Consumer purchase intention towards environmentally friendly vehicles: an empirical investigation in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

PubMed

Afroz, Rafia; Masud, Muhammad Mehedi; Akhtar, Rulia; Islam, Md Ashraful; Duasa, Jarita Bt

2015-10-01

This paper examines whether attitudes towards electric vehicles (ATEVs), subjective norms (SNs) and perceived behavioural control (PBC) have significant associations with consumer purchase intention (PI) and the purchase behaviour of environmentally friendly vehicles (EFVs). The results from the survey questionnaires are analysed using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modelling (SEM). The findings of this paper indicate that ATEV, SN and PBC significantly influence PI. This finding also indicates that environmental consequence and individual preferences do not influence the PI of the respondents. We found that Malaysian car owners are largely unaware of the greenhouse effects on the environment or attach to it little importance, which is reflected in their PI towards EFVs. The outcomes of this study could help policymakers design programmes to influence attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioural control and purchase behaviour to prevent further air pollution and reduce CO2 emissions from the transportation sector.

20th International Conference on Solid State Ionics (SSI 20)

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-05-20

Candidate as a Solid Electrolyte for Lithium - Ion Batteries Miriam Botros1, Ruzica Djenadic1, 2, 3 and Horst Hahn1, 2, 3; 1Joint Research Laboratory...Earth and Algae Based Aqueous Binders Make Environmentally Friendly High-Performance Anodes for Lithium - Ion Batteries Muhammad Hasanuzzaman and...Alberta, Canada. C2.22 Electrochemical Properties of All-Solid-State Lithium - Ion Batteries Using Li2CO3-Li3BO3 Electrolyte Toyoki Okumura, Tomonari

A Novel CO2-Responsive Viscoelastic Amphiphilic Surfactant Fluid for Fracking in Enhanced Oil/Gas Recovery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhong, L.; Wu, X.; Dai, C.

2017-12-01

Over the past decade, the rapid rise of unconventional shale gas and tight sandstone oil development through horizontal drilling and high volume hydraulic fracturing has expanded the extraction of hydrocarbon resources. Hydraulic fracturing fluids play very important roles in enhanced oil/gas recovery. However, damage to the reservoir rock and environmental contamination caused by hydraulic fracturing flowback fluids has raised serious concerns. The development of reservoir rock friendly and environmental benign fracturing fluids is in immediate demand. Studies to improve properties of hydraulic fracturing fluids have found that viscoelastic surfactant (VES) fracturing fluid can increase the productivity of gas/oil and be efficiently extracted after fracturing. Compared to conventional polymer fracturing fluid, VES fracturing fluid has many advantages, such as few components, easy preparation, good proppant transport capacity, low damage to cracks and formations, and environment friendly. In this work, we are developing a novel CO2-responsive VES fracking fluid that can readily be reused. This fluid has a gelling-breaking process that can be easily controlled by the presence of CO2 and its pressure. We synthesized erucamidopropyl dimethylamine (EA) as a thickening agent for hydraulic fracturing fluid. The influence of temperature, presence of CO2 and pressure on the viscoelastic behavior of this fluid was then investigated through rheological measurements. The fracturing fluid performance and recycle property were lastly studied using core flooding tests. We expect this fluid finds applications not only in enhanced oil/gas recovery, but also in areas such as controlling groundwater pollution and microfluidics.

Environmental-Friendly and Facile Synthesis of Co3O4 Nanowires and Their Promising Application with Graphene in Lithium-Ion Batteries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Zhiqiang; Liu, Wei; Yang, Yuanyi; Sun, Lijuan; Deng, Yi; Liao, Li

2017-12-01

In this work, we developed an eco-friendly strategy for preparing Co3O4 nanowires. The process consisted of two steps: controllable synthesis of metal cobalt nanowires followed by a facile air-oxidization step. The 1D nanowire structure with a high aspect ratio was easily achieved via a magnetic-field-assisted self-assembly of cobalt ion complexes during reduction. After air-calcinations, the Co3O4 nanowires were prepared in large scale and ready to be used as the anode material for lithium-ion batteries. The Co3O4 nanowires, which possessed a length ranging from 3 to 8 μm with the aspect ratio more than 15, exhibited a reversible lithium storage capacity up to 790 mAh/g when using a small amount of defect-free graphene flakes as conductive additives. The superior electrochemical performances were ascribable to the synergistic "flat-on" effect between the 1D nanowires and the 2D graphene. Therefore, the Co3O4 nanowire/graphene composite holds promising application for lithium-ion batteries.

Environmental sustainability of an energy self-sufficient sewage treatment plant: improvements through DEMON and co-digestion.

PubMed

Schaubroeck, Thomas; De Clippeleir, Haydée; Weissenbacher, Norbert; Dewulf, Jo; Boeckx, Pascal; Vlaeminck, Siegfried E; Wett, Bernhard

2015-05-01

It is still not proven that treatment of sewage in a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) is (in every case) environmentally friendly. To address this matter, we have applied a state-of-the-art life cycle assessment (LCA) to an energy self-sufficient WWTP in Strass (Austria), its supply chain and the valorization of its 'products': produced electricity out of biogas from sludge digestion and the associated stabilized digestate, applied as agricultural fertilizer. Prominent aspects of our study are: a holistic environmental impact assessment, measurement of greenhouse gas emissions (including N2O), and accounting for infrastructure, replacement of conventional fertilizers and toxicity of metals present in the stabilized digestate. Additionally, the environmental sustainability improvement by implementing one-stage partial nitritation/anammox (e.g. DEMON(®)) and co-digestion was also assessed. DEMON on the digesters reject water leads to a considerable saving of natural resources compared to nitritiation/denitritation (about 33% of the life cycle resource input), this through the lowering of sludge consumption for N-removal, and thus increasing electricity production via a higher sludge excess. However, its N2O emission could be restrained through further optimization as it represents a large share (30-66%) of the plants' damaging effect on human health, this through climate change. The co-substrate addition to the digester resulted in no significant improvement of the digestion process but induced net electricity generation. If respective amounts of conventional fertilizers are replaced, the land application of the stabilized digestate is environmentally friendly through prevention of natural resource consumption and diversity loss, but possibly not regarding human health impact due the presence of toxic heavy metals, mainly Zn, in the digestate. The outcomes show that the complete life cycle results in a prevention of resource extraction from nature and a potential mitigation of diversity loss (though for some impact categories no quantification of associated diversity loss is possible) but it also leads to a damaging effect on human health, mainly via climate change and heavy metal toxicity. Since it is for now impossible to aggregate the impact to these different aspects in a sound manner, it is not yet possible to consider in this case the studied system as environmentally friendly. Generally, the field of LCA needs further development to present a better and single outcome. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Eco-friendly Energy Storage System: Seawater and Ionic Liquid Electrolyte.

PubMed

Kim, Jae-Kwang; Mueller, Franziska; Kim, Hyojin; Jeong, Sangsik; Park, Jeong-Sun; Passerini, Stefano; Kim, Youngsik

2016-01-08

As existing battery technologies struggle to meet the requirements for widespread use in the field of large-scale energy storage, novel concepts are urgently needed concerning batteries that have high energy densities, low costs, and high levels of safety. Here, a novel eco-friendly energy storage system (ESS) using seawater and an ionic liquid is proposed for the first time; this represents an intermediate system between a battery and a fuel cell, and is accordingly referred to as a hybrid rechargeable cell. Compared to conventional organic electrolytes, the ionic liquid electrolyte significantly enhances the cycle performance of the seawater hybrid rechargeable system, acting as a very stable interface layer between the Sn-C (Na storage) anode and the NASICON (Na3 Zr2 Si2 PO12) ceramic solid electrolyte, making this system extremely promising for cost-efficient and environmentally friendly large-scale energy storage. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Optimized Solvent for Energy-Efficient, Environmentally-Friendly Capture of CO{sub 2} at Coal-Fired Power Plants

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

Farthing, G. A.; Rimpf, L. M.

The overall goal of this project, as originally proposed, was to optimize the formulation of a novel solvent as a critical enabler for the cost-effective, energy-efficient, environmentally-friendly capture of CO{sub 2} at coal-fired utility plants. Aqueous blends of concentrated piperazine (PZ) with other compounds had been shown to exhibit high rates of CO{sub 2} absorption, low regeneration energy, and other desirable performance characteristics during an earlier 5-year development program conducted by B&W. The specific objective of this project was to identify PZ-based solvent formulations that globally optimize the performance of coal-fired power plants equipped with CO{sub 2} scrubbing systems. Whilemore » previous solvent development studies have tended to focus on energy consumption and absorber size, important issues to be sure, the current work seeks to explore, understand, and optimize solvent formulation across the full gamut of issues related to commercial application of the technology: capital and operating costs, operability, reliability, environmental, health and safety (EH&S), etc. Work on the project was intended to be performed under four budget periods. The objective of the work in the first budget period has been to identify several candidate formulations of a concentrated PZ-based solvent for detailed characterization and evaluation. Work in the second budget period would generate reliable and comprehensive property and performance data for the identified formulations. Work in the third budget period would quantify the expected performance of the selected formulations in a commercial CO{sub 2} scrubbing process. Finally, work in the fourth budget period would provide a final technology feasibility study and a preliminary technology EH&S assessment. Due to other business priorities, however, B&W has requested that this project be terminated at the end of the first budget period. This document therefore serves as the final report for this project. It is the first volume of the two-volume final report and summarizes Budget Period 1 accomplishments under Tasks 1-5 of the project, including the selection of four solvent formulations for further study.« less

Enhanced thermoelectric figure-of-merit in environmentally benign BaxSr2-xTiCoO6 double perovskites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saxena, Mandvi; Roy, Pinku; Acharya, Megha; Bose, Imon; Tanwar, Khagesh; Maiti, Tanmoy

2016-12-01

Environmental friendly, non-toxic double perovskite BaxSr2-xTiCoO6 compositions with 0 ≤ x ≤ 0.2 were synthesized using solid-state reaction route for high temperature thermoelectric (TE) applications. XRD and SEM studies confirmed the presence of single-phase solid solution with highly dense microstructure for all the oxide compositions. Temperature dependent electrical conductivity measurement showed semiconductor to metal (M-S) transition in these double perovskites. Incorporation of barium in Sr2TiCoO6 pushed M-S transition to higher temperature making it a potential candidate for high temperature TE applications. Conductivity behaviors of these oxides were explained by small polaron model. Furthermore, these oxides exhibit a glass like behavior resulting in low thermal conductivity. Low temperature dielectric measurement revealed relaxor ferroelectric behavior in these oxides below room temperature. Transition of these relaxors into a glassy state beyond Burns temperature (TD) was found responsible for having low thermal conductivity in these oxides. Maximum dimensionless TE figure-of-merit ZT = 0.29 at 1223 K was achieved for BaxSr2-xTiCoO6 composition with x = 0.2.

Alternative photocatalysts to TiO2 for the photocatalytic reduction of CO2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nikokavoura, Aspasia; Trapalis, Christos

2017-01-01

The increased concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere, originating from the burning of fossil fuels in stationary and mobile sources, is referred as the "Anthropogenic Greenhouse Effect" and constitutes a major environmental concern. The scientific community is highly concerned about the resulting enhancement of the mean atmospheric temperature, so a vast diversity of methods has been applied. Thermochemical, electrochemical, photocatalytic, photoelectrochemical processes, as well as combination of solar electricity generation and water splitting processes have been performed in order to lower the CO2 atmospheric levels. Photocatalytic methods are environmental friendly and succeed in reducing the atmospheric CO2 concentration and producing fuels or/and useful organic compounds at the same time. The most common photocatalysts for the CO2 reduction are the inorganic, the carbon based semiconductors and the hybrids based on semiconductors, which combine stability, low cost and appropriate structure in order to accomplish redox reactions. In this review, inorganic semiconductors such as single-metal oxide, mixed-metal oxides, metal oxide composites, layered double hydroxides (LDHs), salt composites, carbon based semiconductors such as graphene based composites, CNT composites, g-C3N4 composites and hybrid organic-inorganic materials (ZIFs) were studied. TiO2 and Ti based photocatalysts are extensively studied and therefore in this review they are not mentioned.

A Lithium-Ion Battery with Enhanced Safety Prepared using an Environmentally Friendly Process.

PubMed

Mueller, Franziska; Loeffler, Nicholas; Kim, Guk-Tae; Diemant, Thomas; Behm, R Jürgen; Passerini, Stefano

2016-06-08

A new lithium-ion battery chemistry is presented based on a conversion-alloying anode material, a carbon-coated Fe-doped ZnO (TMO-C), and a LiNi1/3 Mn1/3 Co1/3 O2 (NMC) cathode. Both electrodes were fabricated using an environmentally friendly cellulose-based binding agent. The performance of the new lithium-ion battery was evaluated with a conventional, carbonate-based electrolyte (ethylene carbonate:diethyl carbonate-1 m lithium hexafluorophosphate, EC:DEC 1 m LiPF6 ) and an ionic liquid (IL)-based electrolyte (N-butyl-N-methylpyrrolidinium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide-0.2 m lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide, Pyr14 TFSI 0.2 m LiTFSI), respectively. Galvanostatic charge/discharge tests revealed a reduced rate capability of the TMO-C/Pyr14 TFSI 0.2 m LiTFSI/NMC full-cell compared to the organic electrolyte, but the coulombic efficiency was significantly enhanced. Moreover, the IL-based electrolyte substantially improves the safety of the system due to a higher thermal stability of the formed anodic solid electrolyte interphase and the IL electrolyte itself. While the carbonate-based electrolyte shows sudden degradation reactions, the IL exhibits a slowly increasing heat flow, which does not constitute a serious safety risk. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Biodegradable and bio-based polymers: future prospects of eco-friendly plastics.

PubMed

Iwata, Tadahisa

2015-03-09

Currently used plastics are mostly produced from petrochemical products, but there is a growing demand for eco-friendly plastics. The use of bio-based plastics, which are produced from renewable resources, and biodegradable plastics, which are degraded in the environment, will lead to a more sustainable society and help us solve global environmental and waste management problems. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

2,2,2-Trifluoroacetophenone as an organocatalyst for the oxidation of tertiary amines and azines to N-oxides.

