), HaBla activity of Form III in 75% methanol could be recovered in the same way (with slightly slower recovery rate), upon dilution of the methanol concentration. In contrast, non-halophilic β-lactamase from Escherichia coli K12 strain MG1655 (EcBla) was irreversibly denatured in the presence of 40% methanol. HaBla showed remarkable ability to renature from the methanol-induced inactive states.

  20. Gradients in microbial methanol uptake: productive coastal upwelling waters to oligotrophic gyres in the Atlantic Ocean

    PubMed Central

    Dixon, Joanna L; Sargeant, Stephanie; Nightingale, Philip D; Colin Murrell, J

    2013-01-01

    Methanol biogeochemistry and its importance as a carbon source in seawater is relatively unexplored. We report the first microbial methanol carbon assimilation rates (k) in productive coastal upwelling waters of up to 0.117±0.002 d−1 (∼10 nmol l−1 d−1). On average, coastal upwelling waters were 11 times greater than open ocean northern temperate (NT) waters, eight times greater than gyre waters and four times greater than equatorial upwelling (EU) waters; suggesting that all upwelling waters upon reaching the surface (⩽20 m), contain a microbial population that uses a relatively high amount of carbon (0.3–10 nmol l−1 d−1), derived from methanol, to support their growth. In open ocean Atlantic regions, microbial uptake of methanol into biomass was significantly lower, ranging between 0.04–0.68 nmol l−1 d−1. Microbes in the Mauritanian coastal upwelling used up to 57% of the total methanol for assimilation of the carbon into cells, compared with an average of 12% in the EU, and 1% in NT and gyre waters. Several methylotrophic bacterial species were identified from open ocean Atlantic waters using PCR amplification of mxaF encoding methanol dehydrogenase, the key enzyme in bacterial methanol oxidation. These included Methylophaga sp., Burkholderiales sp., Methylococcaceae sp., Ancylobacter aquaticus, Paracoccus denitrificans, Methylophilus methylotrophus, Methylobacterium oryzae, Hyphomicrobium sp. and Methylosulfonomonas methylovora. Statistically significant correlations for upwelling waters between methanol uptake into cells and both chlorophyll a concentrations and methanol oxidation rates suggest that remotely sensed chlorophyll a images, in these productive areas, could be used to derive total methanol biological loss rates, a useful tool for atmospheric and marine climatically active gas modellers, and air–sea exchange scientists. PMID:23178665

  1. Online Monitoring of Methanol Electro-Oxidation Reactions by Ambient Mass Spectrometry

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cheng, Si; Wu, Qiuhua; Dewald, Howard D.; Chen, Hao

    2017-06-01

    Online detection of methanol electro-oxidation reaction products [e.g., formaldehyde (HCHO)] by mass spectrometry (MS) is challenging, owing to the high salt content and extreme pH of the electrolyte solution as well as the difficulty in ionizing the reaction products. Herein we present an online ambient mass spectrometric approach for analyzing HCHO generated from methanol electro-oxidation, taking the advantage of high salt tolerance of desorption electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (DESI-MS). It was found that HCHO can be detected as PhNHNH+=CH2 ( m/z 121) by DESI after online derivatization with PhNHNH2. With this approach, the analysis of HCHO from methanol electro-oxidation by MS was carried out not only in acidic condition but also in alkaline media for the first time. Efficiencies of different electrodes for methanol oxidation at different pHs were also evaluated. Our results show that Au electrode produces more HCHO than Pt-based electrodes at alkaline pH, while the latter have higher yields at acidic solution. The presented methodology would be of great value for elucidating fuel cell reaction mechanisms and for screening ideal fuel cell electrode materials. [Figure not available: see fulltext.

  2. Methanol induces cytosolic calcium variations, membrane depolarization and ethylene production in arabidopsis and tobacco.

    PubMed

    Tran, Daniel; Dauphin, Aurélien; Meimoun, Patrice; Kadono, Takashi; Nguyen, Hieu T H; Arbelet-Bonnin, Delphine; Zhao, Tingting; Errakhi, Rafik; Lehner, Arnaud; Kawano, Tomonori; Bouteau, François

    2018-03-20

    Methanol is a volatile organic compound released from plants through the action of pectin methylesterases (PMEs), which demethylesterify cell wall pectins. Plant PMEs play a role in developmental processes but also in responses to herbivory and infection by fungal or bacterial pathogens. However, molecular mechanisms that explain how methanol could affect plant defences remain poorly understood. Using cultured cells and seedlings from Arabidopsis thaliana and tobacco BY2 expressing the apoaequorin gene, allowing quantification of cytosolic Ca2+, a reactive oxygen species (ROS) probe (CLA, Cypridina luciferin analogue) and electrophysiological techniques, we followed early plant cell responses to exogenously supplied methanol applied as a liquid or as volatile. Methanol induces cytosolic Ca2+ variations that involve Ca2+ influx through the plasma membrane and Ca2+ release from internal stores. Our data further suggest that these Ca2+ variations could interact with different ROS and support a signalling pathway leading to well known plant responses to pathogens such as plasma membrane depolarization through anion channel regulation and ethylene synthesis. Methanol is not only a by-product of PME activities, and our data suggest that [Ca2+]cyt variations could participate in signalling processes induced by methanol upstream of plant defence responses.

  3. Synthesis of Pd₃Co₁@Pt/C core-shell catalysts for methanol-tolerant cathodes of direct methanol fuel cells.

    PubMed

    Aricò, Antonino S; Stassi, Alessandro; D'Urso, Claudia; Sebastián, David; Baglio, Vincenzo

    2014-08-18

    A composite Pd-based electrocatalyst consisting of a surface layer of Pt (5 wt.%) supported on a core Pd3Co1 alloy (95 wt.%) and dispersed as nanoparticles on a carbon black support (50 wt.% metal content) was prepared by using a sulphite-complex route. The structure, composition, morphology, and surface properties of the catalyst were investigated by XRD, XRF, TEM, XPS and low-energy ion scattering spectroscopy (LE-ISS). The catalyst showed an enrichment of Pt on the surface and a smaller content of Co in the outermost layers. These characteristics allow a decrease the Pt content in direct methanol fuel cell cathode electrodes (from 1 to 0.06 mg cm(-2)) without significant decay in performance, due also to a better tolerance to methanol permeated through the polymer electrolyte membrane. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  4. The Direct Methanol Liquid-Feed Fuel Cell

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Halpert, Gerald

    1997-01-01

    Until the early 1990's the idea of a practical direct methanol fuel cell from transportation and other applications was just that, an idea. Several types of fuel cells that operate under near ambient conditions were under development.

  5. PATHOGENESIS OF METHANOL-INDUCED CRANIOFACIAL DEFECTS IN C57BL/6J MICE

    EPA Science Inventory

    BACKGROUND: Methanol administered to C57BL/6J mice during gastrulation causes severe craniofacial dysmorphology. We describe dysmorphogenesis, cell death, cell cycle assessment, and effects on development of cranial ganglia and nerves observed following administration of methanol...

  6. Technical and economical evaluation of carbon dioxide capture and conversion to methanol process

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Putra, Aditya Anugerah; Juwari, Handogo, Renanto

    2017-05-01

    Phenomenon of global warming, which is indicated by increasing of earth's surface temperature, is caused by high level of greenhouse gases level in the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide, which increases year by year because of high demand of energy, gives the largest contribution in greenhouse gases. One of the most applied solution to mitigate carbon dioxide level is post-combustion carbon capture technology. Although the technology can absorb up to 90% of carbon dioxide produced, some worries occur that captured carbon dioxide that is stored underground will be released over time. Utilizing captured carbon dioxide could be a promising solution. Captured carbon dioxide can be converted into more valuable material, such as methanol. This research will evaluate the conversion process of captured carbon dioxide to methanol, technically and economically. From the research, it is found that technically methanol can be made from captured carbon dioxide. Product gives 25.6905 kg/s flow with 99.69% purity of methanol. Economical evaluation of the whole conversion process shows that the process is economically feasible. The capture and conversion process needs 176,101,157.69 per year for total annual cost and can be overcome by revenue gained from methanol product sales.

  7. Novel anode catalyst for direct methanol fuel cells.

    PubMed

    Basri, S; Kamarudin, S K; Daud, W R W; Yaakob, Z; Kadhum, A A H

    2014-01-01

    PtRu catalyst is a promising anodic catalyst for direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) but the slow reaction kinetics reduce the performance of DMFCs. Therefore, this study attempts to improve the performance of PtRu catalysts by adding nickel (Ni) and iron (Fe). Multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) are used to increase the active area of the catalyst and to improve the catalyst performance. Electrochemical analysis techniques, such as energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDX), X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), are used to characterize the kinetic parameters of the hybrid catalyst. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) is used to investigate the effects of adding Fe and Ni to the catalyst on the reaction kinetics. Additionally, chronoamperometry (CA) tests were conducted to study the long-term performance of the catalyst for catalyzing the methanol oxidation reaction (MOR). The binding energies of the reactants and products are compared to determine the kinetics and potential surface energy for methanol oxidation. The FESEM analysis results indicate that well-dispersed nanoscale (2-5 nm) PtRu particles are formed on the MWCNTs. Finally, PtRuFeNi/MWCNT improves the reaction kinetics of anode catalysts for DMFCs and obtains a mass current of 31 A g(-1) catalyst.