PubMed

Limnios, Dimitris; Kokotos, Christoforos G

2014-01-07

A cheap, mild and environmentally friendly oxidation of tertiary amines and azines to the corresponding N-oxides is reported by using polyfluoroalkyl ketones as efficient organocatalysts. 2,2,2-Trifluoroacetophenone was identified as the optimum catalyst for the oxidation of aliphatic tertiary amines and azines. This oxidation is chemoselective and proceeds in high-to-quantitative yields utilizing 10 mol % of the catalyst and H2 O2 as the oxidant. Copyright © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

LiNbO3 coating on concrete surface: a new and environmentally friendly route for artificial photosynthesis.

PubMed

Nath, Ranjit K; Zain, M F M; Kadhum, Abdul Amir H

2013-01-01

The addition of a photocatalyst to ordinary building materials such as concrete creates environmentally friendly materials by which air pollution or pollution of the surface can be diminished. The use of LiNbO3 photocatalyst in concrete material would be more beneficial since it can produce artificial photosynthesis in concrete. In these research photoassisted solid-gas phases reduction of carbon dioxide (artificial photosynthesis) was performed using a photocatalyst, LiNbO3, coated on concrete surface under illumination of UV-visible or sunlight and showed that LiNbO3 achieved high conversion of CO2 into products despite the low levels of band-gap light available. The high reaction efficiency of LiNbO3 is explained by its strong remnant polarization (70 µC/cm(2)), allowing a longer lifetime of photoinduced carriers as well as an alternative reaction pathway. Due to the ease of usage and good photocatalytic efficiency, the research work done showed its potential application in pollution prevention.

Life-cycle and cost of goods assessment of fed-batch and perfusion-based manufacturing processes for mAbs.

PubMed

Bunnak, Phumthep; Allmendinger, Richard; Ramasamy, Sri V; Lettieri, Paola; Titchener-Hooker, Nigel J

2016-09-01

Life-cycle assessment (LCA) is an environmental assessment tool that quantifies the environmental impact associated with a product or a process (e.g., water consumption, energy requirements, and solid waste generation). While LCA is a standard approach in many commercial industries, its application has not been exploited widely in the bioprocessing sector. To contribute toward the design of more cost-efficient, robust and environmentally-friendly manufacturing process for monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), a framework consisting of an LCA and economic analysis combined with a sensitivity analysis of manufacturing process parameters and a production scale-up study is presented. The efficiency of the framework is demonstrated using a comparative study of the two most commonly used upstream configurations for mAb manufacture, namely fed-batch (FB) and perfusion-based processes. Results obtained by the framework are presented using a range of visualization tools, and indicate that a standard perfusion process (with a pooling duration of 4 days) has similar cost of goods than a FB process but a larger environmental footprint because it consumed 35% more water, demanded 17% more energy, and emitted 17% more CO 2 than the FB process. Water consumption was the most important impact category, especially when scaling-up the processes, as energy was required to produce process water and water-for-injection, while CO 2 was emitted from energy generation. The sensitivity analysis revealed that the perfusion process can be made more environmentally-friendly than the FB process if the pooling duration is extended to 8 days. © 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 32:1324-1335, 2016. © 2016 The Authors Biotechnology Progress published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of American Institute of Chemical Engineers.

Best friends' interactions and substance use: The role of friend pressure and unsupervised co-deviancy.

PubMed

Tsakpinoglou, Florence; Poulin, François

2017-10-01

Best friends exert a substantial influence on rising alcohol and marijuana use during adolescence. Two mechanisms occurring within friendship - friend pressure and unsupervised co-deviancy - may partially capture the way friends influence one another. The current study aims to: (1) examine the psychometric properties of a new instrument designed to assess pressure from a youth's best friend and unsupervised co-deviancy; (2) investigate the relative contribution of these processes to alcohol and marijuana use; and (3) determine whether gender moderates these associations. Data were collected through self-report questionnaires completed by 294 Canadian youths (62% female) across two time points (ages 15-16). Principal component analysis yielded a two-factor solution corresponding to friend pressure and unsupervised co-deviancy. Logistic regressions subsequently showed that unsupervised co-deviancy was predictive of an increase in marijuana use one year later. Neither process predicted an increase in alcohol use. Results did not differ as a function of gender. Copyright © 2017 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Driving Forces Controlling Host-Guest Recognition in Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Solvent.

PubMed

Ingrosso, Francesca; Altarsha, Muhannad; Dumarçay, Florence; Kevern, Gwendal; Barth, Danielle; Marsura, Alain; Ruiz-López, Manuel F

2016-02-24

The formation of supramolecular host-guest complexes is a very useful and widely employed tool in chemistry. However, supramolecular chemistry in non-conventional solvents such as supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2 ), one of the most promising sustainable solvents, is still in its infancy. In this work, we explored a successful route to the development of green processes in supercritical CO2 by combining a theoretical approach with experiments. We were able to synthesize and characterize an inclusion complex between a polar aromatic molecule (benzoic acid) and peracetylated-β-cyclodextrin, which is soluble in the supercritical medium. This finding opens the way to wide, environmental friendly, applications of scCO2 in many areas of chemistry, including supramolecular synthesis, reactivity and catalysis, micro and nano-particle formation, molecular recognition, as well as enhanced extraction processes with increased selectivity. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Investigation on the Room-temperature preparation of Cobalt hybrid/Graphene Nanocomposite and application in wastewater purification: Highly Efficient Removal of Congo Red

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, L. X.; Zhao, Y. F.; Meng, Q. M.

2018-01-01

Here, we are going to report a simple, low-cost and environmental friendly process to prepare the cobalt hybrid/graphene (Co/G) nanocomposite at room temperature. NaBH4 was used as the reducing agent. Such an approach can be extended to grow some other metal/G nanocomposites, for example, Ni/G, Co/G nanocomposite possesses narrow size-distribution and good dispersion. Because of the special appearance with large surface area, and the special synthesis process of the productions, adsorption experiments for Congo Red were carried out in synthetic wastewater. The CR removal ability of Co/G nanocomposite can reach 263.2 mg/g.

Is CO2 emission a side effect of financial development? An empirical analysis for China.

PubMed

Hao, Yu; Zhang, Zong-Yong; Liao, Hua; Wei, Yi-Ming; Wang, Shuo

2016-10-01

Based on panel data for 29 Chinese provinces from 1995 to 2012, this paper explores the relationship between financial development and environmental quality in China. A comprehensive framework is utilized to estimate both the direct and indirect effects of financial development on CO 2 emissions in China using a carefully designed two-stage regression model. The first-difference and orthogonal-deviation Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) methods are used to control for potential endogeneity and introduce dynamics. To ensure the robustness of the estimations, two indicators measuring financial development-financial depth and financial efficiency-are used. The empirical results indicate that the direct effects of financial depth and financial efficiency on environmental quality are positive and negative, respectively. The indirect effects of both indicators are U shaped and dominate the shape of the total effects. These findings suggest that the influences of the financial development on environment depend on the level of economic development. At the early stage of economic growth, financial development is environmentally friendly. When the economy is highly developed, a higher level of financial development is harmful to the environmental quality.

An environmental benign process for cobalt and lithium recovery from spent lithium-ion batteries by mechanochemical approach.

PubMed

Wang, Meng-Meng; Zhang, Cong-Cong; Zhang, Fu-Shen

2016-05-01

In the current study, an environmental benign process namely mechanochemical approach was developed for cobalt and lithium recovery from spent lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). The main merit of the process was that neither corrosive acid nor strong oxidant was applied. In the proposed process, lithium cobalt oxide (obtained from spent LIBs) was firstly co-grinded with various additives in a hermetic ball milling system, then Co and Li could be easily recovered by a water leaching procedure. It was found that EDTA was the most suitable co-grinding reagent, and 98% of Co and 99% of Li were respectively recovered under optimum conditions: LiCoO2 to EDTA mass ratio 1:4, milling time 4h, rotary speed 600r/min and ball-to-powder mass ratio 80:1, respectively. Mechanisms study implied that lone pair electrons provided by two nitrogen atoms and four hydroxyl oxygen atoms of EDTA could enter the empty orbit of Co and Li by solid-solid reaction, thus forming stable and water-soluble metal chelates Li-EDTA and Co-EDTA. Moreover, the separation of Co and Li could be achieved through a chemical precipitation approach. This study provides a high efficiency and environmentally friendly process for Co and Li recovery from spent LIBs. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Efficient capture of CO2 over ordered micro-mesoporous hybrid carbon nanosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Changwei; Yu, Yanke; He, Chi; Wang, Li; Huang, Huang; Albilali, Reem; Cheng, Jie; Hao, Zhengping

2018-05-01

Four kinds of carbon-based adsorbents (micro-mesoporous hybrid carbon nanosphere and N-doped hollow carbon sphere with single-, double- or ruga-shell morphology) with different structural and textural properties were prepared and systematically studied in CO2 capture. All synthesized samples possess high specific surface area (828-910 m2 g-1), large pore volume (0.71-1.81 cm3 g-1), and different micropore contents varied from 2.1% to 46.4%. Amongst, the ordered micro-mesoporous carbon nanosphere (OM-CNS) exhibits the best adsorption performance with CO2 uptake as high as 3.01 mmol g-1 under conditions of 298 K and 1.0 bar, better than most of the reported CO2 adsorbents. The excellent CO2 adsorption capacity of OM-CNS can be reasonably attributed to the synergistic effect of ordered mesopore channels and abundant structural micropores which are beneficial for the diffusion and trapping of CO2 adsorbate. Moreover, the OM-CNS shows excellent CO2 trapping selectivity and superior stability and recyclability, which endow the OM-CNS as a promising and environmental-friendly adsorbent for CO2 capture and separation under practical conditions.

Measuring Carbon Footprint of Flexible Pavement Construction Project in Indonesia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hatmoko, Jati Utomo Dwi; Hidayat, Arif; Setiawati, Apsari; Prasetyo, Stefanus Catur Adi

2018-02-01

Road infrastructure in Indonesia is mainly dominated by flexible pavement type. Its construction process, however, has raised concerns in terms of its environment impacts. This study aims to track and measure the carbon footprint of flexible pavement. The objectives are to map the construction process in relation to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, to quantify them in terms of carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2e) as generated by the process of production and transportation of raw materials, and the operation of plant off-site and on-site project. Data collection was done by having site observations and interviews with project stakeholders. The results show a total emissions of 70.888 tonnes CO2e, consisting of 34.248 tonnes CO2e (48.31%) off-site activities and 36.640 tonnes CO2e (51.687%) on-site activities. The two highest CO2e emissions were generated by the use of plant for asphalt concrete laying activities accounted 34.827 tonnes CO2e (49.130%), and material transportation accounted 24.921 (35.155%). These findings provide a new perspective of the carbon footprint in flexible pavement and suggest the urgent need for the use of more efficient and environmentally friendly plant in construction process as it shows the most significant contribution on the CO2e. This study provides valuable understanding on the environmental impact of typical flexible pavement projects in Indonesia, and further can be used for developing green road framework.

Synthesis and characterization of intercalated polyaniline-clay nanocomposite using supercritical CO2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abdelraheem, A.; El-Shazly, A. H.; Elkady, M. F.

2018-05-01

Lately, supercritical CO2 (SCCO2) have been getting great interest. It can be used in numerous applications because it is environmentally friendly, safe, comparatively low cost, and nonflammable. One of its applications is being a solvent in the synthesis of polymeric-clay nanocomposite. In this paper, intercalated polyaniline-clay nanocomposite (PANC) was prepared using SCCO2. The intercalation structure of polyaniline chains between clay layers was verified by various characterization techniques. Scanning electron microscope and transmission electron microscope (SEM-TEM) were used to show the morphology of the synthesized nanocomposite. The molecular structure of PANC nanocomposite was confirmed using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The BET surface area and the conductivity of the nanocomposite were determined.

Low‐Temperature Combustion Synthesis of a Spinel NiCo2O4 Hole Transport Layer for Perovskite Photovoltaics

PubMed Central

Papadas, Ioannis T.; Ioakeimidis, Apostolos; Armatas, Gerasimos S.

2018-01-01

Abstract The synthesis and characterization of low‐temperature solution‐processable monodispersed nickel cobaltite (NiCo2O4) nanoparticles (NPs) via a combustion synthesis is reported using tartaric acid as fuel and the performance as a hole transport layer (HTL) for perovskite solar cells (PVSCs) is demonstrated. NiCo2O4 is a p‐type semiconductor consisting of environmentally friendly, abundant elements and higher conductivity compared to NiO. It is shown that the combustion synthesis of spinel NiCo2O4 using tartaric acid as fuel can be used to control the NPs size and provide smooth, compact, and homogeneous functional HTLs processed by blade coating. Study of PVSCs with different NiCo2O4 thickness as HTL reveals a difference on hole extraction efficiency, and for 15 nm, optimized thickness enhanced hole carrier collection is achieved. As a result, p‐i‐n structure of PVSCs with 15 nm NiCo2O4 HTLs shows reliable performance and power conversion efficiency values in the range of 15.5% with negligible hysteresis. PMID:29876223

The environmental impacts of foamed concrete production and exploitation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Namsone, E.; Korjakins, A.; Sahmenko, G.; Sinka, M.

2017-10-01

This paper presents a study focusing on the environmental impacts of foamed concrete production and exploitation. CO2 emissions are very important factor for describing durability and sustainability of any building material and its life cycle. The building sector is one of the largest energy-consuming sectors in the world. In this study CO2 emissions are evaluated with regard to three types of energy resources (gas, coal and eco-friendly fuel). The related savings on raw materials are up to 120 t of water per 1000 t of traditionally mixed foamed concrete and up to 350 t of sand per 1000 t of foamed concrete produced with intensive mixing technology. In addition, total reduction of CO2 emissions (up to 60 t per 1000 m3 of material) and total energy saving from introduction of foamed concrete production (depending on the type of fuel) were calculated. In order to analyze the conditions of exploitation, both thermal conductivity and thickness of wall was determined. All obtained and calculated results were compared to those of the commercially produced autoclaved aerated concrete.

The ecological impacts of primary education facilities based on a child-friendly neighborhood unit criteria in Surakarta

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rini, E. F.; Putri, R. A.; Mulyanto; Handayani, N.

2018-03-01

A city should accommodate the citizen needs, especially for children. The absence of elementary school in a neighborhood unit (NU) will increase the use of transportation by children in the NU, every day at the same time. This activity will produce large quantities of - carbon dioxide (CO2) that can trigger climate change. This article aims at discovering the ecological impacts of CO2 emitted from the transportation used by children when commuting to their school, based on the conformity of each NU to the criteria of the a child-friendly city. Quantitative and spatial analysis techniques were employed in these four stages: (1) dividing the NU; (2) constructing the NU’s typology based on a child-friendly criteria; (3) identifying the characteristic of children movements in each NU when accessing their elementary school; and (4) analyzing the ecological impacts (in CO2 form). The result shows that 88.14% of CO2 emissions in Surakarta can be reduced by interventions through the fulfillment of all NU’s child-friendly criterias.

Sustainable recovery of valuable metals from spent lithium-ion batteries using DL-malic acid: Leaching and kinetics aspect.

PubMed

Sun, Conghao; Xu, Liping; Chen, Xiangping; Qiu, Tianyun; Zhou, Tao

2018-02-01

An eco-friendly and benign process has been investigated for the dissolution of Li, Co, Ni, and Mn from the cathode materials of spent LiNi 1/3 Co 1/3 Mn 1/3 O 2 batteries, using DL-malic acid as the leaching agent in this study. The leaching efficiencies of Li, Co, Ni, and Mn can reach about 98.9%, 94.3%, 95.1%, and 96.4%, respectively, under the leaching conditions of DL-malic acid concentration of 1.2 M, hydrogen peroxide content of 1.5 vol.%, solid-to-liquid ratio of 40 g l -1 , leaching temperature of 80°C, and leaching time of 30 min. In addition, the leaching kinetic was investigated based on the shrinking model and the results reveal that the leaching reaction is controlled by chemical reactions within 10 min with activation energies (Ea) of 21.3 kJ·mol -1 , 30.4 kJ·mol -1 , 27.9 kJ·mol -1 , and 26.2 kJ·mol -1 for Li, Co, Ni, and Mn, respectively. Diffusion process becomes the controlled step with a prolonged leaching time from 15 to 30 min, and the activation energies (Ea) are 20.2 kJ·mol -1 , 28.9 kJ·mol -1 , 26.3 kJ·mol -1 , and 25.0 kJ·mol -1 for Li, Co, Ni, and Mn, respectively. This hydrometallurgical route was found to be effective and environmentally friendly for leaching metals from spent lithium batteries.

Separation of Ni and Co by D2EHPA in the Presence of Citrate Ion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nadimi, Hamed; Haghshenas Fatmehsari, Davoud; Firoozi, Sadegh

2017-10-01

Recycling processes for the recovery of metallic content from the electronic wastes are environmentally friendly and economical. This paper reports a method for the recovery and separation of Ni and Co from the sulfate solution by the use of D2EHPA. In this regard, the influence of citrate ion, as a carboxylate ligand, was examined in the separation conditions of Ni and Co via D2EHPA (a poor selective extractant for Ni and Co separation). It was found that the Δ {pH}_{0.5}^{Ni-Co} (the difference between pH values corresponding to 50 pct extraction of metallic ion) increases to 1.5 at the citrate concentration of 0.05 M; this Δ {pH}_{0.5}^{Ni-Co} value is much higher than that obtained in the absence of citrate ion (0.1). Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR) indicated that the citrate ion is co-absorbed during the metallic ions absorption by D2EHPA meaning that the metal-organic complexes contain Co/Ni and citrate ion. Also, the stoichiometric coefficients of the Ni and Co extraction reaction were proposed by applying the slope analysis method.

Rapid mineralisation of the Organic Fraction of Municipal Solid Waste.

PubMed

Martínez-Valdez, F J; Martínez-Ramírez, C; Martínez-Montiel, L; Favela-Torres, E; Soto-Cruz, N O; Ramírez-Vives, F; Saucedo-Castañeda, G

2015-03-01

The effect of pH, C/N ratio, addition of a microbial consortium (MC) and temperature upon mineralisation of Organic Fraction of Municipal Solid Waste (OFMSW) was studied; mineralisation was measured through the CO2 production rate and total CO2 formation. Through this process up to 432.9mg of CO2g(-1) initial dry matter (IDM) after 2days of treatment was obtained. It was found that under a slightly acidic pH (5-6) and C/N of 30, the mineralisation process was accelerated. Moreover, temperature (27-50°C) had no effect on the total CO2 produced. The highest CO2 production rate (5.28d(-1)) was observed at 27°C, C/N ratio of 30 and 8% of microbial consortium; it is at least 3.52 times higher than that reported (1.5d(-1)). The highest release of reducing sugars was determined at 50°C, possibly due to an increase in hydrolytic enzymes. Results suggest the potential use of rapid mineralisation of OFMSW for further friendly environmental processes. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Microbial Reverse-Electrodialysis Electrolysis and Chemical-Production Cell for H2 Production and CO2 Sequestration.

PubMed

Zhu, Xiuping; Hatzell, Marta C; Logan, Bruce E

2014-04-08

Natural mineral carbonation can be accelerated using acid and alkali solutions to enhance atmospheric CO 2 sequestration, but the production of these solutions needs to be carbon-neutral. A microbial reverse-electrodialysis electrolysis and chemical-production cell (MRECC) was developed to produce these solutions and H 2 gas using only renewable energy sources (organic matter and salinity gradient). Using acetate (0.82 g/L) as a fuel for microorganisms to generate electricity in the anode chamber (liquid volume of 28 mL), 0.45 mmol of acid and 1.09 mmol of alkali were produced at production efficiencies of 35% and 86%, respectively, along with 10 mL of H 2 gas. Serpentine dissolution was enhanced 17-87-fold using the acid solution, with approximately 9 mL of CO 2 absorbed and 4 mg of CO 2 fixed as magnesium or calcium carbonates. The operational costs, based on mineral digging and grinding, and water pumping, were estimated to be only $25/metric ton of CO 2 fixed as insoluble carbonates. Considering the additional economic benefits of H 2 generation and possible wastewater treatment, this method may be a cost-effective and environmentally friendly method for CO 2 sequestration.

An environmentally friendly ball milling process for recovery of valuable metals from e-waste scraps.

PubMed

Zhang, Zhi-Yuan; Zhang, Fu-Shen; Yao, TianQi

2017-10-01

The present study reports a mechanochemical (MC) process for effective recovery of copper (Cu) and precious metals (i.e. Pd and Ag) from e-waste scraps. Results indicated that the mixture of K 2 S 2 O 8 and NaCl (abbreviated as K 2 S 2 O 8 /NaCl hereafter) was the most effective co-milling reagents in terms of high recovery rate. After co-milling with K 2 S 2 O 8 /NaCl, soluble metallic compounds were produced and consequently benefit the subsequent leaching process. 99.9% of Cu and 95.5% of Pd in the e-waste particles could be recovered in 0.5mol/L diluted HCl in 15min. Ag was concentrated in the leaching residue as AgCl and then recovered in 1mol/L NH 3 solution. XRD and XPS analysis indicated that elemental metals in the raw materials were transformed into their corresponding oxidation state during ball milling process at low temperature, implying that solid-solid phase reactions is the reaction mechanism. Based on the results and thermodynamic parameters of the probable reactions, possible reaction pathways during ball milling were proposed. Suggestion on category of e-waste for ball milling process was put forward according to the experiment results. The designed metal recovery process of this study has the advantages of highly recovery rate and quick leaching speed. Thus, this study offers a promising and environmentally friendly method for recovering valuable metals from e-waste. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

An eco-friendly approach for heavy metal adsorbent regeneration using CO2-responsive molecular octopus.

PubMed

Bai, Yu; Liang, Yen Nan; Hu, Xiao

2017-10-01

Perennial problems of adsorption in wastewater treatment include adsorbent recycling, generation of waste sludge and secondary pollution because harmful concentrated acids, bases or strong chelators are often used for adsorbent regeneration and adsorbate recovery. We report, for the first time, an eco-friendly regeneration concept demonstrated with a CO 2 -responsive octopus-like polymeric adsorbent. Various heavy metals can be scavenged at very high Q e by such adsorbent through coordination. Most importantly, the rapid and complete regeneration of the adsorbent and recovery of the heavy metal ions can be readily achieved by CO 2 bubbling within a few minutes under mild conditions, i.e., room temperature and atmospheric pressure. The adsorbent can then be restored to its adsorptive state and reused upon removal of CO 2 by simply bubbling another gas. This eco-friendly, effective, ultra-fast and repeatable CO 2 -triggered regeneration process using CO 2 -responsive adsorbent with versatile structure, morphology or form can be incorporated into a sustainable closed-loop wastewater treatment process to solve the perennial problems. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Solar power for energy sustainability and environmental friendliness of Curtin University Sarawak

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Palanichamy, C.; Goh, Alvin

2016-03-01

The demand on electrical energy is rapidly increasing. Everything around us requires electrical energy either during its production or usage stage. Sustainability has become the main concern nowadays as the availability of fossil fuels is limited. As renewable energy is the path-way to energy sustainability and environmental friendly environment, this paper proposes a solar power system for Curtin University Sarawak to reduce its electricity consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. The proposed 208 kW solar system saves an energy consumption of more than 380,000 kWh per year, and a CO2 offset by 285 Tons per year

Experimental evaluation of main emissions during coal processing waste combustion.

PubMed

Dmitrienko, Margarita A; Legros, Jean C; Strizhak, Pavel A

2018-02-01

The total volume of the coal processing wastes (filter cakes) produced by Russia, China, and India is as high as dozens of millions of tons per year. The concentrations of CO and CO 2 in the emissions from the combustion of filter cakes have been measured directly for the first time. They are the biggest volume of coal processing wastes. There have been many discussions about using these wastes as primary or secondary components of coal-water slurries (CWS) and coal-water slurries containing petrochemicals (CWSP). Boilers have already been operationally tested in Russia for the combustion of CWSP based on filter cakes. In this work, the concentrations of hazardous emissions have been measured at temperatures ranging from 500 to 1000°С. The produced CO and CO 2 concentrations are shown to be practically constant at high temperatures (over 900°С) for all the coal processing wastes under study. Experiments have shown the feasibility to lowering the combustion temperatures of coal processing wastes down to 750-850°С. This provides sustainable combustion and reduces the CO and CO 2 emissions 1.2-1.7 times. These relatively low temperatures ensure satisfactory environmental and energy performance of combustion. Using CWS and CWSP instead of conventional solid fuels significantly reduces NO x and SO x emissions but leaves CO and CO 2 emissions practically at the same level as coal powder combustion. Therefore, the environmentally friendly future (in terms of all the main atmospheric emissions: CO, CO 2 , NO x , and SO x ) of both CWS and CWSP technologies relies on low-temperature combustion. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Metal-Organic-Framework-Derived Yolk-Shell-Structured Cobalt-Based Bimetallic Oxide Polyhedron with High Activity for Electrocatalytic Oxygen Evolution.

PubMed

Yu, Zhou; Bai, Yu; Liu, Yuxuan; Zhang, Shimin; Chen, Dandan; Zhang, Naiqing; Sun, Kening

2017-09-20

The development of inexpensive, efficient, and environmentally friendly catalysts for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is of great significant for green energy utilization. Herein, binary metal oxides (M x Co 3-x O 4 , M = Zn, Ni, and Cu) with yolk-shell polyhedron (YSP) structure were fabricated by facile pyrolysis of bimetallic zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (MCo-ZIFs). Benefiting from the synergistic effects of metal ions and the unique yolk-shell structure, M x Co 3-x O 4 YSP displays good OER catalytic activity in alkaline media. Impressively, Zn x Co 3-x O 4 YSP shows a comparable overpotential of 337 mV at 10 mA cm -2 to commercial RuO 2 and exhibits superior long-term durability. The high activity and good stability reveals its promising application.

Recycling of spent lithium-ion battery with polyvinyl chloride by mechanochemical process.

PubMed

Wang, Meng-Meng; Zhang, Cong-Cong; Zhang, Fu-Shen

2017-09-01

In the present study, cathode materials (C/LiCoO 2 ) of spent lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) and waste polyvinyl chloride (PVC) were co-processed via an innovative mechanochemical method, i.e. LiCoO 2 /PVC/Fe was co-grinded followed by water-leaching. This procedure generated recoverable LiCl from Li by the dechlorination of PVC and also generated magnetic CoFe 4 O 6 from Co. The effects of different additives (e.g. alkali metals, non-metal oxides, and zero-valent metals) on (i) the conversion rates of Li and Co and (ii) the dechlorination rate of PVC were investigated, and the reaction mechanisms were explored. It was found that the chlorine atoms in PVC were mechanochemically transformed into chloride ions that bound to the Li in LiCoO 2 to form LiCl. This resulted in reorganization of the Co and Fe crystals to form the magnetic material CoFe 4 O 6 . This study provides a more environmentally-friendly, economical, and straightforward approach for the recycling of spent LIBs and waste PVC compared to traditional processes. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Novel dense CO2 technique for beta-galactosidase immobilization in polystyrene microchannels.

PubMed

Leclair Ellis, Jeffrey; Tomasko, David L; Dehghani, Fariba

2008-03-01

In this study we design new fabrication techniques and demonstrate the potential of using dense CO2 for facilitating crucial steps in the fabrication of polymeric lab-on-a-chip microdevices by embedding biomolecules at temperatures well below the polymer's glass transition temperature (T(g)). These new techniques are environmentally friendly and done without the use of a clean room. Carbon dioxide at 40 degrees C and between 4.48 and 6.89 MPa was used to immobilize the biologically active molecule, beta-galactosidase (beta-gal), on the surface of polystyrene microchannels. To our knowledge, this is the first time dense CO2 has been used to directly immobilize an enzyme in a microchannel. beta-gal activity was maintained and shown via a fluorescent reaction product, after enzyme immobilization and microchannel capping by the designed fabrication steps at 40 degrees C and pressures up to 6.89 MPa.

Environmental sustainability assessment of family house alternatives and application of green technologies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moňoková, A.; Vilčeková, S.; Mečiarová, Ľ.; Krídlová Burdová, E.

2017-10-01

Transition to environmentally friendly technologies provides a comprehensive solution to problem of creating an economic value without destroying the nature. Buildings using green technologies lead to lower operating costs, healthier living and working environment and protect the environment more. The aim of this paper is to assess the environmental impact of two alternatives of family house designed as conventional building and building with green technologies. Evaluated family house are located in village Kokšov Bakša, which is situated 12 km south-east from city of Košice, a metropolis of eastern Slovakia. This analysis investigates the role of applied green technologies in single family houses for impact categories: global warming potential (GWP), acidification potential (AP) and eutrophication potential (EP) expressed as CO2eq, SO2eq and PO4 3- eq within “Cradle to Grave” boundary by using the LCA assessment method. The main contribution of the study is a proof that green technologies have significant part in the reduction of environmental impacts. Results show that alternative of family house designed as green one contributes to CO2eq, SO2eq and PO4 3- eq emissions by 81%, 73% and 35% less than alternative of conventional family house, respectively.