  8. Desorption induced by solar wind electrons analogs in methanol ice

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bergantini, A. S.; Pilling, Sergio; Andrade, Diana; Boechat-Roberty, Heloisa Maria; Rocco, Maria Luiza M.

    2012-07-01

    Methanol (CH _{3}OH) has been detected in several environments in space, such as comets, asteroids, grains of interstellar dust and protostars forming regions such as W33A and RAFGL 7009. CH _{3}OH is the most abundant molecule (after H _{2}O) found in solid state in these objects. The action of ionizing agents in such environments induces changes in methanol ice which lead to the formation ionic species, reactive radicals and new compounds. In this experiment, frozen methanol (142 K) was irradiated with an electron beam (energies from 650 to 1500 eV) inside an ultra-high vacuum chamber (˜ 1×10^{-10} mbar), at the Surface Chemistry Laboratory of Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (LaQuiS/ UFRJ). The beam simulates the action of electrons from solar wind in frozen surfaces like as comets, asteroids and moons. Results show the desorption of several new ionized species such as (CH _{3}OH)H ^{+}, H _{2}COH ^{+}, C _{2}H _{3} ^{+}, HCO ^{+}, CO ^{+}, O ^{+}, C ^{+}, H ^{+}. The individual desorbed ion rate was calculated. The determined half-life of frozen methanol in Earth orbit due to the electron bombardment was about 4.2 yr. The ionic desorption rate is an important parameter in surface chemistry, since these parameters are often approximated in chemical evolution models of astrophysical environments, due to the lack of laboratory data.

  9. Methanol-based cadaverine production by genetically engineered Bacillus methanolicus strains

    PubMed Central

    Nærdal, Ingemar; Pfeifenschneider, Johannes; Brautaset, Trygve; Wendisch, Volker F

    2015-01-01

    Methanol is regarded as an attractive substrate for biotechnological production of value-added bulk products, such as amino acids and polyamines. In the present study, the methylotrophic and thermophilic bacterium Bacillus methanolicus was engineered into a microbial cell factory for the production of the platform chemical 1,5-diaminopentane (cadaverine) from methanol. This was achieved by the heterologous expression of the Escherichia coli genes cadA and ldcC encoding two different lysine decarboxylase enzymes, and by increasing the overall L-lysine production levels in this host. Both CadA and LdcC were functional in B. methanolicus cultivated at 50°C and expression of cadA resulted in cadaverine production levels up to 500 mg l−1 during shake flask conditions. A volume-corrected concentration of 11.3 g l−1 of cadaverine was obtained by high-cell density fed-batch methanol fermentation. Our results demonstrated that efficient conversion of L-lysine into cadaverine presumably has severe effects on feedback regulation of the L-lysine biosynthetic pathway in B. methanolicus. By also investigating the cadaverine tolerance level, B. methanolicus proved to be an exciting alternative host and comparable to the well-known bacterial hosts E. coli and Corynebacterium glutamicum. This study represents the first demonstration of microbial production of cadaverine from methanol. PMID:25644214

  10. Ruling in the diagnosis of methanol intoxication in a young heavy drinker: a case report

    PubMed Central

    Anyfantakis, D; Symvoulakis, EK; Cristodoulakis, EV; Frantzeskakis, G

    2012-01-01

    Methanol poisoning is a relatively rare but potentially serious medical emergency. Toxicity results when methanol is successively oxidized to the active metabolites formaldehyde and formic acid. We report a case of a 23-year-old male, a high daily alcohol consumer, who attended the local primary health care centre complaining of sudden visual loss. A presumed diagnosis of methanol intoxication was suggested based on the patient’s visual impairment and the history of alcohol ingestion. Specific therapy was initiated before a definitive diagnosis. Gas chromatographic determination of methanol levels confirmed the initial diagnostic suspicion. In this case, prompt recognition of methanol intoxication and treatment conditioned a favorable clinical outcome. Given that timely diagnosis and antidote administration are crucial issues in terms of prognosis, we underline the necessity for physicians to be alert for entities provoked by rare environmental factors. PMID:23049639

  11. Application of Flexible Micro Temperature Sensor in Oxidative Steam Reforming by a Methanol Micro Reformer

    PubMed Central

    Lee, Chi-Yuan; Lee, Shuo-Jen; Shen, Chia-Chieh; Yeh, Chuin-Tih; Chang, Chi-Chung; Lo, Yi-Man

    2011-01-01

    Advances in fuel cell applications reflect the ability of reformers to produce hydrogen. This work presents a flexible micro temperature sensor that is fabricated based on micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) technology and integrated into a flat micro methanol reformer to observe the conditions inside that reformer. The micro temperature sensor has higher accuracy and sensitivity than a conventionally adopted thermocouple. Despite various micro temperature sensor applications, integrated micro reformers are still relatively new. This work proposes a novel method for integrating micro methanol reformers and micro temperature sensors, subsequently increasing the methanol conversion rate and the hydrogen production rate by varying the fuel supply rate and the water/methanol ratio. Importantly, the proposed micro temperature sensor adequately controls the interior temperature during oxidative steam reforming of methanol (OSRM), with the relevant parameters optimized as well. PMID:22319407

  12. Surrogate alcohol containing methanol, social deprivation and public health in Novosibirsk, Russia.

    PubMed

    Neufeld, Maria; Lachenmeier, Dirk; Hausler, Thomas; Rehm, Jürgen

    2016-11-01

    Surrogate alcohol, i.e. alcohol not intended or not officially intended for human consumption, continues to play an important role in alcohol consumption in Russia, especially for people with alcohol dependence. Among the different types of surrogate alcohol, there are windshield washer antifreeze liquids; these products are the cheapest kinds of non-beverage alcohol available and thus likely to be used by the most deprived and marginalised groups such as homeless people with alcohol dependence. Although it is well known, that non-beverage alcohol is used for consumption by various groups in Russia, and although there are laws to prohibit the use of methanol as part of windshield washer antifreeze liquids for the very reason that such products could be used as surrogate alcohol, we detected products in retail sale which were a mix of water and methanol only. Methanol poses serious health threats including blindness and death, and there had been repeated methanol deaths from surrogate alcohol in Russia over the last years. If law-enforcement does not change for surrogate products, we can expect more methanol-resulting deaths in the most deprived and marginalized groups of people with alcohol dependence in Russia. In addition, ingredients with questionable safety profiles such as formic acid should also be prohibited in non-beverage alcohol products that are likely to be consumed as surrogate alcohol. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  13. Metacridamide B methanol-d4 monosolvate

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    The title compound was extracted from conidia of the fungus Metarhizium acridum. Crystals were obtained as a methanol-d4 solvate. The tail part of the 4-methylhexan-2-yl group exhibits disorder over two positions, with an occupancy ratio of 0.682 (9):0.318 (9). The crystal structure confirms the abs...

  14. Deposition of tungsten metal by an immersion process

    DOE PAGES

    Small, Leo J.; Brumbach, Michael T.; Clem, Paul G.; ...

    2017-03-23

    A new multi-step, solution-phase method for the spontaneous deposition of tungsten from a room temperature ethereal solution is reported. This immersion process relies on the deposition of a sacrificial zinc coating which is galvanically displaced by the ether-mediated reduction of oxophilic WCl 6. Subsequent thermal treatment renders a crystalline, metallic tungsten film. The chemical evolution of the surface and formation of a complex intermediate tungsten species is characterized by X-ray diffraction, infrared spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Efficient metallic tungsten deposition is first characterized on a graphite substrate and then demonstrated on a functional carbon foam electrode. The resulting electrochemicalmore » performance of the modified electrode is interrogated with the canonical aqueous ferricyanide system. A tungsten-coated carbon foam electrode showed that both electrode resistance and overall electrochemical cell resistance were reduced by 50%, resulting in a concomitant decrease in redox peak separation from 1.902 V to 0.783 V. Furthermore, this process promises voltage efficiency gains in electrodes for energy storage technologies and demonstrates the viability of a new route to tungsten coating for technologies and industries where high conductivity and chemical stability are paramount.« less

  15. Spontaneous network activity and synaptic development

    PubMed Central

    Kerschensteiner, Daniel

    2014-01-01

    Throughout development, the nervous system produces patterned spontaneous activity. Research over the last two decades has revealed a core group of mechanisms that mediate spontaneous activity in diverse circuits. Many circuits engage several of these mechanisms sequentially to accommodate developmental changes in connectivity. In addition to shared mechanisms, activity propagates through developing circuits and neuronal pathways (i.e. linked circuits in different brain areas) in stereotypic patterns. Increasing evidence suggests that spontaneous network activity shapes synaptic development in vivo. Variations in activity-dependent plasticity may explain how similar mechanisms and patterns of activity can be employed to establish diverse circuits. Here, I will review common mechanisms and patterns of spontaneous activity in emerging neural networks and discuss recent insights into their contribution to synaptic development. PMID:24280071

  16. Three-dimensional anode engineering for the direct methanol fuel cell

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bauer, A.; Oloman, C. W.; Gyenge, E. L.

    Catalyzed graphite felt three-dimensional anodes were investigated in direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) operated with sulfuric acid supporting electrolyte. With a conventional serpentine channel flow field the preferred anode thickness was 100 μm, while a novel flow-by anode showed the best performance with a thickness of 200-300 μm. The effects of altering the methanol concentration, anolyte flow rate and operating temperature on the fuel cell superficial power density were studied by full (2 3 + 1) factorial experiments on a cell with anode area of 5 cm 2 and excess oxidant O 2 at 200 kPa(abs). For operation in the flow-by mode with 2 M methanol at 2 cm 3 min -1 and 353 K the peak power density was 2380 W m -2 with a PtRuMo anode catalyst, while a PtRu catalyst yielded 2240 W m -2 under the same conditions.

  17. Gas processing developments. Why not use methanol for hydrate control

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Nielsen, R.B.; Bucklin, R.W.

    1983-04-01

    Hydrate formation in turboexpander plants can be avoided more economically by using methanol than by using solid bed dehydration. Although the first turboexpander plant used methanol, most expander installations now have used solid bed dehydration. The reasons are obscure, since methanol often grants greater ease of operation as well as lower capital and operating costs, especially when the water in the feed gas is low or when recompression is required. Natural gas generally contains water before processing. High pressure, low temperature, or both favor the combination of water with light gases to form hydrates. Free water always must be presentmore » for hydrates to form. Hydrates cause problems by plugging pipelines, valves, and other process equipment. Therefore, proper equipment design requires accurate prediction of the limiting conditions at which hydrates are formed anytime a gas stream containing hydrate formers and free water is cooled below 80 F. (16 refs.)« less

  18. Methanol injection and recovery in a large turboexpander plant. [Canada

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Nelson, K.; Wolfe, L.

    1981-01-01

    Methanol is used to prevent hydrate formation in Petro-Canada's 2000 MMSCFD Empress expander plant. Injection and recovery facilities have operated essentially trouble-free since start-up late in 1979. A portion of the methanol recovery section has been modified to provide removal of the H/sub 2/S and most of the COS from the propane product stream, concurrent with methanol recovery. The Empress straddle plant strips natural gas liquids from pipeline gas leaving Alberta for eastern Canadian and U.S. markets. The original cold oil absorption plant, started up in 1964 and expanded in 1967, recovered over 90% of the propane and virtually allmore » of the heavier components. In 1976, a market for ethane was secured as feedstock for the world-scale ethylene complex under construction in Alberta, and it was decided to replace the cold oil plant with a turboexpander facility. The plant and its operations are described in some detail. 2 refs.« less

  19. Modeling of a 5-cell direct methanol fuel cell using adaptive-network-based fuzzy inference systems

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, Rongrong; Qi, Liang; Xie, Xiaofeng; Ding, Qingqing; Li, Chunwen; Ma, ChenChi M.

    The methanol concentrations, temperature and current were considered as inputs, the cell voltage was taken as output, and the performance of a direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) was modeled by adaptive-network-based fuzzy inference systems (ANFIS). The artificial neural network (ANN) and polynomial-based models were selected to be compared with the ANFIS in respect of quality and accuracy. Based on the ANFIS model obtained, the characteristics of the DMFC were studied. The results show that temperature and methanol concentration greatly affect the performance of the DMFC. Within a restricted current range, the methanol concentration does not greatly affect the stack voltage. In order to obtain higher fuel utilization efficiency, the methanol concentrations and temperatures should be adjusted according to the load on the system.

  20. 12.2-GHz methanol maser MMB follow-up catalogue - IV. Longitude range 20°-60°

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Breen, S. L.; Ellingsen, S. P.; Caswell, J. L.; Green, J. A.; Voronkov, M. A.; Avison, A.; Fuller, G. A.; Quinn, L. J.

    2016-07-01

    This is the fourth and final instalment of a series of catalogues presenting 12.2-GHz methanol maser observations made towards each of the 6.7-GHz methanol masers detected in the Methanol Multibeam (MMB) survey. This final portion of the survey covers the 20°-60° longitude range, increasing the 12.2-GHz follow-up range to the full MMB coverage of 186° ≥ l ≤ 60° and |b| ≤ 2°. Towards a total of 260 6.7-GHz MMB methanol masers (we were unable to observe five of the MMB sources in this longitude range) we detect 116 12.2-GHz masers counterparts, 64 of which were discovered in this survey. Including data from the literature, we find that there are 12.2-GHz methanol masers towards 47.1 per cent of the 6.7-GHz methanol masers in this portion of the Galaxy. Across the entire MMB survey range, we find a detection rate of 45.3 per cent. We find that the detection rate of 12.2-GHz methanol masers as a function of Galactic longitude is not uniform and there is an excess of masers with broad velocity ranges at longitudes near 30° and 330°. Comparing the occurrence of 12.2-GHz methanol masers with MMB-targeted CO observations has shown that those outflows associated with a 12.2-GHz source have a larger average dynamical time-scale than those associated with only 6.7-GHz methanol masers, supporting the notion that the 12.2-GHz masers are associated with a later phase of high-mass star formation.

  1. Spontaneous pneumothorax in diffuse cystic lung diseases.

    PubMed

    Cooley, Joseph; Lee, Yun Chor Gary; Gupta, Nishant

    2017-07-01

    Diffuse cystic lung diseases (DCLDs) are a heterogeneous group of disorders with varying pathophysiologic mechanisms that are characterized by the presence of air-filled lung cysts. These cysts are prone to rupture, leading to the development of recurrent spontaneous pneumothoraces. In this article, we review the epidemiology, clinical features, and management DCLD-associated spontaneous pneumothorax, with a focus on lymphangioleiomyomatosis, Birt-Hogg-Dubé syndrome, and pulmonary Langerhans cell histiocytosis. DCLDs are responsible for approximately 10% of apparent primary spontaneous pneumothoraces. Computed tomography screening for DCLDs (Birt-Hogg-Dubé syndrome, lymphangioleiomyomatosis, and pulmonary Langerhans cell histiocytosis) following the first spontaneous pneumothorax has recently been shown to be cost-effective and can help facilitate early diagnosis of the underlying disorders. Patients with DCLD-associated spontaneous pneumothorax have a very high rate of recurrence, and thus pleurodesis should be considered following the first episode of spontaneous pneumothorax in these patients, rather than waiting for a recurrent episode. Prior pleurodesis is not a contraindication to future lung transplant. Although DCLDs are uncommon, spontaneous pneumothorax is often the sentinel event that provides an opportunity for diagnosis. By understanding the burden and implications of pneumothoraces in DCLDs, clinicians can facilitate early diagnosis and appropriate management of the underlying disorders.

  2. Carbon-Supported Pd and PdFe Alloy Catalysts for Direct Methanol Fuel Cell Cathodes.

    PubMed

    Rivera Gavidia, Luis M; Sebastián, David; Pastor, Elena; Aricò, Antonino S; Baglio, Vincenzo

    2017-05-25

    Direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) are electrochemical devices that efficiently produce electricity and are characterized by a large flexibility for portable applications and high energy density. Methanol crossover is one of the main obstacles for DMFC commercialization, forcing the search for highly electro-active and methanol tolerant cathodes. In the present work, carbon-supported Pd and PdFe catalysts were synthesized using a sodium borohydride reduction method and physico-chemically characterized using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray techniques such as photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), diffraction (XRD) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDX). The catalysts were investigated as DMFC cathodes operating at different methanol concentrations (up to 10 M) and temperatures (60 °C and 90 °C). The cell based on PdFe/C cathode presented the best performance, achieving a maximum power density of 37.5 mW·cm -2 at 90 °C with 10 M methanol, higher than supported Pd and Pt commercial catalysts, demonstrating that Fe addition yields structural changes to Pd crystal lattice that reduce the crossover effects in DMFC operation.