Anaerobic digestion of bio-waste: A mini-review focusing on territorial and environmental aspects.

PubMed

Cecchi, Franco; Cavinato, Cristina

2015-05-01

Scientific and industrial experiences, together with economical and policies changes of last 30 years, bring anaerobic digestion among the most environmental friendly and economically advantageous technologies for organic waste treatment and management in Europe. In this short review, the role of anaerobic digestion of organic wastes is discussed, considering the opportunity of a territorial friendly approach, without barriers, where different organic wastes are co-treated. This objective can be achieved through two proposed strategies: one is the anaerobic digestion applied as a service for the agricultural and farming sector; the other as a service for citizen (biowaste, diapers and wastewater treatment integration). The union of these two strategies is an environmental- and territorial-friendly process that aims to produce renewable energy and fertiliser material, with a low greenhouse gas emission and nutrients recovery. The advantage of forthcoming application of anaerobic digestion of organic wastes, even for added value bioproducts production and new energy carriers, are finally discussed. Among several advantages of anaerobic digestion, the role of the environmental controller was evaluated, considering the ability of minimising the impacts exploiting the biochemical equilibrium and sensitivity as a quality assurance for digestate. © The Author(s) 2015.

Co-Rumination Cultivates Anxiety: A Genetically Informed Study of Friend Influence during Early Adolescence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dirghangi, Shrija; Kahn, Gilly; Laursen, Brett; Brendgen, Mara; Vitaro, Frank; Dionne, Ginette; Boivin, Michel

2015-01-01

This study tested 2 related hypotheses. The first holds that high co-rumination anticipates heightened internalizing problems. The second holds that positive relationships with friends exacerbate the risk for internalizing problems arising from co-rumination. A sample of MZ twins followed from birth (194 girls and 170 boys) completed (a)…

Calcium silicates synthesised from industrial residues with the ability for CO2 sequestration.

PubMed

Morales-Flórez, Victor; Santos, Alberto; López, Antonio; Moriña, Isabel; Esquivias, Luis

2014-12-01

This work explored several synthesis routes to obtain calcium silicates from different calcium-rich and silica-rich industrial residues. Larnite, wollastonite and calcium silicate chloride were successfully synthesised with moderate heat treatments below standard temperatures. These procedures help to not only conserve natural resources, but also to reduce the energy requirements and CO2 emissions. In addition, these silicates have been successfully tested as carbon dioxide sequesters, to enhance the viability of CO2 mineral sequestration technologies using calcium-rich industrial by-products as sequestration agents. Two different carbon sequestration experiments were performed under ambient conditions. Static experiments revealed carbonation efficiencies close to 100% and real-time resolved experiments characterised the dynamic behaviour and ability of these samples to reduce the CO2 concentration within a mixture of gases. The CO2 concentration was reduced up to 70%, with a carbon fixation dynamic ratio of 3.2 mg CO2 per g of sequestration agent and minute. Our results confirm the suitability of the proposed synthesis routes to synthesise different calcium silicates recycling industrial residues, being therefore energetically more efficient and environmentally friendly procedures for the cement industry. © The Author(s) 2014.

Penetration of hydrogen-based energy system and its potential for causing global environmental change: Scoping risk analysis based on life cycle thinking

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

Kikuchi, Ryunosuke

2006-03-15

A hydrogen-based economy seems superficially to be environmentally friendly, and many people have worked toward its realization. Today hydrogen is mainly produced by decarbonizing fossil fuels (e.g. natural gas), and in the future decarbonization of both fossil fuels and biomass will play a leading role in the production of hydrogen. The main purpose of this paper is to suggest the identification of potential environmental risks in terms of 'life cycle thinking' (which considers all aspects from production to utilization) with regard to the hydrogen-based economy to come. Hydrogen production by decarbonization results in CO{sub 2} emissions. The final destination ofmore » the recovered CO{sub 2} is uncertain. Furthermore, there is a possibility that hydrogen molecules will escape to the atmosphere, posing risks that could occasion global environmental changes such as depletion of stratospheric ozone, temperature change in the stratosphere and change of the hydrides cycle through global vaporization. Based on the results of simulation, requirements regarding the following items are proposed to minimize potential risks: hydrogen source, production and storage loss.« less

Subgroups of adolescents differing in physical and social environmental preferences towards cycling for transport: A latent class analysis.

PubMed

Verhoeven, Hannah; Ghekiere, Ariane; Van Cauwenberg, Jelle; Van Dyck, Delfien; De Bourdeaudhuij, Ilse; Clarys, Peter; Deforche, Benedicte

2018-07-01

In order to be able to tailor environmental interventions to adolescents at risk for low levels of physical activity, the aim of the present study is to identify subgroups of adolescents with different physical and social environmental preferences towards cycling for transport and to determine differences in individual characteristics between these subgroups. In this experimental study, 882 adolescents (12-16 years) completed 15 choice tasks with manipulated photographs. Participants chose between two possible routes to cycle to a friend's house which differed in seven physical micro-environmental factors, cycling distance and co-participation in cycling (i.e. cycling alone or with a friend). Latent class analysis was performed. Data were collected from March till October 2016 across Flanders (Belgium). Three subgroups could be identified. Subgroup 1 attached most importance to separation of the cycle path and safety-related aspects. Subgroup 2 attached most importance to being able to cycle together with a friend and had the highest percentage of regular cyclists. In subgroup 3, the importance of cycling distance clearly stood out. This subgroup included the lowest percentage of regular cyclists. Results showed that in order to stimulate the least regular cyclists, and thus also the subgroup most at risk for low levels of active transport, cycling distances should be as short as possible. In general, results showed that providing well-separated cycle paths which enable adolescents to cycle side by side and introducing shortcuts for cyclists may encourage different subgroups of adolescents to cycle for transport without discouraging other subgroups. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Multi-metal oxide ceramic nanomaterial

DOEpatents

O'Brien, Stephen; Liu, Shuangyi; Huang, Limin

2016-06-07

A convenient and versatile method for preparing complex metal oxides is disclosed. The method uses a low temperature, environmentally friendly gel-collection method to form a single phase nanomaterial. In one embodiment, the nanomaterial consists of Ba.sub.AMn.sub.BTi.sub.CO.sub.D in a controlled stoichiometry.

A Full-Featured User Friendly CO 2-EOR and Sequestration Planning Software

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

Savage, Bill

A Full-Featured, User Friendly CO 2-EOR and Sequestration Planning Software This project addressed the development of an integrated software solution that includes a graphical user interface, numerical simulation, visualization tools and optimization processes for reservoir simulation modeling of CO 2-EOR. The objective was to assist the industry in the development of domestic energy resources by expanding the application of CO 2-EOR technologies, and ultimately to maximize the CO 2} sequestration capacity of the U.S. The software resulted in a field-ready application for the industry to address the current CO 2-EOR technologies. The software has been made available to the publicmore » without restrictions and with user friendly operating documentation and tutorials. The software (executable only) can be downloaded from NITEC’s website at www.nitecllc.com. This integrated solution enables the design, optimization and operation of CO 2-EOR processes for small and mid-sized operators, who currently cannot afford the expensive, time intensive solutions that the major oil companies enjoy. Based on one estimate, small oil fields comprise 30% of the of total economic resource potential for the application of CO 2-EOR processes in the U.S. This corresponds to 21.7 billion barrels of incremental, technically recoverable oil using the current “best practices”, and 31.9 billion barrels using “next-generation” CO 2-EOR techniques. The project included a Case Study of a prospective CO 2-EOR candidate field in Wyoming by a small independent, Linc Energy Petroleum Wyoming, Inc. NITEC LLC has an established track record of developing innovative and user friendly software. The Principle Investigator is an experienced manager and engineer with expertise in software development, numerical techniques, and GUI applications. Unique, presently-proprietary NITEC technologies have been integrated into this application to further its ease of use and technical functionality.« less

User-Friendly Predictive Modeling of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Fluxes and Carbon Storage in Tidal Wetlands

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ishtiaq, K. S.; Abdul-Aziz, O. I.

2015-12-01

We developed user-friendly empirical models to predict instantaneous fluxes of CO2 and CH4 from coastal wetlands based on a small set of dominant hydro-climatic and environmental drivers (e.g., photosynthetically active radiation, soil temperature, water depth, and soil salinity). The dominant predictor variables were systematically identified by applying a robust data-analytics framework on a wide range of possible environmental variables driving wetland greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes. The method comprised of a multi-layered data-analytics framework, including Pearson correlation analysis, explanatory principal component and factor analyses, and partial least squares regression modeling. The identified dominant predictors were finally utilized to develop power-law based non-linear regression models to predict CO2 and CH4 fluxes under different climatic, land use (nitrogen gradient), tidal hydrology and salinity conditions. Four different tidal wetlands of Waquoit Bay, MA were considered as the case study sites to identify the dominant drivers and evaluate model performance. The study sites were dominated by native Spartina Alterniflora and characterized by frequent flooding and high saline conditions. The model estimated the potential net ecosystem carbon balance (NECB) both in gC/m2 and metric tonC/hectare by up-scaling the instantaneous predicted fluxes to the growing season and accounting for the lateral C flux exchanges between the wetlands and estuary. The entire model was presented in a single Excel spreadsheet as a user-friendly ecological engineering tool. The model can aid the development of appropriate GHG offset protocols for setting monitoring plans for tidal wetland restoration and maintenance projects. The model can also be used to estimate wetland GHG fluxes and potential carbon storage under various IPCC climate change and sea level rise scenarios; facilitating an appropriate management of carbon stocks in tidal wetlands and their incorporation into a potential carbon market.

Stimuli Responsive/Rheoreversible Hydraulic Fracturing Fluids for Enhanced Geothermal Energy Production (Part I)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fernandez, C. A.; Jung, H. B.; Shao, H.; Bonneville, A.; Heldebrant, D.; Hoyt, D.; Zhong, L.; Holladay, J.

2014-12-01

Cost-effective yet safe creation of high-permeability reservoirs inside deep crystalline bedrock is the primary challenge for the viability of enhanced geothermal systems and unconventional oil/gas recovery. Current reservoir stimulation processes utilize brute force (hydraulic pressures in the order of hundreds of bar) to create/propagate fractures in the bedrock. Such stimulation processes entail substantial economic costs ($3.3 million per reservoir as of 2011). Furthermore, the environmental impacts of reservoir stimulation are only recently being determined. Widespread concerns about the environmental contamination have resulted in a number of regulations for fracturing fluids advocating for greener fracturing processes. To reduce the costs and environmental impact of reservoir stimulation, we developed an environmentally friendly and recyclable hydraulic fracturing fluid that undergoes a controlled and large volume expansion with a simultaneous increase in viscosity triggered by CO2 at temperatures relevant for reservoir stimulation in Enhanced Geothermal System (EGS). The volume expansion, which will specifically occurs at EGS depths of interest, generates an exceptionally large mechanical stress in fracture networks of highly impermeable rock propagating fractures at effective stress an order of magnitude lower than current technology. This paper will concentrate on the presentation of this CO2-triggered expanding hydrogel formed from diluted aqueous solutions of polyallylamine (PAA). Aqueous PAA-CO2 mixtures also show significantly higher viscosities than conventional rheology modifiers at similar pressures and temperatures due to the cross-linking reaction of PAA with CO2, which was demonstrated by chemical speciation studies using in situ HP-HT 13C MAS-NMR. In addtion, PAA shows shear-thinning behavior, a critical advantage for the use of this fluid system in EGS reservoir stimulation. The high pressure/temperature experiments and their results as well as the CFD modeling are presented in a companion paper.

The System Dynamics Model User Sustainability Explorer (SD-MUSE) user interface: a user-friendly tool for interpreting system dynamic models

EPA Science Inventory

Sustainability-based decision making is a challenging process that requires balancing trade-offs among social, economic, and environmental components. System Dynamic (SD) models can be useful tools to inform sustainability-based decision making because they provide a holistic co...

Acetylene from the co-pyrolysis of biomass and waste tires or coal in the H{sub 2}/Ar plasma

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

Bao, W.; Cao, Q.; Lv, Y.

Acetylene from carbon-containing materials via plasma pyrolysis is not only simple but also environmentally friendly. In this article, the acetylene produced from co-pyrolyzing biomass with waste tire or coal under the conditions of H{sub 2}/Ar DC arc plasma jet was investigated. The experimental results showed that the co-pyrolysis of mixture with biomass and waste tire or coal can improve largely the acetylene relative volume fraction (RVF) in gaseous products and the corresponding yield of acetylene. The change trends for the acetylene yield of plasma pyrolysis from mixture with raw sample properties were the same as relevant RVF. But the yieldmore » change trend with feeding rate is different from its RVF. The effects of the feeding rate of raw materials and the electric current of plasmatron on acetylene formation are also discussed.« less

Life‐cycle and cost of goods assessment of fed‐batch and perfusion‐based manufacturing processes for mAbs

PubMed Central

Bunnak, Phumthep; Allmendinger, Richard; Ramasamy, Sri V.; Lettieri, Paola

2016-01-01

Life‐cycle assessment (LCA) is an environmental assessment tool that quantifies the environmental impact associated with a product or a process (e.g., water consumption, energy requirements, and solid waste generation). While LCA is a standard approach in many commercial industries, its application has not been exploited widely in the bioprocessing sector. To contribute toward the design of more cost‐efficient, robust and environmentally‐friendly manufacturing process for monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), a framework consisting of an LCA and economic analysis combined with a sensitivity analysis of manufacturing process parameters and a production scale‐up study is presented. The efficiency of the framework is demonstrated using a comparative study of the two most commonly used upstream configurations for mAb manufacture, namely fed‐batch (FB) and perfusion‐based processes. Results obtained by the framework are presented using a range of visualization tools, and indicate that a standard perfusion process (with a pooling duration of 4 days) has similar cost of goods than a FB process but a larger environmental footprint because it consumed 35% more water, demanded 17% more energy, and emitted 17% more CO2 than the FB process. Water consumption was the most important impact category, especially when scaling‐up the processes, as energy was required to produce process water and water‐for‐injection, while CO2 was emitted from energy generation. The sensitivity analysis revealed that the perfusion process can be made more environmentally‐friendly than the FB process if the pooling duration is extended to 8 days. © 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 32:1324–1335, 2016 PMID:27390260

Microbial growth under a high-pressure CO2 environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thompson, J. R.; Hernandez, H. H.