  3. Carbon-Supported Pd and PdFe Alloy Catalysts for Direct Methanol Fuel Cell Cathodes

    PubMed Central

    Rivera Gavidia, Luis M.; Sebastián, David; Pastor, Elena; Aricò, Antonino S.; Baglio, Vincenzo

    2017-01-01

    Direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) are electrochemical devices that efficiently produce electricity and are characterized by a large flexibility for portable applications and high energy density. Methanol crossover is one of the main obstacles for DMFC commercialization, forcing the search for highly electro-active and methanol tolerant cathodes. In the present work, carbon-supported Pd and PdFe catalysts were synthesized using a sodium borohydride reduction method and physico-chemically characterized using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray techniques such as photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), diffraction (XRD) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDX). The catalysts were investigated as DMFC cathodes operating at different methanol concentrations (up to 10 M) and temperatures (60 °C and 90 °C). The cell based on PdFe/C cathode presented the best performance, achieving a maximum power density of 37.5 mW·cm−2 at 90 °C with 10 M methanol, higher than supported Pd and Pt commercial catalysts, demonstrating that Fe addition yields structural changes to Pd crystal lattice that reduce the crossover effects in DMFC operation. PMID:28772937

  4. Comparison of cytotoxicity and genotoxicity induced by the extracts of methanol and gasoline engine exhausts.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Zunzhen; Che, Wangjun; Liang, Ying; Wu, Mei; Li, Na; Shu, Ya; Liu, Fang; Wu, Desheng

    2007-09-01

    Gasoline engine exhaust has been considered a major source of air pollution in China, and methanol is considered as a potential substitute for gasoline fuel. In this study, the genotoxicity and cytotoxicity of organic extracts of condensate, particulate matters (PM) and semivolatile organic compounds (SVOC) of gasoline and absolute methanol engine exhaust were examined by using MTT assay, micronucleus assay, comet assay and Ames test. The results have showed that gasoline engine exhaust exhibited stronger cytotoxicity to human lung carcinoma cell lines (A549 cell) than methanol engine exhaust. Furthermore, gasoline engine exhaust increased micronucleus formation, induced DNA damage in A549 cells and increased TA98 revertants in the presence of metabolic activating enzymes in a concentration-dependent manner. In contrast, methanol engine exhaust failed to exhibit these adverse effects. The results suggest methanol may be used as a cleaner fuel for automobile.

  5. Non-Faradaic electrochemical promotion of catalytic methane reforming for methanol production

    DOEpatents

    Fan, Qinbai

    2016-11-22

    A method of converting methane to methanol at low temperatures utilizes a reactor including an anode, a cathode, a membrane separator between the anode and cathode, a metal oxide catalyst at the anode and a hydrogen recovery catalyst at the cathode. The method can convert methane to methanol at as rate exceeding the theoretical Faradaic rate due to the contribution of an electrochemical reaction occurring in tandem with a Faradaic reaction.

  6. Adsorption of methanol molecule on graphene: Experimental results and first-principles calculations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhao, X. W.; Tian, Y. L.; Yue, W. W.; Chen, M. N.; Hu, G. C.; Ren, J. F.; Yuan, X. B.

    2018-04-01

    Adsorption properties of methanol molecule on graphene surface are studied both theoretically and experimentally. The adsorption geometrical structures, adsorption energies, band structures, density of states and the effective masses are obtained by means of first-principles calculations. It is found that the electronic characteristics and conductivity of graphene are sensitive to the methanol molecule adsorption. After adsorption of methanol molecule, bandgap appears. With the increasing of the adsorption distance, the bandgap, adsorption energy and effective mass of the adsorption system decreased, hence the resistivity of the system decreases gradually, these results are consistent with the experimental results. All these calculations and experiments indicate that the graphene-based sensors have a wide range of applications in detecting particular molecules.

  7. Increase of methanol in exhaled breath quantified by SIFT-MS following aspartame ingestion.

    PubMed

    Španěl, Patrik; Dryahina, Kseniya; Vicherková, Petra; Smith, David

    2015-11-19

    Aspartame, methyl-L-α-aspartyl-L-phenylalaninate, is used worldwide as a sweetener in foods and drinks and is considered to be safe at an acceptable daily intake (ADI) of 40 mg per kg of body weight. This compound is completely hydrolyzed in the gastrointestinal tract to aspartic acid, phenylalanine and methanol, each being toxic at high levels. The objective of the present study was to quantify the volatile methanol component in the exhaled breath of ten healthy volunteers following the ingestion of a single ADI dose of aspartame. Direct on-line measurements of methanol concentration were made in the mouth and nose breath exhalations using selected ion flow tube mass spectrometry, SIFT-MS, several times before aspartame ingestion in order to establish individual pre-dose (baseline) levels and then during two hours post-ingestion to track their initial increase and subsequent decrease. The results show that breath methanol concentrations increased in all volunteers by 1082   ±   205 parts-per-billion by volume (ppbv) from their pre-ingestion values, which ranged from 193 to 436 ppbv to peak values ranging from 981-1622 ppbv, from which they slowly decreased. These observations agree quantitatively with a predicted increase of 1030 ppbv estimated using a one-compartment model of uniform dilution of the methanol generated from a known amount of aspartame throughout the total body water (including blood). In summary, an ADI dose of aspartame leads to a 3-6 fold increase of blood methanol concentration above the individual baseline values.

  8. Nano-Engineered Catalysts for Direct Methanol Fuel Cells

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Myung, Nosang; Narayanan, Sekharipuram; Wiberg, Dean

    2008-01-01

    Nano-engineered catalysts, and a method of fabricating them, have been developed in a continuing effort to improve the performances of direct methanol fuel cells as candidate power sources to supplant primary and secondary batteries in a variety of portable electronic products. In order to realize the potential for high energy densities (as much as 1.5 W h/g) of direct methanol fuel cells, it will be necessary to optimize the chemical compositions and geometric configurations of catalyst layers and electrode structures. High performance can be achieved when catalyst particles and electrode structures have the necessary small feature sizes (typically of the order of nanometers), large surface areas, optimal metal compositions, high porosity, and hydrophobicity. The present method involves electrodeposition of one or more catalytic metal(s) or a catalytic-metal/polytetrafluoroethylene nanocomposite on an alumina nanotemplate. The alumina nanotemplate is then dissolved, leaving the desired metal or metal/polytetrafluoroethylene-composite catalyst layer. Unlike some prior methods of making fine metal catalysts, this method does not involve processing at elevated temperature; all processing can be done at room temperature. In addition, this method involves fewer steps and is more amenable to scaling up for mass production. Alumina nanotemplates are porous alumina membranes that have been fabricated, variously, by anodizing either pure aluminum or aluminum that has been deposited on silicon by electronbeam evaporation. The diameters of the pores (7 to 300 nm), areal densities of pores (as much as 7 x 10(exp 10)sq cm), and lengths of pores (up to about 100 nm) can be tailored by selection of fabrication conditions. In a given case, the catalytic metal, catalytic metal alloy, or catalytic metal/ polytetrafluoroethylene composite is electrodeposited in the pores of the alumina nanotemplate. The dimensions of the pores, together with the electrodeposition conditions

  9. Use of Fomepizole in Pediatric Methanol Exposure: The First Case Report in Taiwan and a Literature Review.

    PubMed

    Chen, Tzu-Hua; Kuo, Chang-Hung; Huang, Chia-Tsuan; Wang, Wei-Li

    2016-08-01

    Methanol poisoning is rare in the pediatric population, but a delay in diagnosis and intervention may cause severe morbidity and mortality. The current therapy for methanol poisoning is ethanol or fomepizole, which acts as a competitive inhibitor of hepatic alcohol dehydrogenase to inhibit the production of toxic metabolites derived from the oxidation of methanol. However, clinical experience in pediatric methanol poisoning is limited, and the safety profiles of the antidotes have not been established in children, especially in Asian populations. This is the first case to describe the use of fomepizole in a child with methanol exposure in Taiwan. Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  10. Phorbol ester and spontaneous activity in SHR aorta

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Moisey, D.M.; Cox, R.H.

    1986-03-01

    Thoracic aortas (TA) were excised from 6-week old SHR and WKY. 2mm rings were mounted isometrically at optimum preload. Spontaneous rhythmical activity developed in TA from SHR and had a frequency of 3-4/min with varying periods of quiescence between bursts of activity. The spontaneous activity often produced an increase in tension development which was associated with increased frequency of oscillations. Verapamil (10/sup -7/ M) or Ca/sup + +/-free solution added during the contractile phase resulted in an immediate loss of tension and spontaneous activity. Addition of ouabain (10/sup -4/ M) during the contractile phase of spontaneous activity, increased the frequencymore » of oscillations which appeared to fuse into a tetanus. Spontaneous rhythmical activity was infrequently observed in TA from WKY. However, addition of phorbol 12-myristate-13 acetate (TPA), frequently induced spontaneous rhythmic oscillations associated with tension development in TA from WKY. TPA contracted the SHR TA and increased the frequency of oscillations. SHR TA were more sensitive to TPA than WKY. This study demonstrates (1) spontaneous rhythmical activity, independent of agonist stimulation in TA from 6-week old SHR and (2) TPA induced spontaneous oscillatory activity. The mechanism underlying the spontaneous oscillatory activity may involve membrane coupling events and Na-pump difference between SHR and WKY.« less

  11. THE EFFECT OF METHANOL USED AS VEHICULUM ON SERUM PHENACETIN CONCENTRATION IN THE RAT.

    PubMed

    Lukasik, Marcin; Malkowska, Anna; Bamburowicz-Klimkowska, Magdalena; Polak, Piotr; Szutowski, Miroslaw M

    2016-09-01

    The xenobiotic absorption process is dependent on many factors, related both to the substance and form of its administration. During administration of small amounts of drugs, the effect of vehiculum on drug fate in the body becomes also evident. The intensity of absorption depends on numerous factors not necessarily related to the substance and its formulation, and also on biotransformation and active transport processes. Additional problem is the fact that many medicines are lipophilic compounds and insoluble in the water (e.g. phenacetin). Methanol and its aqueous solutions facilitate administration to the experimental animals, in the dissolved form of a number of medicines practically insoluble in water. Taking into consideration that methanol is particularly for rats, of low toxicity, it is quite frequently applied as vehiculum. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential interactions that may occur during the use of methanol as vehiculum and compare changes when were used solution 1% of carboxymethylcellulose. The study was performed on male Wistar rats. The tests were performed using phenacetin, which is recognized as biomarker of CYP 2E 1 isoform activity. Phenacetin was given per os in a single dose of 100 mg/kg b. w. Various procedures of phenacetin administration were tested, including solubilization in methanol or suspension in 1% water solution of carboxymethylcellulose. The results of this study show that methanol influences the phenacetin bioavailability and kinetics. Comparing the administration of this drug in methanol solutions against 1% of carboxymethylcellulose, it is in the case of phenacetin triple increase in AUC0-4 h. The presence of methanol affects the shape of kinetic curves of phenacetin causing higher their course until 4 hours after administration.

  12. Platinum Nickel Nanowires as Methanol Oxidation Electrocatalysts

    DOE PAGES

    Alia, Shaun M.; Pylypenko, Svitlana; Neyerlin, Kenneth C.; ...

    2015-08-27

    We investigated platinum(Pt) nickel (Ni) nanowires (PtNiNWs) as methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) catalysts in rotating disk electrode (RDE) half-cells under acidic conditions. Pt-ruthenium (Ru) nanoparticles have long been the state of the art MOR catalyst for direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) where Ru provides oxophilic sites, lowering the potential for carbon monoxide oxidation and the MOR onset. Ru, however, is a precious metal that has long term durability concerns. Ni/Ni oxide species offer a potential to replace Ru in MOR electrocatalysis. PtNiNWs were investigated for MOR and oxygen annealing was investigated as a route to improve catalyst performance (mass activitymore » 65% greater) and stability to potential cycling. Our results presented show that PtNiNWs offer significant promise in the area, but also result in Ni ion leaching that is a concern requiring further evaluation in fuel cells.« less

  13. Methanol exposure interferes with morphological cell movements in the Drosophila embryo and causes increased apoptosis in the CNS.

    PubMed

    Mellerick, Dervla M; Liu, Heather

    2004-09-05

    Despite the significant contributions of tissue culture and bacterial models to toxicology, whole animal models for developmental neurotoxins are limited in availability and ease of experimentation. Because Drosophila is a well understood model for embryonic development that is highly accessible, we asked whether it could be used to study methanol developmental neurotoxicity. In the presence of 4% methanol, approximately 35% of embryos die and methanol exposure leads to severe CNS defects in about half those embryos, where the longitudinal connectives are dorsally displaced and commissure formation is severely reduced. In addition, a range of morphological defects in other germ layers is seen, and cell movement is adversely affected by methanol exposure. Although we did not find any evidence to suggest that methanol exposure affects the capacity of neuroblasts to divide or induces inappropriate apoptosis in these cells, in the CNS of germ band retracted embryos, the number of apoptotic nuclei is significantly increased in methanol-exposed embryos in comparison to controls, particularly in and adjacent to the ventral midline. Apoptosis contributes significantly to methanol neurotoxicity because embryos lacking the cell death genes grim, hid, and reaper have milder CNS defects resulting from methanol exposure than wild-type embryos. Our data suggest that when neurons and glia are severely adversely affected by methanol exposure, the damaged cells are cleared by apoptosis, leading to embryonic death. Thus, the Drosophila embryo may prove useful in identifying and unraveling mechanistic aspects of developmental neurotoxicity, specifically in relation to methanol toxicity.

  14. Production of carbon-13-labeled cadaverine by engineered Corynebacterium glutamicum using carbon-13-labeled methanol as co-substrate.

    PubMed

    Leßmeier, Lennart; Pfeifenschneider, Johannes; Carnicer, Marc; Heux, Stephanie; Portais, Jean-Charles; Wendisch, Volker F

    2015-12-01

    Methanol, a one-carbon compound, can be utilized by a variety of bacteria and other organisms as carbon and energy source and is regarded as a promising substrate for biotechnological production. In this study, a strain of non-methylotrophic Corynebacterium glutamicum, which was able to produce the polyamide building block cadaverine as non-native product, was engineered for co-utilization of methanol. Expression of the gene encoding NAD+-dependent methanol dehydrogenase (Mdh) from the natural methylotroph Bacillus methanolicus increased methanol oxidation. Deletion of the endogenous aldehyde dehydrogenase genes ald and fadH prevented methanol oxidation to carbon dioxide and formaldehyde detoxification via the linear formaldehyde dissimilation pathway. Heterologous expression of genes for the key enzymes hexulose-6-phosphate synthase and 6-phospho-3-hexuloisomerase of the ribulose monophosphate (RuMP) pathway in this strain restored growth in the presence of methanol or formaldehyde, which suggested efficient formaldehyde detoxification involving RuMP key enzymes. While growth with methanol as sole carbon source was not observed, the fate of 13C-methanol added as co-substrate to sugars was followed and the isotopologue distribution indicated incorporation into central metabolites and in vivo activity of the RuMP pathway. In addition, 13C-label from methanol was traced to the secreted product cadaverine. Thus, this synthetic biology approach led to a C. glutamicum strain that converted the non-natural carbon substrate methanol at least partially to the non-native product cadaverine.

  15. Unbiased water and methanol maser surveys of NGC 1333

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Lyo, A-Ran; Kim, Jongsoo; Byun, Do-Young

    2014-11-01

    We present the results of unbiased 22 GHz H{sub 2}O water and 44 GHz class I CH{sub 3}OH methanol maser surveys in the central 7' × 10' area of NGC 1333 and two additional mapping observations of a 22 GHz water maser in a ∼3' × 3' area of the IRAS4A region. In the 22 GHz water maser survey of NGC 1333 with a sensitivity of σ ∼ 0.3 Jy, we confirmed the detection of masers toward H{sub 2}O(B) in the region of HH 7-11 and IRAS4B. We also detected new water masers located ∼20'' away in the western directionmore » of IRAS4B or ∼25'' away in the southern direction of IRAS4A. We could not, however, find young stellar objects or molecular outflows associated with them. They showed two different velocity components of ∼0 and ∼16 km s{sup –1}, which are blue- and redshifted relative to the adopted systemic velocity of ∼7 km s{sup –1} for NGC 1333. They also showed time variabilities in both intensity and velocity from multi-epoch observations and an anti-correlation between the intensities of the blue- and redshifted velocity components. We suggest that the unidentified power source of these masers might be found in the earliest evolutionary stage of star formation, before the onset of molecular outflows. Finding this kind of water maser is only possible through an unbiased blind survey. In the 44 GHz methanol maser survey with a sensitivity of σ ∼ 0.5 Jy, we confirmed masers toward IRAS4A2 and the eastern shock region of IRAS2A. Both sources are also detected in 95 and 132 GHz methanol maser lines. In addition, we had new detections of methanol masers at 95 and 132 GHz toward IRAS4B. In terms of the isotropic luminosity, we detected methanol maser sources brighter than ∼5 × 10{sup 25} erg s{sup –1} from our unbiased survey.« less

  16. Enhanced biodegradation of hexachlorocyclohexane in upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactor using methanol as an electron donor.

    PubMed

    Bhatt, Praveena; Kumar, M Suresh; Mudliar, Sandeep; Chakrabarti, Tapan

    2008-05-01

    Anaerobic dechlorination of technical grade hexachlorocyclohexane (THCH) was studied in a continuous upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor with methanol as a supplementary substrate and electron donor. A reactor without methanol served as the experimental control. The inlet feed concentration of THCH in both the experimental and the control UASB reactor was 100 mg l(-1). After 60 days of continuous operation, the removal of THCH was >99% in the methanol-supplemented reactor as compared to 20-35% in the control reactor. THCH was completely dechlorinated in the methanol fed reactor at 48 h HRT after 2 months of continuous operation. This period was also accompanied by increase in biomass in the reactor, which was not observed in the experimental control. Batch studies using other supplementary substrates as well as electron donors namely acetate, butyrate, formate and ethanol showed lower % dechlorination (<85%) and dechlorination rates (<3 mg g(-1)d(-1)) as compared to methanol (98%, 5 mg g(-1)d(-1)). The optimum concentration of methanol required, for stable dechlorination of THCH (100 mg l(-1)) in the UASB reactor, was found to be 500 mg l(-1). Results indicate that addition of methanol as electron donor enhances dechlorination of THCH at high inlet concentration, and is also required for stable UASB reactor performance.