2009-12-01

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) of CO2 has the potential to significantly reduce the emission of greenhouse gasses associated with fossil fuel combustion. The largest potential for storing captured CO2 in the United Sates is in deep geologic saline formations. Currently, little is known about the effects of CO2 storage on biologically active microbial communities found in the deep earth biosphere. Therefore, to investigate how deep earth microbial communities will be affected by the storage of CO2, we have built a high-pressure microbial growth system in which microbial samples are subjected to a supercritical CO2 (scCO2) environment. Recently we have isolated a microbial consortium that is capable of growth and extracellular matrix production in nutrient media under a supercritical CO2 headspace. This consortium was cultivated from hydrocarbon residues associated with saline formation waters and includes members of the gram-positive Bacillus genus. The cultivation of actively growing cells in an environment containing scCO2 is unexpected based on previous experimental evidence of microbial sterilization attributed to the acidic, desiccating, and solvent-like properties of scCO2. Such microbial consortia have potential for development as (i) biofilm barriers for geological carbon-dioxide sequestration, and as (ii) agents of biocatalysis in environmentally-friendly supercritical (sc) CO2 solvent systems. The discovery that microbes can remain biologically active, and grow, in these environments opens new frontiers for the use of self-regenerating biological systems in engineering applications.

Brief Report: Adolescents' Co-Rumination with Mothers, Co-Rumination with Friends, and Internalizing Symptoms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Waller, Erika M.; Rose, Amanda J.

2013-01-01

The current research examined co-rumination (extensively discussing, rehashing, and speculating about problems) with mothers and friends. Of interest was exploring whether adolescents who co-ruminate with mothers were especially likely to co-ruminate with friends as well as the interplay among co-rumination with mothers, co-rumination with…

Immobilized carbonic anhydrase on mesoporous cruciate flower-like metal organic framework for promoting CO2 sequestration.

PubMed

Ren, Sizhu; Feng, Yuxiao; Wen, Huan; Li, Conghai; Sun, Baoting; Cui, Jiandong; Jia, Shiru

2018-05-25

CO 2 capture by immobilized carbonic anhydrase (CA) has become an alternative and environmental friendly approach in CO 2 sequestration technology. However, the immobilized CA usually exhibits low CO 2 sequestration efficiency due to no gas adsorption function for the conventional CA supports. Metal organic frameworks (MOFs) are an excellent material for gas adsorption and enzyme immobilization. Herein, a combined immobilization system of CA and ZIF-8 with cruciate flower-like morphology for CO 2 adsorption was prepared for the first time by adsorbing CA onto ZIF-8. The immobilization efficiency was greater than 95%, and the maximum activity recovery reached 75%, indicating the highly efficient immobilization process. The resultant CA@ZIF-8 composites exhibited outstanding thermostability, the tolerance against denaturants, and reusability compared with free CA. Furthermore, we demonstrated for the first time that the shape of ZIF-8 could be controlled by adjusting concentrations of Zn 2+ ions at the high concentration of 2-methylimidazole (1 M). More importantly, we also demonstrated the applicability of the CA@ZIF-8 composites to the sequestration of CO 2 in carbonate minerals. The yields of the CaCO 3 obtained by using CA@ZIF-8 composites were 22-folds compared to free CA. Thus, this CA@ZIF-8 composite can be successfully used as a robust biocatalyst for sequestration of CO 2 . Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Tillage, Mulch and N Fertilizer Affect Emissions of CO2 under the Rain Fed Condition

PubMed Central

Tanveer, Sikander Khan; Wen, Xiaoxia; Lu, Xing Li; Zhang, Junli; Liao, Yuncheng

2013-01-01

A two year (2010–2012) study was conducted to assess the effects of different agronomic management practices on the emissions of CO2 from a field of non-irrigated wheat planted on China's Loess Plateau. Management practices included four tillage methods i.e. T1: (chisel plow tillage), T2: (zero-tillage), T3: (rotary tillage) and T4: (mold board plow tillage), 2 mulch levels i.e., M0 (no corn residue mulch) and M1 (application of corn residue mulch) and 5 levels of N fertilizer (0, 80, 160, 240, 320 kg N/ha). A factorial experiment having a strip split-split arrangement, with tillage methods in the main plots, mulch levels in the sub plots and N-fertilizer levels in the sub-sub plots with three replicates, was used for this study. The CO2 data were recorded three times per week using a portable GXH-3010E1 gas analyzer. The highest CO2 emissions were recorded following rotary tillage, compared to the lowest emissions from the zero tillage planting method. The lowest emissions were recorded at the 160 kg N/ha, fertilizer level. Higher CO2 emissions were recorded during the cropping year 2010–11 relative to the year 2011–12. During cropping year 2010–11, applications of corn residue mulch significantly increased CO2 emissions in comparison to the non-mulched treatments, and during the year 2011–12, equal emissions were recorded for both types of mulch treatments. Higher CO2 emissions were recorded immediately after the tillage operations. Different environmental factors, i.e., rain, air temperatures, soil temperatures and soil moistures, had significant effects on the CO2 emissions. We conclude that conservation tillage practices, i.e., zero tillage, the use of corn residue mulch and optimum N fertilizer use, can reduce CO2 emissions, give better yields and provide environmentally friendly options. PMID:24086256

Experimental investigation of the ecological hybrid refrigeration cycle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cyklis, Piotr; Kantor, Ryszard; Ryncarz, Tomasz; Górski, Bogusław; Duda, Roman

2014-09-01

The requirements for environmentally friendly refrigerants promote application of CO2 and water as working fluids. However there are two problems related to that, namely high temperature limit for CO2 in condenser due to the low critical temperature, and low temperature limit for water being the result of high triple point temperature. This can be avoided by application of the hybrid adsorption-compression system, where water is the working fluid in the adsorption high temperature cycle used to cool down the CO2 compression cycle condenser. The adsorption process is powered with a low temperature renewable heat source as solar collectors or other waste heat source. The refrigeration system integrating adsorption and compression system has been designed and constructed in the Laboratory of Thermodynamics and Thermal Machine Measurements of Cracow University of Technology. The heat source for adsorption system consists of 16 tube tulbular collectors. The CO2 compression low temperature cycle is based on two parallel compressors with frequency inverter. Energy efficiency and TEWI of this hybrid system is quite promising in comparison with the compression only systems.

Alkaline modified oil shale fly ash: optimal synthesis conditions and preliminary tests on CO2 adsorption.

PubMed

Reinik, Janek; Heinmaa, Ivo; Kirso, Uuve; Kallaste, Toivo; Ritamäki, Johannes; Boström, Dan; Pongrácz, Eva; Huuhtanen, Mika; Larsson, William; Keiski, Riitta; Kordás, Krisztián; Mikkola, Jyri-Pekka

2011-11-30

Environmentally friendly product, calcium-silica-aluminum hydrate, was synthesized from oil shale fly ash, which is rendered so far partly as an industrial waste. Reaction conditions were: temperature 130 and 160°C, NaOH concentrations 1, 3, 5 and 8M and synthesis time 24h. Optimal conditions were found to be 5M at 130°C at given parameter range. Original and activated ash samples were characterized by XRD, XRF, SEM, EFTEM, (29)Si MAS-NMR, BET and TGA. Semi-quantitative XRD and MAS-NMR showed that mainly tobermorites and katoite are formed during alkaline hydrothermal treatment. Physical adsorption of CO(2) on the surface of the original and activated ash samples was measured with thermo-gravimetric analysis. TGA showed that the physical adsorption of CO(2) on the oil shale fly ash sample increases from 0.06 to 3-4 mass% after alkaline hydrothermal activation with NaOH. The activated product has a potential to be used in industrial processes for physical adsorption of CO(2) emissions. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Eco-friendly GGBS Concrete: A State-of-The-Art Review

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saranya, P.; Nagarajan, Praveen; Shashikala, A. P.

2018-03-01

Concrete is the most commonly used material in the construction industry in which cement is its vital ingredient. Although the advantages of concrete are many, there are side effects leading to environmental issues. The manufacturing process of cement emits considerable amount of carbon dioxide (CO2). Therefore is an urgent need to reduce the usage of cement. Ground Granulated Blast furnace Slag (GGBS) is a by-product from steel industry. It has good structural and durable properties with less environmental effects. This paper critically reviews the literatures available on GGBS used in cement concrete. In this paper, the literature available on GGBS are grouped into engineering properties of GGBS concrete, hydraulic action of GGBS in concrete, durability properties of GGBS concrete, self- compacting GGBS concrete and ultrafine GGBS are highlighted. From the review of literature, it was found that the use of GGBS in concrete construction will be eco-friendly and economical. The optimum percentage of replacement of cement by GGBS lies between 40 - 45 % by weight. New materials that can be added in addition to GGBS for getting better strength and durability also highlighted.

Industrial Implementation of Environmentally Friendly Nanometal Electroplating Process for Chromium and Copper Beryllium Replacement using Low Cost Pulse Current Power Supplies

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-09-10

Cr-Mo, and stainless steel have to some extent found acceptance in various military and commercial CuBe-replacement roles. 1.1.2 Proposed...including low and high strength steels , stainless steel , Inconel and nickel. Figure 4-8 Activation line used to prepare components for nCoP plating...size up to a maximum thickness of 0.012”, can be produced in the tank by electroforming onto a flat stainless steel mandrel and subsequently

On the Versatility of Rheoreversible, Stimuli-responsive Hydraulic-Fracturing Fluids for Enhanced Geothermal Systems: Effect of Reservoir pH

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

Fernandez, Carlos A.; Shao, Hongbo; Bonneville, Alain

Abstract The primary challenge for the feasibility of enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) is to cost-effectively create high-permeability reservoirs inside deep crystalline bedrock. Although fracturing fluids are commonly used for oil/gas, standard fracturing methods are not developed or proven for EGS temperatures and pressures. Furthermore, the environmental impacts of currently used fracturing methods are only recently being determined. These authors recently reported an environmentally benign, CO2-activated, rheoreversible fracturing fluid that enhances permeability through fracturing due to in situ volume expansion and gel formation. The potential of this novel fracturing fluid is evaluated in this work towards its application at geothermal sitesmore » under different pH conditions. Laboratory-scale fracturing experiments using Coso Geothermal rock cores under different pH environments were performed followed by X-ray microtomography characterization. The results demonstrate that CO2-reactive aqueous solutions of environmentally amenable polyallylamine (PAA) consistently and reproducibly creates/propagates fracture networks through highly impermeable crystalline rock from Coso EGS sites at considerably lower effective stress as compared to conventional fracturing fluids. In addition, permeability was significantly enhanced in a wide range of formation-water pH values. This effective, and environmentally-friendly fracturing fluid technology represents a potential alternative to conventional fracturing fluids.« less

Co-occurrence of antisocial behavior and substance use: testing for sex differences in the impact of older male friends, low parental knowledge and friends' delinquency.

PubMed

McAdams, Tom A; Salekin, Randall T; Marti, C Nathan; Lester, Whiney S; Barker, Edward D

2014-04-01

Delinquency and substance use (SU) are commonly comorbid during adolescence. In the present study we investigate this co-morbidity with 3 main objectives: 1. Evaluate reciprocal relationships between delinquency/SU across early adolescence. 2. Assess the impact of older male friends, low parental knowledge and friends' delinquency on subsequent development and inter-relationships of delinquency and SU. 3. Evaluate sex differences in these relationships. We applied cross-lagged structural equation models to the analysis of a longitudinal sample (n=3699). Findings demonstrated: (1) At ages 13-14 delinquency predicted SU more so than vice versa but effects became equal between ages 14 and 15. (2) Low parental knowledge and friends' delinquency predicted delinquency and SU. Older male friends predicted ASB. (3) Sex differences were present. For example, in the absence of antisocial friends low parent knowledge at age 12 indirectly predicted increased age 15 SU for girls more than boys. Copyright © 2014 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effect of tricarboxylic acid cycle regulator on carbon retention and organic component transformation during food waste composting.

PubMed

Lu, Qian; Zhao, Yue; Gao, Xintong; Wu, Junqiu; Zhou, Haixuan; Tang, Pengfei; Wei, Qingbin; Wei, Zimin

2018-05-01

Composting is an environment friendly method to recycling organic waste. However, with the increasing concern about greenhouse gases generated in global atmosphere, it is significant to reduce the emission of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ). This study analyzes tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle regulators on the effect of reducing CO 2 emission, and the relationship among organic component (OC) degradation and transformation and microorganism during composting. The results showed that adding adenosine tri-phosphate (ATP) and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) could enhance the transformation of OC and increase the diversity of microorganism community. Malonic acid (MA) as a competitive inhibitor could decrease the emission of CO 2 by inhibiting the TCA cycle. A structural equation model was established to explore effects of different OC and microorganism on humic acid (HA) concentration during composting. Furthermore, added MA provided an environmental benefit in reducing the greenhouse gas emission for manufacture sustainable products. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Solvent-Free Self-Assembly to the Synthesis of Nitrogen-Doped Ordered Mesoporous Polymers for Highly Selective Capture and Conversion of CO2.