  17. Protective effects of Rutin against methanol induced acute toxic optic neuropathy: an experimental study.

    PubMed

    Taşlı, Nurdan Gamze; Çimen, Ferda Keskin; Karakurt, Yücel; Uçak, Turgay; Mammadov, Renad; Süleyman, Bahadır; Kurt, Nezahat; Süleyman, Halis

    2018-01-01

    To determine the effects of Rutin on methanol induced optic neuropathy and compare the results with the effects of ethanol. Totally 30 rats were divided into 5 groups, with 6 rats in each group as follows: healthy controls (C), methotrexate (MTX), methotrexate+methanol (MTM), methotrexate+methanol+ethanol (MTME) and methotrexate+ methanol+Rutin (MTMR). In all rabbits except those of the control group, MTX, diluted in sterile serum physiologic, 0.3 mg/kg per oral was applied for 7d by the aid of a tube. After this procedure to the rats of MTM, MTME and MTMR groups, 20% methanol with a dose of 3 g/kg per oral was given by the aid of a tube. In MTME group, 4h after the application of methanol, 20% ethanol was applied by the same way with a dose of 0.5 g/kg. On the other hand, in MTMR group 4h after the application of methanol, Rutin, which was dissolved in distilled water, was applied by the same way with a dose of 50 mg/kg. There were statistically significant differences in tissue 8-hydroxy-2 deoxyguanine (8-OHdG), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), malondialdehyde (MDA), myeloperoxidase (MPO). glutathione peroxidase (tGSH) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) levels between groups ( P <0.001). In MTMR group tissue 8-OHdG, IL-1β, MDA, and MPO levels were similar with the healthy controls but significantly different than the other groups. In histopathological evaluations, in MTX group there was moderate focal destruction, hemorrhage and decrease in number of astrocytes and oligodendrocytes; in MTM group there was severe destruction and edema with decrease in number of astrocytes and oligodendrocytes; in MTME group there was mild hemorrhage, mild edema, mildly dilated blood vessels with congestion while in MTMR group, optic nerve tissue was resembling the healthy controls. Rutin may prevent methanol-induced optic neuropathy via anti-inflammatory effects and decreasing the oxidative stress. New treatment options are warranted in this disease to

  18. Methanol Adsorption and Reaction on Samaria Thin Films on Pt(111).

    PubMed

    Jhang, Jin-Hao; Schaefer, Andreas; Zielasek, Volkmar; Weaver, Jason F; Bäumer, Marcus

    2015-09-17

    We investigated the adsorption and reaction of methanol on continuous and discontinuous films of samarium oxide (SmO x ) grown on Pt(111) in ultrahigh vacuum. The methanol decomposition was studied by temperature programmed desorption (TPD) and infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy (IRRAS), while structural changes of the oxide surface were monitored by low-energy electron diffraction (LEED). Methanol dehydrogenates to adsorbed methoxy species on both the continuous and discontinuous SmO x films, eventually leading to the desorption of CO and H₂ which desorbs at temperatures in the range 400-600 K. Small quantities of CO₂ are also detected mainly on as-prepared Sm₂O₃ thin films, but the production of CO₂ is limited during repeated TPD runs. The discontinuous film exhibits the highest reactivity compared to the continuous film and the Pt(111) substrate. The reactivity of methanol on reduced and reoxidized films was also investigated, revealing how SmO x structures influence the chemical behavior. Over repeated TPD experiments, a SmO x structural/chemical equilibrium condition is found which can be approached either from oxidized or reduced films. We also observed hydrogen absence in TPD which indicates that hydrogen is stored either in SmO x films or as OH groups on the SmO x surfaces.

  19. Methanol Adsorption and Reaction on Samaria Thin Films on Pt(111)

    PubMed Central

    Jhang, Jin-Hao; Schaefer, Andreas; Zielasek, Volkmar; Weaver, Jason F.; Bäumer, Marcus

    2015-01-01

    We investigated the adsorption and reaction of methanol on continuous and discontinuous films of samarium oxide (SmOx) grown on Pt(111) in ultrahigh vacuum. The methanol decomposition was studied by temperature programmed desorption (TPD) and infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy (IRRAS), while structural changes of the oxide surface were monitored by low-energy electron diffraction (LEED). Methanol dehydrogenates to adsorbed methoxy species on both the continuous and discontinuous SmOx films, eventually leading to the desorption of CO and H2 which desorbs at temperatures in the range 400–600 K. Small quantities of CO2 are also detected mainly on as-prepared Sm2O3 thin films, but the production of CO2 is limited during repeated TPD runs. The discontinuous film exhibits the highest reactivity compared to the continuous film and the Pt(111) substrate. The reactivity of methanol on reduced and reoxidized films was also investigated, revealing how SmOx structures influence the chemical behavior. Over repeated TPD experiments, a SmOx structural/chemical equilibrium condition is found which can be approached either from oxidized or reduced films. We also observed hydrogen absence in TPD which indicates that hydrogen is stored either in SmOx films or as OH groups on the SmOx surfaces. PMID:28793562

  20. Novel fluoropolymer anion exchange membranes for alkaline direct methanol fuel cells.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Yanmei; Fang, Jun; Wu, Yongbin; Xu, Hankun; Chi, Xianjun; Li, Wei; Yang, Yixu; Yan, Ge; Zhuang, Yongze

    2012-09-01

    A series of novel fluoropolymer anion exchange membranes based on the copolymer of vinylbenzyl chloride, butyl methacrylate, and hexafluorobutyl methacrylate has been prepared. Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy and elemental analysis techniques are used to study the chemical structure and chemical composition of the membranes. The water uptake, ion-exchange capacity (IEC), conductivity, methanol permeability, and chemical stability of the membranes are also determined. The membranes exhibit high anionic conductivity in deionized water at 65 °C ranging from 3.86×10(-2) S cm(-1) to 4.36×10(-2) S cm(-1). The methanol permeability coefficients of the membranes are in the range of 4.21-5.80×10(-8) cm(2) s(-1) at 65 °C. The novel membranes also show good chemical and thermal stability. An open-circuit voltage of 0.7 V and a maximum power density of 53.2 mW cm(-2) of alkaline direct methanol fuel cell (ADMFC) with the membrane C, 1 M methanol, 1 M NaOH, and humidified oxygen are achieved at 65 °C. Therefore, these membranes have great potential for applications in fuel cell systems. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. Preparation of Cu-loaded SrTiO3 nanoparticles and their photocatalytic activity for hydrogen evolution from methanol aqueous solution

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bui, Duc-Nguyen; Mu, Jin; Wang, Lei; Kang, Shi-Zhao; Li, Xiangqing

    2013-06-01

    Cu-loaded SrTiO3 nanoparticles (Cu-SrTiO3) were prepared using a simple in situ photo-deposition method and their photocatalytic activity for hydrogen evolution from methanol aqueous solution was evaluated. The results characterized with XRD, TEM, XPS and EDX indicated that the as-synthesized sample was composed of metallic Cu and cubic SrTiO3, and the metallic Cu was homogeneously loaded on the surface of SrTiO3 nanoparticles. Under UV light irradiation, Cu-SrTiO3 displayed much higher photocatalytic activity for hydrogen evolution and excellent stability in comparison with pure SrTiO3 nanoparticles. The results further confirmed that the efficient separation of photogenerated electron/hole pairs was critical for the enhanced photocatalytic activity of Cu-SrTiO3. Moreover, the rate of hydrogen evolution of 0.5 wt.% Cu-SrTiO3 is comparable with that of 0.5 wt.% Pt-SrTiO3 photocatalyst under optimum conditions, implying that the metallic Cu is an efficient alternative to Pt as a co-catalyst on SrTiO3. The high photocatalytic activity, low cost and chemical stability mean that the Cu-loaded SrTiO3 is a potential catalyst for the photocatalytic hydrogen evolution from methanol aqueous solution.

  2. Spontaneous splenic rupture in infectious mononucleosis.

    PubMed

    Rothwell, S; McAuley, D

    2001-09-01

    Spontaneous splenic rupture is a rare but life-threatening complication of infectious mononucleosis. Abdominal pain and tachycardia are unusual in uncomplicated infectious mononucleosis and should alert a doctor to the possibility of spontaneous splenic rupture.

  3. (Non) formation of methanol by direct hydrogenation of formate on copper catalysts

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Yang, Yong; Mims, Charles A.; Disselkamp, Robert S.

    2010-10-14

    We have attempted to hydrogenate adsorbed formate species on copper catalysts to probe the importance of this postulated mechanistic step in methanol synthesis. Surface formate coverages up to 0.25 were produced at temperatures between 413K and 453K on supported (Cu/SiO2) copper and unsupported copper catalysts. The adlayers were produced by various methods including (1) steady state catalytic conditions in CO2-H2 (3:1, 6 bar) atmospheres, and (2) by exposure of the catalysts to formic acid. As reported in earlier work, the catalytic surface at steady state contains bidentate formate species with coverages up to saturation levels of ~ 0.25 at themore » low temperatures of this study. The reactivity of these formate adlayers was investigated at relevant reaction temperatures in atmospheres containing up to 6 bar H2 partial pressure by simultaneous mass spectrometry (MS) and infrared (IR) spectroscopy measurements. The yield of methanol during the attempted hydrogenation (“titration”) of these adlayers was insignificant (<0.2 mol % of the formate adlayer) even in dry hydrogen partial pressures up to 6 bar. Hydrogen titration of formate species produced from formic acid also failed to produce significant quantities of methanol, and attempted titration in gases consisting of CO-hydrogen mixtures or dry CO2 were also unproductive. The formate decomposition kinetics, measured by IR, were also unaffected by these changes in the gas composition. Similar experiments on unsupported copper also failed to show any methanol. From these results, we conclude that methanol synthesis on copper cannot result from the direct hydrogenation of (bidentate) formate species in simple steps involving adsorbed H species alone. Furthermore, experiments performed on both supported (Cu/SiO2) and unsupported copper catalysts gave similar results implying that the methanol synthesis reaction mechanism only involves metal surface chemistry. Pre-exposure of the bidentate formate adlayer to

  4. Methanol-based cadaverine production by genetically engineered Bacillus methanolicus strains.

    PubMed

    Naerdal, Ingemar; Pfeifenschneider, Johannes; Brautaset, Trygve; Wendisch, Volker F

    2015-03-01

    Methanol is regarded as an attractive substrate for biotechnological production of value-added bulk products, such as amino acids and polyamines. In the present study, the methylotrophic and thermophilic bacterium Bacillus methanolicus was engineered into a microbial cell factory for the production of the platform chemical 1,5-diaminopentane (cadaverine) from methanol. This was achieved by the heterologous expression of the Escherichia coli genes cadA and ldcC encoding two different lysine decarboxylase enzymes, and by increasing the overall L-lysine production levels in this host. Both CadA and LdcC were functional in B. methanolicus cultivated at 50°C and expression of cadA resulted in cadaverine production levels up to 500 mg l(-1) during shake flask conditions. A volume-corrected concentration of 11.3 g l(-1) of cadaverine was obtained by high-cell density fed-batch methanol fermentation. Our results demonstrated that efficient conversion of L-lysine into cadaverine presumably has severe effects on feedback regulation of the L-lysine biosynthetic pathway in B. methanolicus. By also investigating the cadaverine tolerance level, B. methanolicus proved to be an exciting alternative host and comparable to the well-known bacterial hosts E. coli and Corynebacterium glutamicum. This study represents the first demonstration of microbial production of cadaverine from methanol. © 2015 The Authors. Microbial Biotechnology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd and Society for Applied Microbiology.

  5. Room temperature stable CO x -free H2 production from methanol with magnesium oxide nanophotocatalysts.

    PubMed

    Liu, Zhengqing; Yin, Zongyou; Cox, Casandra; Bosman, Michel; Qian, Xiaofeng; Li, Na; Zhao, Hongyang; Du, Yaping; Li, Ju; Nocera, Daniel G

    2016-09-01

    Methanol, which contains 12.6 weight percent hydrogen, is a good hydrogen storage medium because it is a liquid at room temperature. However, by releasing the hydrogen, undesirable CO and/or CO 2 byproducts are formed during catalytic fuel reforming. We show that alkaline earth metal oxides, in our case MgO nanocrystals, exhibit stable photocatalytic activity for CO/CO 2 -free H 2 production from liquid methanol at room temperature. The performance of MgO nanocrystals toward methanol dehydrogenation increases with time and approaches ~320 μmol g -1 hour -1 after a 2-day photocatalytic reaction. The CO x -free H 2 production is attributed to methanol photodecomposition to formaldehyde, photocatalyzed by surface electronic states of unique monodispersed, porous MgO nanocrystals, which were synthesized with a novel facile colloidal chemical strategy. An oxygen plasma treatment allows for the removal of organic surfactants, producing MgO nanocrystals that are well dispersible in methanol.

  6. Novel Anode Catalyst for Direct Methanol Fuel Cells

    PubMed Central

    Basri, S.; Kamarudin, S. K.; Daud, W. R. W.; Yaakob, Z.; Kadhum, A. A. H.

    2014-01-01

    PtRu catalyst is a promising anodic catalyst for direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) but the slow reaction kinetics reduce the performance of DMFCs. Therefore, this study attempts to improve the performance of PtRu catalysts by adding nickel (Ni) and iron (Fe). Multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) are used to increase the active area of the catalyst and to improve the catalyst performance. Electrochemical analysis techniques, such as energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDX), X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), are used to characterize the kinetic parameters of the hybrid catalyst. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) is used to investigate the effects of adding Fe and Ni to the catalyst on the reaction kinetics. Additionally, chronoamperometry (CA) tests were conducted to study the long-term performance of the catalyst for catalyzing the methanol oxidation reaction (MOR). The binding energies of the reactants and products are compared to determine the kinetics and potential surface energy for methanol oxidation. The FESEM analysis results indicate that well-dispersed nanoscale (2–5 nm) PtRu particles are formed on the MWCNTs. Finally, PtRuFeNi/MWCNT improves the reaction kinetics of anode catalysts for DMFCs and obtains a mass current of 31 A g−1 catalyst. PMID:24883406

  7. Verrucomicrobia and their role in soil methanol consumption

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fierer, N.

    2015-12-01

    Bacteria belonging to the phylum Verrucomicrobia are far more ubiquitous and abundant in soil than previous work would suggest. In many soils, a relatively small number of verrucomicrobial phylotypes or 'species' can represent more than 25% of the bacterial cells in soil. Since these phylotypes are not closely related to any known cultured isolates or any strains for which we have whole-genome data, we have limited information on what these bacteria are actually doing in soil, their metabolic capabilities, or the niches they inhabit. We have recently assembled the genomes of these dominant Verrucomicrobia from soil metagenomic data and found that these taxa appear to be oligotrophs that specialize in methanol oxidation. This is important because we have found in previous work that methanol likely represents an important source of labile organic carbon to soil microbes in many ecosystems with methanol fluxes likely representing an important, but under-studied, mechanism by which organic carbon is transferred from surface litter layers to mineral soils. Ongoing work has focused on using high-throughput cultivation methods to study soil Verrucomicrobia in vitro and better understand their controls on soil carbon dynamics. Together this work demonstrates how we can leverage recent methodological advances in metagenomics, high-throughput cultivation, and soil trace gas analyses to understand the biogeochemical relevance of an abundant, but mysterious, group of soil microorganisms.

  8. Short-time microscopic dynamics of aqueous methanol solutions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kalampounias, A. G.; Tsilomelekis, G.; Boghosian, S.

    2012-12-01

    In this paper we present the picosecond vibrational dynamics of a series of methanol aqueous solutions over a wide concentration range from dense to dilute solutions. We studied the vibrational dephasing and vibrational frequency modulation by calculating the time correlation functions of vibrational relaxation by fits in the frequency domain. This method is applied to aqueous methanol solutions xMeOH-(1 - x)H2O, where x = 0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8 and 1. The important finding is that the vibrational dynamics of the system become slower with increasing methanol concentration. The removal of many-body effects by having the molecules in less-crowded environments seems to be the key factor. The interpretation of the vibrational correlation function in the context of Kubo theory, which is based on the assumption that the environmental modulation arises from a single relaxation process and applied to simple liquids, is inadequate for all solutions studied. We found that the vibrational correlation functions of the solutions over the whole concentration range comply with the Rothschild approach, assuming that the environmental modulation is described by a stretched exponential decay. The evolution of the dispersion parameter α with dilution indicates the deviation of the solutions from the model simple liquid and the results are discussed in the framework of the current phenomenological status of the field.

  9. DEVELOPMENTAL NEUROTOXICITY OF INHALED METHANOL IN RATS

    EPA Science Inventory

    Dr. Weiss and his colleagues conducted a controlled series of experiments in which they exposed pregnant rats and their newborn offspring to 4,500 parts per million (ppm) methanol by inhalation, and then submitted them to tests of behavioral function.

    Exposure to 4,500...