PubMed

Liu, Fujian; Huang, Kuan; Wu, Qin; Dai, Sheng

2017-07-01

A solvent-free induced self-assembly technology for the synthesis of nitrogen-doped ordered mesoporous polymers (N-OMPs) is developed, which is realized by mixing polymer precursors with block copolymer templates, curing at 140-180 °C, and calcination to remove the templates. This synthetic strategy represents a significant advancement in the preparation of functional porous polymers through a fast and scalable yet environmentally friendly route, since no solvents or catalysts are used. The synthesized N-OMPs and their derived catalysts are found to exhibit competitive CO 2 capacities (0.67-0.91 mmol g -1 at 25 °C and 0.15 bar), extraordinary CO 2 /N 2 selectivities (98-205 at 25 °C), and excellent activities for catalyzing conversion of CO 2 into cyclic carbonate (conversion >95% at 100 °C and 1.2 MPa for 1.5 h). The solvent-free technology developed in this work can also be extended to the synthesis of N-OMP/SiO 2 nanocomposites, mesoporous SiO 2 , crystalline mesoporous TiO 2 , and TiPO, demonstrating its wide applicability in porous material synthesis. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

A Research-Based Undergraduate Organic Laboratory Project: Investigation of a One-Pot, Multicomponent, Environmentally Friendly Prins-Friedel-Crafts-Type Reaction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dintzner, Matthew R.; Maresh, Justin J.; Kinzie, Charles R.; Arena, Anthony F.; Speltz, Thomas

2012-01-01

Students in the undergraduate organic laboratory synthesize tetrahydro-2-(4-nitrophenyl)-4-phenyl-2"H"-pyran via the Montmorillonite K10 clay-catalyzed reaction of p-nitrobenzaldehye with methanol, 3-buten-1-ol, and benzene. The synthesis comprises an environmentally friendly tandem Prins-Friedel-Crafts-type multicomponent reaction (MCR) and sets…

Facile Synthesis of Carbon Nanosphere/NiCo2O4 Core-shell Sub-microspheres for High Performance Supercapacitor

PubMed Central

Li, Delong; Gong, Youning; Zhang, Yupeng; Luo, Chengzhi; Li, Weiping; Fu, Qiang; Pan, Chunxu

2015-01-01

This paper introduced a process to prepare the carbon nanosphere (CNS)/NiCo2O4 core-shell sub-microspheres. That is: 1) CNSs were firstly prepared via a simple hydrothermal method; 2) a layer of NiCo2O4 precursor was coated on the CNS surface; 3) finally the composite was annealed at 350 °C for 2 hours in the air, and the CNS/NiCo2O4 core-shell sub-microspheres were obtained. This core-shell sub-microsphere was prepared with a simple, economical and environmental-friendly hydrothermal method, and was suitable for large-scale production, which expects a promising electrode candidate for high performance energy storage applications. Electrochemical experiments revealed that the composite exhibited remarkable electrochemical performances with high capacitance and desirable cycle life at high rates, such as: 1) the maximum specific capacitance was up to 1420 F/g at 1 A/g; 2) about 98.5% of the capacitance retained after 3000 charge-discharge cycles; 3) the capacitance retention was about 72% as the current density increase from 1 A/g to 10 A/g. PMID:26245982

Nutritional Quality and Physicochemical Characteristics of Defatted Bovine Liver Treated by Supercritical Carbon Dioxide and Organic Solvent

PubMed Central

Kang, Sung-Won; Kim, Hye-Min; Rahman, M. Shafiur; Kim, Ah-Na; Yang, Han-Sul

2017-01-01

Defatted bovine liver (DBL) is a potential source of protein and minerals. Supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2) and a traditional organic solvent method were used to remove lipid from bovine liver, and the quality characteristics of a control bovine liver (CBL), bovine liver defatted by SC-CO2 (DBLSC-CO2) at different pressures, and bovine liver defatted by organic solvent (DBL-OS) were compared. The DBLSC-CO2 samples had significantly higher (p<0.05) protein, amino acid, carbohydrate, and fiber contents than CBL and DBL-OS. There was a higher yield of lipid from CBL when using SC-CO2 than the organic solvent method. SDS-PAGE analysis demonstrated that the CBL and DBLSC-CO2 had protein bands of a similar intensity and area, whereas DBL-OS appeared extremely poor bands or no bands due to the degradation of proteins, particularly in the 50 to 75 kDa and 20 to 25 kDa molecular weight ranges. In addition, DBLSC-CO2 was shown to have superior functional properties in terms of total soluble content, water and oil absorption, and foaming and emulsification properties. Therefore, SC-CO2 treatment offers a nutritionally and environmentally friendly approach for the removal of lipid from high protein food sources. In addition, SC-CO2 may be a better substitute of traditional organic solvent extraction for producing more stable and high quality foods with high-protein, fat-free, and low calorie contents. PMID:28316468

Nutritional Quality and Physicochemical Characteristics of Defatted Bovine Liver Treated by Supercritical Carbon Dioxide and Organic Solvent.

PubMed

Kang, Sung-Won; Kim, Hye-Min; Rahman, M Shafiur; Kim, Ah-Na; Yang, Han-Sul; Choi, Sung-Gil

2017-01-01

Defatted bovine liver (DBL) is a potential source of protein and minerals. Supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO 2 ) and a traditional organic solvent method were used to remove lipid from bovine liver, and the quality characteristics of a control bovine liver (CBL), bovine liver defatted by SC-CO 2 (DBLSC-CO 2 ) at different pressures, and bovine liver defatted by organic solvent (DBL-OS) were compared. The DBLSC-CO 2 samples had significantly higher ( p <0.05) protein, amino acid, carbohydrate, and fiber contents than CBL and DBL-OS. There was a higher yield of lipid from CBL when using SC-CO 2 than the organic solvent method. SDS-PAGE analysis demonstrated that the CBL and DBLSC-CO 2 had protein bands of a similar intensity and area, whereas DBL-OS appeared extremely poor bands or no bands due to the degradation of proteins, particularly in the 50 to 75 kDa and 20 to 25 kDa molecular weight ranges. In addition, DBLSC-CO 2 was shown to have superior functional properties in terms of total soluble content, water and oil absorption, and foaming and emulsification properties. Therefore, SC-CO 2 treatment offers a nutritionally and environmentally friendly approach for the removal of lipid from high protein food sources. In addition, SC-CO 2 may be a better substitute of traditional organic solvent extraction for producing more stable and high quality foods with high-protein, fat-free, and low calorie contents.

Synthesis of MnFe2O4@Mn-Co oxide core-shell nanoparticles and their excellent performance for heavy metal removal.

PubMed

Ma, Zichuan; Zhao, Dongyuan; Chang, Yongfang; Xing, Shengtao; Wu, Yinsu; Gao, Yuanzhe

2013-10-21

Magnetic nanomaterials that can be easily separated and recycled due to their magnetic properties have received considerable attention in the field of water treatment. However, these nanomaterials usually tend to aggregate and alter their properties. Herein, we report an economical and environmentally friendly method for the synthesis of magnetic nanoparticles with core-shell structure. MnFe2O4 nanoparticles have been successfully coated with amorphous Mn-Co oxide shells. The synthesized MnFe2O4@Mn-Co oxide nanoparticles have highly negatively charged surface in aqueous solution over a wide pH range, thus preventing their aggregation and enhancing their performance for heavy metal cation removal. The adsorption isotherms are well fitted to a Langmuir adsorption model, and the maximal adsorption capacities of Pb(II), Cu(II) and Cd(II) on MnFe2O4@Mn-Co oxide are 481.2, 386.2 and 345.5 mg g(-1), respectively. All the metal ions can be completely removed from the mixed metal ion solutions in a short time. Desorption studies confirm that the adsorbent can be effectively regenerated and reused.

SC-CO2-assisted process for a high energy density aerogel supercapacitor: the effect of GO loading

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sarno, Maria; Baldino, Lucia; Scudieri, Carmela; Cardea, Stefano; Ciambelli, Paolo; Reverchon, Ernesto

2017-05-01

Energy density, safety, and simple and environmentally friendly preparation methods are very significant aspects in the realization of a compact supercapacitor. Herein we report the use of a supercritical CO2-assisted gel drying process (SC-CO2) for the preparation of porous electrodes containing dispersed graphene in a poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) (PVDF-HFP) binder membrane to sandwich in a new portable supercapacitor based on graphene oxide (GO). A GO loading of 60 wt.% was found to give the best combination of factors (porosity, wettability, mechanical and electrochemical properties). Cycling voltammetry and charge/discharge studies showed an excellent capacitance behaviour and stability in an ionic liquid electrolyte, suggesting SC-CO2 processing as a promising platform to produce highly bulky and porous films for supercapacitors. The supercapacitor device delivers a very high energy density of 79.2 Wh kg-1 at a power density of 0.23 KW kg-1 (current density 0.5 A g-1, specific capacitance 36.2 F g-1) while that of steel remains at 50.3 Wh kg-1 at a power density of 2.8 KW kg-1 (current density 6 A g-1, specific capacitance 23.5 F g-1).

SC-CO2-assisted process for a high energy density aerogel supercapacitor: the effect of GO loading.

PubMed

Sarno, Maria; Baldino, Lucia; Scudieri, Carmela; Cardea, Stefano; Ciambelli, Paolo; Reverchon, Ernesto

2017-05-19

Energy density, safety, and simple and environmentally friendly preparation methods are very significant aspects in the realization of a compact supercapacitor. Herein we report the use of a supercritical CO 2 -assisted gel drying process (SC-CO 2 ) for the preparation of porous electrodes containing dispersed graphene in a poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) (PVDF-HFP) binder membrane to sandwich in a new portable supercapacitor based on graphene oxide (GO). A GO loading of 60 wt.% was found to give the best combination of factors (porosity, wettability, mechanical and electrochemical properties). Cycling voltammetry and charge/discharge studies showed an excellent capacitance behaviour and stability in an ionic liquid electrolyte, suggesting SC-CO 2 processing as a promising platform to produce highly bulky and porous films for supercapacitors. The supercapacitor device delivers a very high energy density of 79.2 Wh kg -1 at a power density of 0.23 KW kg -1 (current density 0.5 A g -1 , specific capacitance 36.2 F g -1 ) while that of steel remains at 50.3 Wh kg -1 at a power density of 2.8 KW kg -1 (current density 6 A g -1 , specific capacitance 23.5 F g -1 ).

Environmentally-friendly lithium recycling from a spent organic li-ion battery.

PubMed

Renault, Stéven; Brandell, Daniel; Edström, Kristina

2014-10-01

A simple and straightforward method using non-polluting solvents and a single thermal treatment step at moderate temperature was investigated as an environmentally-friendly process to recycle lithium from organic electrode materials for secondary lithium batteries. This method, highly dependent on the choice of electrolyte, gives up to 99% of sustained capacity for the recycled materials used in a second life-cycle battery when compared with the original. The best results were obtained using a dimethyl carbonate/lithium bis(trifluoromethane sulfonyl) imide electrolyte that does not decompose in presence of water. The process implies a thermal decomposition step at a moderate temperature of the extracted organic material into lithium carbonate, which is then used as a lithiation agent for the preparation of fresh electrode material without loss of lithium. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Fabrication of Lead-Free (CH3 NH3 )3 Bi2 I9 Perovskite Photovoltaics in Ethanol Solvent.

PubMed

Li, Haijin; Wu, Congcong; Yan, Yongke; Chi, Bo; Pu, Jian; Li, Jian; Priya, Shashank

2017-10-23

The toxicity of lead present in organohalide perovskites and the hazardous solvent systems used for their synthesis hinder the deployment of perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Herein, an environmentally friendly route toward bismuth-based, lead-free (CH 3 NH 3 ) 3 Bi 2 I 9 perovskites that utilize ethanol as the solvent is described. Using this method, dense and homogeneous microstructures were obtained, compared to the porous, rough microstructures obtained using dimethylformamide. Photovoltaic performances were enhanced, with an open-circuit voltage of 0.84 V measured. © 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Sustainable Transportation Fuels from Natural Gas (H{sub 2}), Coal and Biomass

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

Huffman, Gerald

2012-12-31

This research program is focused primarily on the conversion of coal, natural gas (i.e., methane), and biomass to liquid fuels by Fischer-Tropsch synthesis (FTS), with minimum production of carbon dioxide. A complementary topic also under investigation is the development of novel processes for the production of hydrogen with very low to zero production of CO{sub 2}. This is in response to the nation's urgent need for a secure and environmentally friendly domestic source of liquid fuels. The carbon neutrality of biomass is beneficial in meeting this goal. Several additional novel approaches to limiting carbon dioxide emissions are also being explored.

Effective removal of phosphate from aqueous solution using humic acid coated magnetite nanoparticles.

PubMed

Rashid, Mamun; Price, Nathaniel T; Gracia Pinilla, Miguel Ángel; O'Shea, Kevin E

2017-10-15

Effective removal of excess phosphate from water is critical to counteract eutrophication and restore water quality. In this study, low cost, environmentally friendly humic acid coated magnetite nanoparticles (HA-MNP) were synthesized and applied for the remediation of phosphate from aqueous media. The HA-MNPs, characterized by FTIR, TEM and HAADF-STEM showed the extensive coating of humic acid on the magnetite surface. The magnetic nanoparticles with diameters of 7-12 nm could be easily separated from the reaction mixture by using a simple hand held magnet. Adsorption studies demonstrate the fast and effective separation of phosphate with maximum adsorption capacity of 28.9 mg/g at pH 6.6. The adsorption behavior follows the Freundlich isotherm suggesting the formation of non-uniform multilayers of phosphate on the heterogeneous surface of HA-MNP. The adsorption kinetic fits the pseudo-second order model well with rate constants of 0.206 ± 0.003, 0.073 ± 0.002 and 0.061 ± 0.003 g mg -1 min -1 for phosphate (P) concentrations of 2, 5 and 10 mg/L respectively. The removal of phosphate was found higher at acidic and neutral pH compared to basic conditions. The nanoparticles exhibit good selectivity and adsorption efficiency for phosphate in presence of co-existing ions such as Cl - , SO 4 2- and NO 3 - with some inhibition effect by CO 3 2- . The effect of temperature on the adsorption reveals that the process is endothermic and spontaneous. HA-MNPs are promising, simple, environmentally friendly materials for the removal of phosphate from aqueous media. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

DECO FRECASE (drywall eco-friendly from eggshell and cane bagasse) as an innovation of eco-friendly interior construction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Imron, M. A.; Ahkam, D. N. I.; Hidayat, A. W.

2017-12-01

The number of factories and home industries, both upper and lower middle class certainly adds waste generated, resulting in environmental pollution. The development of buildings is one of the largest contributors to global warming. For that, it takes technological innovations that lead to the criteria of green building. The application of green material is important aspects of environmentally friendly development, the selection of materials on the green material criteria of both roles should be applied continuously in order to realize the environmental sustainability of the material. Utilization Waste eggshell and bagasse which is a community waste, has the potential to become innovative environmentally friendly building materials. The eggshell is composed of 94% calcium carbonate, 1% magnesium carbonate, 1% calcium phosphate, and 4% organic material, especially protein, while the bagasse has a high content of silica (SiO2). In this study, the compounds are used as raw material for making alternative drywall in the form of DECO FRECASE. DECO FRECASE is an innovation of environmentally friendly building materials as an interior wall construction. Through DECO FRECASE, it is expected that building material innovation in Indonesia can be improved and of course environmental problems can be minimized by utilizing it as raw material for building construction.

A facile approach toward transition metal oxide hierarchical structures and their lithium storage properties.

PubMed

Zhang, Cuimiao; Chen, Jing; Zeng, Yi; Rui, Xianhong; Zhu, Jixin; Zhang, Wenyu; Xu, Chen; Lim, Tuti Mariana; Hng, Huey Hoon; Yan, Qingyu

2012-06-21

A simple, non-template, non-surfactant and environmentally friendly hydrothermal method is presented based on the controlled release of the reactants into the reaction solvents to induce slow nucleation and growth of three-dimensional hierarchical nanostructures of transition metal oxides. This method is a general approach, which can be used to prepare Co(3)O(4), CuO, and Ni(OH)(2)/NiO. These metal oxides with hierarchical nanostructures can be used as anode materials for lithium-ion batteries with good Li storage performance, e.g. high specific capacities and stable cyclability.