  10. Enhanced amplified spontaneous emission using layer-by-layer assembled cowpea mosaic virus

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Na; Deng, Zhaoqi; Lin, Yuan; Zhang, Xiaojie; Geng, Yanhou; Ma, Dongge; Su, Zhaohui

    2009-01-01

    Layer-by-layer assembly technique was used to construct ultrathin film of cowpea mosaic virus (CPMV) by electrostatic interactions, and the film was employed as a precursor on which an OF8T2 film was deposited by spin coating. Amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) was observed and improved for the OF8T2 film. Compared with OF8T2 film on quartz, the introduction of CPMV nanoparticles reduced the threshold and loss, and remarkably increased the net gain. The threshold, loss, and gain reached 0.05 mJ/pulse, 6.9 cm-1, and 82 cm-1, respectively. CPMV nanoparticles may enormously scatter light, resulting in a positive feedback, thus the ASE is easily obtained and improved.

  11. Visually Evoked Spiking Evolves While Spontaneous Ongoing Dynamics Persist

    PubMed Central

    Huys, Raoul; Jirsa, Viktor K.; Darokhan, Ziauddin; Valentiniene, Sonata; Roland, Per E.

    2016-01-01

    Neurons in the primary visual cortex spontaneously spike even when there are no visual stimuli. It is unknown whether the spiking evoked by visual stimuli is just a modification of the spontaneous ongoing cortical spiking dynamics or whether the spontaneous spiking state disappears and is replaced by evoked spiking. This study of laminar recordings of spontaneous spiking and visually evoked spiking of neurons in the ferret primary visual cortex shows that the spiking dynamics does not change: the spontaneous spiking as well as evoked spiking is controlled by a stable and persisting fixed point attractor. Its existence guarantees that evoked spiking return to the spontaneous state. However, the spontaneous ongoing spiking state and the visual evoked spiking states are qualitatively different and are separated by a threshold (separatrix). The functional advantage of this organization is that it avoids the need for a system reorganization following visual stimulation, and impedes the transition of spontaneous spiking to evoked spiking and the propagation of spontaneous spiking from layer 4 to layers 2–3. PMID:26778982

  12. Peritonitis - spontaneous bacterial

    MedlinePlus

    Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP); Ascites - peritonitis; Cirrhosis - peritonitis ... who are on peritoneal dialysis for kidney failure. Peritonitis may have other causes . These include infection from ...

  13. Hynol: An economic process for methanol production from biomass and natural gas with reduced CO2 emission

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Steinberg, M.; Dong, Yuanji

    1993-10-01

    The Hynol process is proposed to meet the demand for an economical process for methanol production with reduced CO2 emission. This new process consists of three reaction steps: (1) hydrogasification of biomass, (2) steam reforming of the produced gas with additional natural gas feedstock, and (3) methanol synthesis of the hydrogen and carbon monoxide produced during the previous two steps. The H2-rich gas remaining after methanol synthesis is recycled to gasify the biomass in an energy neutral reactor so that there is no need for an expensive oxygen plant as required by commercial steam gasifiers. Recycling gas allows the methanol synthesis reactor to perform at a relatively lower pressure than conventional while the plant still maintains high methanol yield. Energy recovery designed into the process minimizes heat loss and increases the process thermal efficiency. If the Hynol methanol is used as an alternative and more efficient automotive fuel, an overall 41% reduction in CO2 emission can be achieved compared to the use of conventional gasoline fuel. A preliminary economic estimate shows that the total capital investment for a Hynol plant is 40% lower than that for a conventional biomass gasification plant. The methanol production cost is $0.43/gal for a 1085 million gal/yr Hynol plant which is competitive with current U.S. methanol and equivalent gasoline prices. Process flowsheet and simulation data using biomass and natural gas as cofeedstocks are presented. The Hynol process can convert any condensed carbonaceous material, especially municipal solid waste (MSW), to produce methanol.

  14. Dorsomedial prefontal cortex supports spontaneous thinking per se.

    PubMed

    Raij, T T; Riekki, T J J

    2017-06-01

    Spontaneous thinking, an action to produce, consider, integrate, and reason through mental representations, is central to our daily experience and has been suggested to serve crucial adaptive purposes. Such thinking occurs among other experiences during mind wandering that is associated with activation of the default mode network among other brain circuitries. Whether and how such brain activation is linked to the experience of spontaneous thinking per se remains poorly known. We studied 51 healthy subjects using a comprehensive experience-sampling paradigm during 3T functional magnetic resonance imaging. In comparison with fixation, the experiences of spontaneous thinking and spontaneous perception were related to activation of wide-spread brain circuitries, including the cortical midline structures, the anterior cingulate cortex and the visual cortex. In direct comparison of the spontaneous thinking versus spontaneous perception, activation was observed in the anterior dorsomedial prefrontal cortex. Modality congruence of spontaneous-experience-related brain activation was suggested by several findings, including association of the lingual gyrus with visual in comparison with non-verbal-non-visual thinking. In the context of current literature, these findings suggest that the cortical midline structures are involved in the integrative core substrate of spontaneous thinking that is coupled with other brain systems depending on the characteristics of thinking. Furthermore, involvement of the anterior dorsomedial prefrontal cortex suggests the control of high-order abstract functions to characterize spontaneous thinking per se. Hum Brain Mapp 38:3277-3288, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  15. Direct synthesis of few-layer graphene supported platinum nanocatalyst for methanol oxidation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tan, Hong; Ma, Xiaohui; Sheng, Leimei; An, Kang; Yu, Liming; Zhao, Hongbin; Xu, Jiaqiang; Ren, Wei; Zhao, Xinluo

    2014-11-01

    High-crystalline few-layer graphene supported Pt nanoparticles have been synthesized by arc discharge evaporation of carbon electrodes containing Pt element. A high-temperature treatment under hydrogen atmosphere has been carried out to obtain a new type of Pt/graphene catalyst for methanol oxidation in direct methanol fuel cell. The morphology and structure characterizations of as-grown few-layer graphene supported Pt nanoparticles and Pt/graphene catalysts have been studied by Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive spectroscopy, and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. Cyclic voltammograms and chronoamperometric curves show that our present Pt/graphene catalysts have larger current density for methanol oxidation, higher tolerance to carbon monoxide poisoning, and better stability during the operating procedure, compared to commercial Pt/C catalysts.

  16. Process for the conversion of carbonaceous feedstocks to particulate carbon and methanol

    DOEpatents

    Steinberg, M.; Grohse, E.W.

    1995-06-27

    A process is described for the production of a pollutant-free particulate carbon (i.e., a substantially ash-, sulfur- and nitrogen-free carbon) from carbonaceous feedstocks. The basic process involves de-oxygenating one of the gas streams formed in a cyclic hydropyrolysis-methane pyrolysis process in order to improve conversion of the initial carbonaceous feedstock. De-oxygenation is effected by catalytically converting carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and hydrogen contained in one of the pyrolysis gas streams, preferably the latter, to a methanol co-product. There are thus produced two products whose use is known per se, viz., a substantially pollutant-free particulate carbon black and methanol. These products may be admixed in the form of a liquid slurry of carbon black in methanol. 3 figs.

  17. Process for the conversion of carbonaceous feedstocks to particulate carbon and methanol

    DOEpatents

    Steinberg, Meyer; Grohse, Edward W.

    1995-01-01

    A process for the production of a pollutant-free particulate carbon (i.e., a substantially ash-, sulfur- and nitrogen-free carbon) from carbonaceous feedstocks. The basic process involves de-oxygenating one of the gas streams formed in a cyclic hydropyrolysis-methane pyrolysis process in order to improve conversion of the initial carbonaceous feedstock. De-oxygenation is effected by catalytically converting carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and hydrogen contained in one of the pyrolysis gas streams, preferably the latter, to a methanol co-product. There are thus produced two products whose use is known per se, viz., a substantially pollutant-free particulate carbon black and methanol. These products may be admixed in the form of a liquid slurry of carbon black in methanol.

  18. IRIS Toxicological Review of Methanol (Noncancer) (Final Report)

    EPA Science Inventory

    EPA conducted a peer review and public comment of the scientific basis supporting the human health hazard and dose-response assessment of Methanol (noncancer) , this is finalized and posted on the IRIS Web site.

  19. Nanophotonic Devices; Spontaneous Emission Faster than Stimulated Emission

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2016-02-02

    optically pumped spontaneous emission, and electrically pumped spontaneous emission. We have observed a speedup of >300x, and we project a speedup of 2500x...The project has succeeded, both for optically pumped spontaneous emission, and electrically pumped spontaneous emission. We have observed a speedup...Fabricated Plasmonic Optical Transformer”, (with H. Choo, S. Cabrini, P.J. Schuck, X. Liang,) U.S. Patent No. 9,052,450 (Jun. 9, 2015). 2. “ Probes

  20. MICROBIAL GROWTH ON C-1 COMPOUNDS. 6. OXIDATION OF METHANOL, FORMALDEHYDE AND FORMATE BY METHANOL-GROWN PSEUDOMONAS AM 1,

    DTIC Science & Technology

    oxidizing methanol that could be demonstrated was a dehydrogenase that can be linked to phenazine methosulphate and required the presence of NH4(+) ions...An aldehyde dehydrogenase that reduced 2,6-dichlorophenol-indophenol or phenazine methosulphate in the presence of formaldehyde was found in cell