The impact of global warming on the automotive industry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hannappel, Ralf

2017-08-01

One cause of global warming of the earth's atmosphere is the emission of human made gases (methane, CO2, nitrous oxygen, etc.) into the environment. Of the total global CO2 emissions the transportation sector contributes to about 14%. In order to control the emissions of the automotive sector, in all major countries (USA, Europe, China, Japan) of the world, tough emissions targets were being set to reduce the vehicle traffic's contribution of CO2. These are derived from the global climate conference' target to limit the maximum temperature increase of the earth of 2 degrees Celsius until 2100. In order to achieve these stringent targets the automotive industry will face a major change in its drivetrain. It will move from combustion to electrical engines. The technical realization of these engines will most likely be battery and fuel cell driven propulsion systems. In order to achieve that transition a major effort is required in 4 industrial areas, i.e. growing electrical charging infrastructure, lowering battery cost, increasing the battery-electric vehicle ranges and developing new environmental friendly hydrogen production methods.

Comparison of exhaust emissions from Swedish environmental classified diesel fuel (MK1) and European Program on Emissions, Fuels and Engine Technologies (EPEFE) reference fuel: a chemical and biological characterization, with viewpoints on cancer risk.

PubMed

Westerholm, R; Christensen, A; Törnqvist, M; Ehrenberg, L; Rannug, U; Sjögren, M; Rafter, J; Soontjens, C; Almén, J; Grägg, K

2001-05-01

Diesel fuels, classified as environmentally friendly, have been available on the Swedish market since 1991. The Swedish diesel fuel classification is based upon the specification of selected fuel composition and physical properties to reduce potential environmental and health effects from direct human exposure to exhaust. The objective of the present investigation was to compare the most stringent, environmentally classified Swedish diesel fuel (MK1) to the reference diesel fuel used in the "European Program on Emissions, Fuels and Engine Technologies" (EPEFE) program. The study compares measurements of regulated emissions, unregulated emissions, and biological tests from a Volvo truck using these fuels. The regulated emissions from these two fuels (MK1 vs EPEFE) were CO (-2.2%), HC (12%), NOx (-11%), and particulates (-11%). The emissions of aldehydes, alkenes, and carbon dioxide were basically equivalent. The emissions of particle-associated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and 1-nitropyrene were 88% and 98% lower than those of the EPEFE fuel, respectively. The emissions of semi-volatile PAHs and 1-nitropyrene were 77% and 80% lower than those from the EPEFE fuel, respectively. The reduction in mutagenicity of the particle extract varied from -75 to -90%, depending on the tester strain. The reduction of mutagenicity of the semi-volatile extract varied between -40 and -60%. Furthermore, the dioxin receptor binding activity was a factor of 8 times lower in the particle extracts and a factor of 4 times lower in the semi-volatile extract than that of the EPEFE fuel. In conclusion, the MK1 fuel was found to be more environmentally friendly than the EPEFE fuel.

Recovery of valuable metals from spent lithium-ion batteries by ultrasonic-assisted leaching process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Li; Zhai, Longyu; Zhang, Xiaoxiao; Lu, Jun; Chen, Renjie; Wu, Feng; Amine, Khalil

2014-09-01

The anticipated significant use of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) for energy storage applications in electric grid modernization and vehicle electrification shall generate a large quantity of solid waste that could become potential environmental hazards and waste natural resources. Recycling of the major components from spent LIBs is, therefore, considered desirable to prevent environmental pollution and to recycle valuable metals. This study reports on the application of ultrasonic-assisted technology to the leaching of cobalt and lithium from the cathode active materials of spent LIBs. Three acids were tested for the leaching process: two inorganic acids (H2SO4 and HCl) and one organic acid (citric acid, C6H8O7·H2O). The results show that the leaching of Co and Li is more efficient with citric acid than with the two inorganic acids. More than 96% Co and nearly 100% Li were recovered from spent LIBs. The optimal leaching conditions were 0.5 M citric acid with 0.55 M H2O2, a solid-to-liquid ratio of 25 g L-1, a temperature of 60 °C, leaching time of 5 h, and ultrasonic power of 90 W. The high leaching efficiency is mainly ascribed to the unique cavitation action of the ultrasonic waves. This ultrasonic-assisted leaching process with organic acid is not only effective but also environmentally friendly.

Acting green elicits a literal warm glow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Taufik, Danny; Bolderdijk, Jan Willem; Steg, Linda

2015-01-01

Environmental policies are often based on the assumption that people only act environmentally friendly if some extrinsic reward is implicated, usually money. We argue that people might also be motivated by intrinsic rewards: doing the right thing (such as acting environmentally friendly) elicits psychological rewards in the form of positive feelings, a phenomenon known as warm glow. Given the fact that people's psychological state may affect their thermal state, we expected that this warm glow could express itself quite literally: people who act environmentally friendly may perceive the temperature to be higher. In two studies, we found that people who learned they acted environmentally friendly perceived a higher temperature than people who learned they acted environmentally unfriendly. The underlying psychological mechanism pertains to the self-concept: learning you acted environmentally friendly signals to yourself that you are a good person. Together, our studies show that acting environmentally friendly can be psychologically rewarding, suggesting that appealing to intrinsic rewards can be an alternative way to encourage pro-environmental actions.

Wastewater treatment by local microalgae strains for CO2 sequestration and biofuel production

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ansari, Abeera A.; Khoja, Asif Hussain; Nawar, Azra; Qayyum, Muneeb; Ali, Ehsan

2017-11-01

Currently, the scientific community is keenly working on environmental-friendly processes for the production of clean energy and sustainable development. The study was conducted to cultivate microalgae in raw institutional wastewater for water treatment, enriched production of biomass and CO2 sequestration. The strains which were used in this study are Scenedesmus sp. and Chlorella sp. which were isolated from Kallar Kahar Lake, Pakistan. Both strains were cultivated in synthetic growth medium (Bold's Basal Medium) to enhance biomass production. Afterward, microalgae cultures were inoculated in wastewater sample in mixotrophic mode under ambient conditions. The impurities in wastewater were successfully removed from the original sample by the 7th day of operation. COD 95%, nitrate 99.7% and phosphate 80.5% were removed by applying Scenedesmus sp. Meanwhile, Chlorella sp. reduced 84.86% COD, 98.2% nitrate and 70% phosphate, respectively. Interestingly, sulfates were removed from wastewater completely by both strains. Besides being useful in wastewater remediation, these microalgae strains were subsequently harvested for lipid extraction and potential biofuel production was determined. Therefore, the applied method is an environmentally safe, cost-effective and alternative technology for wastewater treatment. Furthermore, the achieved biomass through this process can be used for the production of biofuels.

Noble-Metal-Free Molybdenum Disulfide Cocatalyst for Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production.

PubMed

Yuan, Yong-Jun; Lu, Hong-Wei; Yu, Zhen-Tao; Zou, Zhi-Gang

2015-12-21

Photocatalytic water splitting using powered semiconductors as photocatalysts represents a promising strategy for clean, low-cost, and environmentally friendly production of H2 utilizing solar energy. The loading of noble-metal cocatalysts on semiconductors can significantly enhance the solar-to-H2 conversion efficiency. However, the high cost and scarcity of noble metals counter their extensive utilization. Therefore, the use of alternative cocatalysts based on non-precious metal materials is pursued. Nanosized MoS2 cocatalysts have attracted considerable attention in the last decade as a viable alternative to improve solar-to-H2 conversion efficiency because of its superb catalytic activity, excellent stability, low cost, availability, environmental friendliness, and chemical inertness. In this perspective, the design, structures, synthesis, and application of MoS2 -based composite photocatalysts for solar H2 generation are summarized, compared, and discussed. Finally, this Review concludes with a summary and remarks on some challenges and opportunities for the future development of MoS2 -based photocatalysts. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Combustion performance evaluation of air staging of palm oil blends.

PubMed

Mohd Jaafar, Mohammad Nazri; Eldrainy, Yehia A; Mat Ali, Muhammad Faiser; Wan Omar, W Z; Mohd Hizam, Mohd Faizi Arif

2012-02-21

The problems of global warming and the unstable price of petroleum oils have led to a race to develop environmentally friendly biofuels, such as palm oil or ethanol derived from corn and sugar cane. Biofuels are a potential replacement for fossil fuel, since they are renewable and environmentally friendly. This paper evaluates the combustion performance and emission characteristics of Refined, Bleached, and Deodorized Palm Oil (RBDPO)/diesel blends B5, B10, B15, B20, and B25 by volume, using an industrial oil burner with and without secondary air. Wall temperature profiles along the combustion chamber axis were measured using a series of thermocouples fitted axially on the combustion chamber wall, and emissions released were measured using a gas analyzer. The results show that RBDPO blend B25 produced the maximum emission reduction of 56.9% of CO, 74.7% of NOx, 68.5% of SO(2), and 77.5% of UHC compared to petroleum diesel, while air staging (secondary air) in most cases reduces the emissions further. However, increasing concentrations of RBDPO in the blends also reduced the energy released from the combustion. The maximum wall temperature reduction was 62.7% for B25 at the exit of the combustion chamber.

Comparative study of the quality characteristics of defatted soy flour treated by supercritical carbon dioxide and organic solvent.

PubMed

Kang, Sung-Won; Rahman, M Shafiur; Kim, Ah-Na; Lee, Kyo-Yeon; Park, Chan-Yang; Kerr, William L; Choi, Sung-Gil

2017-07-01

Defatted soy flour is a potential source of food protein, amino acids, ash and isoflavones. The supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO 2 ) and a traditional organic solvent extraction methods were used to remove fat from soy flour, and the quality characteristics of a control soy flour (CSF), defatted soy flour by SC-CO 2 (DSFSC-CO 2 ) and defatted soy flour by an organic solvent (DSF-OS) were compared. The SC-CO 2 process was carried out at a constant temperature of 45 °C, and a pressure of 40 MPa for 3 h with a CO 2 flow rate of 30 g/min. The DSFSC-CO 2 had significantly higher protein, ash, and amino acids content than CSF and DSF-OS. The sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) analysis demonstrated that CSF and DSFSC-CO 2 had protein bands of similar intensity and area that indicated no denaturation of protein, whereas DSF-OS showed diffuse bands or no bands due to protein denaturation. In addition to higher nutritional value and protein contents, DSFSC-CO 2 showed superior functional properties in terms of total soluble solids content, water and oil absorption, emulsifying and foaming capacity. The SC-CO 2 method offers a nutritionally and environmentally friendly alternative extraction processing approach for the removal of oil from high-protein food sources. It has a great potential for producing high-protein fat-free, and low-calorie content diet than the traditional organic solvent extraction method.

Biological Properties of Fucoxanthin in Oil Recovered from Two Brown Seaweeds Using Supercritical CO2 Extraction

PubMed Central

Periaswamy Sivagnanam, Saravana; Yin, Shipeng; Choi, Jae Hyung; Park, Yong Beom; Woo, Hee Chul; Chun, Byung Soo

2015-01-01

The bioactive materials in brown seaweeds hold great interest for developing new drugs and healthy foods. The oil content in brown seaweeds (Saccharina japonica and Sargassum horneri) was extracted by using environmentally friendly supercritical CO2 (SC-CO2) with ethanol as a co-solvent in a semi-batch flow extraction process and compared the results with a conventional extraction process using hexane, ethanol, and acetone mixed with methanol (1:1, v/v). The SC-CO2 method was used at a temperature of 45 °C and pressure of 250 bar. The flow rate of CO2 (27 g/min) was constant for the entire extraction period of 2 h. The obtained oil from the brown seaweeds was analyzed to determine their valuable compounds such as fatty acids, phenolic compounds, fucoxanthin and biological properties including antioxidant, antimicrobial, and antihypertension effects. The amounts of fucoxanthin extracted from the SC-CO2 oils of S. japonica and S. horneri were 0.41 ± 0.05 and 0.77 ± 0.07 mg/g, respectively. High antihypertensive activity was detected when using mixed acetone and methanol, whereas the phenolic content and antioxidant property were higher in the oil extracted by SC-CO2. The acetone–methanol mix extracts exhibited better antimicrobial activities than those obtained by other means. Thus, the SC-CO2 extraction process appears to be a good method for obtaining valuable compounds from both brown seaweeds, and showed stronger biological activity than that obtained by the conventional extraction process. PMID:26035021

Biological Properties of Fucoxanthin in Oil Recovered from Two Brown Seaweeds Using Supercritical CO2 Extraction.

PubMed

Sivagnanam, Saravana Periaswamy; Yin, Shipeng; Choi, Jae Hyung; Park, Yong Beom; Woo, Hee Chul; Chun, Byung Soo

2015-05-29

The bioactive materials in brown seaweeds hold great interest for developing new drugs and healthy foods. The oil content in brown seaweeds (Saccharina japonica and Sargassum horneri) was extracted by using environmentally friendly supercritical CO2 (SC-CO2) with ethanol as a co-solvent in a semi-batch flow extraction process and compared the results with a conventional extraction process using hexane, ethanol, and acetone mixed with methanol (1:1, v/v). The SC-CO2 method was used at a temperature of 45 °C and pressure of 250 bar. The flow rate of CO2 (27 g/min) was constant for the entire extraction period of 2 h. The obtained oil from the brown seaweeds was analyzed to determine their valuable compounds such as fatty acids, phenolic compounds, fucoxanthin and biological properties including antioxidant, antimicrobial, and antihypertension effects. The amounts of fucoxanthin extracted from the SC-CO2 oils of S. japonica and S. horneri were 0.41 ± 0.05 and 0.77 ± 0.07 mg/g, respectively. High antihypertensive activity was detected when using mixed acetone and methanol, whereas the phenolic content and antioxidant property were higher in the oil extracted by SC-CO2. The acetone-methanol mix extracts exhibited better antimicrobial activities than those obtained by other means. Thus, the SC-CO2 extraction process appears to be a good method for obtaining valuable compounds from both brown seaweeds, and showed stronger biological activity than that obtained by the conventional extraction process.

Flying MOFs: polyamine-containing fluidized MOF/SiO2 hybrid materials for CO2 capture from post-combustion flue gas.

PubMed

Luz, Ignacio; Soukri, Mustapha; Lail, Marty

2018-05-28

Solid-state synthesis ensures a high loading and well-dispersed growth of a large collection of metal-organic framework (MOF) nanostructures within a series of commercially available mesoporous silica. This approach provides a general, highly efficient, scalable, environmentally friendly, and inexpensive strategy for shaping MOFs into a fluidized form, thereby allowing their application in fluidized-bed reactors for diverse applications, such as CO 2 capture from post-combustion flue gas. A collection of polyamine-impregnated MOF/SiO 2 hybrid sorbents were evaluated for CO 2 capture under simulated flue gas conditions in a packed-bed reactor. Hybrid sorbents containing a moderate loading of (Zn)ZIF-8 are the most promising sorbents in terms of CO 2 adsorption capacity and long-term stability (up to 250 cycles in the presence of contaminants: SO 2 , NO x and H 2 S) and were successfully prepared at the kilogram scale. These hybrid sorbents demonstrated excellent fluidizability and performance under the relevant process conditions in a visual fluidized-bed reactor. Moreover, a biochemically inspired strategy for covalently linking polyamines to MOF/SiO 2 through strong phosphine bonds has been first introduced in this work as a powerful and highly versatile post-synthesis modification for MOF chemistry, thus providing a novel alternative towards more stable CO 2 solid sorbents.

Eco-friendly synthesis of core-shell structured (TiO2/Li2CO3) nanomaterials for low cost dye-sensitized solar cells.

PubMed

Karuppuchamy, S; Brundha, C

2016-12-01

Core-shell structured TiO 2 /Li 2 CO 3 electrode was successfully synthesized by eco-friendly solution growth technique. TiO 2 /Li 2 CO 3 electrodes were characterized using X-ray Diffractometer (XRD), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and photocurrent-voltage measurements. The synthesized core-shell electrode material was sensitized with tetrabutylammonium cis-di(thiocyanato)-N,N'-bis(4-carboxylato-4'-carboxylic acid-2,2'-bipyridine)ruthenate(II) (N-719). The performance of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) based on N719 dye modified TiO 2 /Li 2 CO 3 electrodes was investigated. The effect of various shell thickness on the photovoltaic performance of the core-shell structured electrode is also investigated. We found that Li 2 CO 3 shells of all thicknesses perform as inert barriers which improve open-circuit voltage (V oc ) of the DSCs. The energy conversion efficiency was greatly dependent on the thickness of Li 2 CO 3 on TiO 2 film, and the highest efficiency of 3.7% was achieved at the optimum Li 2 CO 3 shell layer. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Bio-production of Baccatin III, an Important Precursor of Paclitaxel by a Cost-Effective Approach.

PubMed

Lin, Shu-Ling; Wei, Tao; Lin, Jun-Fang; Guo, Li-Qiong; Wu, Guang-Pei; Wei, Jun-Bin; Huang, Jia-Jun; Ouyang, Ping-Lan

2018-07-01

Natural production of anti-cancer drug taxol from Taxus has proved to be environmentally unsustainable and economically unfeasible. Currently, bioengineering the biosynthetic pathway of taxol is an attractive alternative production approach. 10-deacetylbaccatin III-10-O-acetyl transferase (DBAT) was previously characterized as an acyltransferase, using 10-deacetylbaccatin III (10-DAB) and acetyl CoA as natural substrates, to form baccatin III in the taxol biosynthesis. Here, we report that other than the natural acetyl CoA (Ac-CoA) substrate, DBAT can also utilize vinyl acetate (VA), which is commercially available at very low cost, acylate quickly and irreversibly, as acetyl donor in the acyl transfer reaction to produce baccatin III. Furthermore, mutants were prepared via a semi-rational design in this work. A double mutant, I43S/D390R was constructed to combine the positive effects of the different single mutations on catalytic activity, and its catalytic efficiency towards 10-DAB and VA was successfully improved by 3.30-fold, compared to that of wild-type DBAT, while 2.99-fold higher than the catalytic efficiency of WT DBAT towards 10-DAB and Ac-CoA. These findings can provide a promising economically and environmentally friendly method for exploring novel acyl donors to engineer natural product pathways.

Initial research on recycled tyre bales for road infrastructure applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Duda, Aleksander; Sobala, Dariusz

2017-12-01

The paper reviews selected surveys carried out within the R&D project, co-financed with the European Regional Development Fund, called "ReUse - Innovative Recycling Materials, Enhancing the Sustainability of Bridge Facilities" (Innotech No. K3 / IN3 / 38/228116 / NCBiR / 15). The aim of the project and conducted research is to develop and implement innovative, cheap and environmentally-friendly recycled construction material in the form of tyre bales made from compressed used car tyres. This material is likely to be applied in civil engineering, especially in transport infrastructure, geotechnical and hydraulic engineering. New material is cheap and has unique properties such as low weight, high water permeability, high vibration and noise-damping capacity, low pressure coefficient values and other parameters that technically and economically allow it to replace natural aggregates. The extensive practical application of new material will facilitate the replacement of waste management methods with the environmentally friendly ones.

Co-generation of microbial lipid and bio-butanol from corn cob bagasse in an environmentally friendly biorefinery process.

PubMed

Cai, Di; Dong, Zhongshi; Wang, Yong; Chen, Changjing; Li, Ping; Qin, Peiyong; Wang, Zheng; Tan, Tianwei

2016-09-01

Biorefinery process of corn cob bagasse was investigated by integrating microbial lipid and ABE fermentation. The effects of NaOH concentration on the fermentations performance were evaluated. The black liquor after pretreatment was used as substrate for microbial lipid fermentation, while the enzymatic hydrolysates of the bagasse were used for ABE fermentation. The results demonstrated that under the optimized condition, the cellulose and hemicellulose in raw material could be effectively utilized. Approximate 87.7% of the polysaccharides were converted into valuable biobased products (∼175.7g/kg of ABE along with ∼36.6g/kg of lipid). At the same time, almost half of the initial COD (∼48.9%) in the black liquor could be degraded. The environmentally friendly biorefinery process showed promising in maximizing the utilization of biomass for future biofuels production. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Reducing tourist carbon footprint through strategic mapping of the existing hotel stock - Attica

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pieri, Stella Panayiota; Stamos, Athanasios; Tzouvadakis, Ioannis

2016-09-01

The tourist carbon footprint (TCF) is the measure of the total amount of carbon dioxide (CO 2) tourists emit by travelling from origin to destination and by participating in tourism - and leisure - related activities considering all relevant sources, sinks and storage within the spatial boundary of the destination. This paper presents a method of assessing the part of TCF associated with tourist transport at the tourist destination and proposes iso-pollutant contours as the most effective method of mapping TFC in relation to hotel location by using the prefecture of Attica in Greece as an example. The paper demonstrates for the first time how important is hotel location as a determinant factor of TCF and also proposes measures to reduce CO 2 emissions through the implementation of policies that are environmentally friendly and are aiming to facilitate the transport of the tourists and promote the use of public transport.

Material and Structural Performance Evaluations of Hwangtoh Admixtures and Recycled PET Fiber-Added Eco-Friendly Concrete for CO2 Emission Reduction

PubMed Central

Koo, Bon-Min; Kim, Jang-Ho Jay; Kim, Sung-Bae; Mun, Sungho

2014-01-01

In order to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and produce an eco-friendly construction material, a type of concrete that uses a minimal amount of cement, yet still retains equivalent properties to ordinary cement concrete, has been developed and studied all over the world. Hwangtoh, a type of red clay broadly deposited around the world, has traditionally been considered an eco-friendly construction material, with bonus advantages of having health and cost benefits. Presently, Hwangtoh is not commonly used as a modern construction material due to properties such as low strength and high rates of shrinkage cracking. Recent studies, however, have shown that Hwangtoh can be used as a mineral admixture to improve the strength of concrete. In addition, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) fibers recycled from PET bottle waste can be used to control shrinkage cracks in Hwangtoh concrete. Therefore, in this study, performance verification is conducted on newly developed Hwangtoh concrete mixed with short recycled PET fibers. The results show that Hwangtoh concrete has compressive strength, elastic modulus, and pH properties that are similar to these features in ordinary cement concrete. The properties of carbonation depth and creep strain of Hwangtoh concrete, however, are larger and smaller, respectively, than in ordinary cement concrete. According to flexural tests, reinforced concrete (RC) specimens cast with Hwangtoh admixtures (with and without PET fibers) possess similar or better capacities than ordinary RC specimens. The addition of PET fibers significantly improves the structural ductility of RC specimens under normal environmental conditions. However, the implementations of the concrete in aggressive environment must be carefully considered, since a previous study result indicates degradation of its durability performance in aggressive environments, such as seawater [1]. The results of this study validate the possibility of using eco-friendly Hwangtoh concrete reinforced with recycled PET fibers as a structural material for modern construction. PMID:28788171

Copper- and copper–N-heterocyclic carbene-catalyzed C─H activating carboxylation of terminal alkynes with CO2 at ambient conditions

PubMed Central

Yu, Dingyi; Zhang, Yugen

2010-01-01

The use of carbon dioxide as a renewable and environmentally friendly source of carbon in organic synthesis is a highly attractive approach, but its real world applications remain a great challenge. The major obstacles for commercialization of most current protocols are their low catalytic performances, harsh reaction conditions, and limited substrate scope. It is important to develop new reactions and new protocols for CO2 transformations at mild conditions and in cost-efficient ways. Herein, a copper-catalyzed and copper–N-heterocyclic carbene-cocatalyzed transformation of CO2 to carboxylic acids via C─H bond activation of terminal alkynes with or without base additives is reported. Various propiolic acids were synthesized in good to excellent yields under ambient conditions without consumption of any organometallic or organic reagent additives. This system has a wide scope of substrates and functional group tolerances and provides a powerful tool for the synthesis of highly functionalized propiolic acids. This catalytic system is a simple and economically viable protocol with great potential in practical applications. PMID:21059950

Research and demonstration results for a new "Double-Solution" technology for municipal solid waste treatment.

PubMed

Erping, Li; Haoyun, Chen; Yanyang, Shang; Jun, Pan; Qing, Hu

2017-11-01

In this paper, the pyrolysis characteristics of six typical components in municipal solid waste (MSW) were investigated through a TG-FTIR combined technique and it was concluded that the main pyrolysis process of the biomass components (including food residues, sawdust and paper) occurred at 150-600°C. The main volatiles were multi-component gas including H 2 O, CO 2 , and CO. The main pyrolysis temperatures of three artificial products (PP, PVC and leather) was ranged from 200to 500°C. The wavelength of small molecule gases (CH 4 , CO 2 and CO) and the the chemical bonds (CO and CC) were observed in the infrared spectrum Based on the pyrolysis temperature interval and volatile constituent, a new "double-solution" process of pyrolysis and oxygen-enrichment decomposition MSW was designed. To achieve this process, a double-solution project was built for the direct treatment of MSW (10t/d). The complete setup of equipment and analysis of the byproducts has been reported in this paper to indicate the performance of this process. Energy balance and economic benefits were analysed for the process supporting. It was successfully demonstrated that the double-solution process was the environmentally friendly alternative method for MSW treatment in Chinese rural areas. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Influence of Atmosphere on Electrochemical Performance of LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2 Electrodes for Li-Ion Batteries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Ran; Wang, Jing; Chen, Shi; Gao, Ang; Su, Yuefeng; Wu, Feng

2018-01-01

Ni-rich layered materials have been regarded as competitive candidates for advanced lithium-ion batteries due to their high energy density, relatively low cost and environmentally-friendly nature. However, they suffer from serious degradation of cycling performance after exposing to air during their storage. Here we selected LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2 as a typical Ni-rich positive material to study the influence upon exposure to ambient air on surface chemical composition and electrochemical performance. TEM confirms the existence of amorphous surface layer after contacting with atmosphere and the thickness is about 3-4 nm. The fresh LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2 sample has capacity retention of 94.6% and 93.3% after 50 cycles at 0.2C and 1C, respectively, comparing to the 91.7% and 82.4% of the exposed sample. The charge-discharge curves and electrochemical impedance spectra indicate that exposure to air lead to increased impedance and polarization, which seriously affects LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2 cycling properties. So, it is very important for Ni-rich cathode materials without contacting with atmosphere directly.

Ultralow temperature synthesis and improved adsorption performance of graphene oxide nanosheets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tao, Xiaojun; Wang, Xiaodong; Li, Zhiwei; Zhou, Shaomin

2015-01-01

In this article, we first report an ultralow temperature (-60 °C) synthesis of graphene oxide nanosheets (GONs), which is achieved via the reduction reaction of tetrachloroethylene (C2Cl4) and potassium in liquid ammonia solution at atmospheric pressure. The as-obtained multilayer GONs with a high quality exhibit a low C/O atomic ratio of approximately 2:1, indicating that GONs are rich in the oxygen-containing functional groups. In order to improve their adsorption property, GONs are reduced at 500 °C for 2 h in flowing N2, which results in the successful preparation of graphene nanosheets (GNs) with a high C/O atomic ratio of approximately 32:1. GNs show high specific surface area (508 m2/g), high adsorption capacity (Qe = 148.36 mg/g, Co = 180 mg/L), and rapid adsorption rate (>96%, 10 min) of organic dye rhodamine B (RhB) from water, suggesting that GNs have potential environmental applications as alternatives to commercial materials in wastewater treatment for the removal of organic dye. Compared with the reported methods to prepare GONs, our techniques have attractive advantages, such as low reaction temperature and being friendly to environment.

Association and Diffusion of Li(+) in Carboxymethylcellulose Solutions for Environmentally Friendly Li-ion Batteries.

PubMed

Casalegno, Mosè; Castiglione, Franca; Passarello, Marco; Mele, Andrea; Passerini, Stefano; Raos, Guido

2016-07-21

Carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) has been proposed as a polymeric binder for electrodes in environmentally friendly Li-ion batteries. Its physical properties and interaction with Li(+) ions in water are interesting not only from the point of view of electrode preparation-processability in water is one of the main reasons for its environmental friendliness-but also for its possible application in aqueous Li-ion batteries. We combine molecular dynamics simulations and variable-time pulsed field gradient spin-echo (PFGSE) NMR spectroscopy to investigate Li(+) transport in CMC-based solutions. Both the simulations and experimental results show that, at concentrations at which Li-CMC has a gel-like consistency, the Li(+) diffusion coefficient is still very close to that in water. These Li(+) ions interact preferentially with the carboxylate groups of CMC, giving rise to a rich variety of coordination patterns. However, the diffusion of Li(+) in these systems is essentially unrestricted, with a fast, nanosecond-scale exchange of the ions between CMC and the aqueous environment. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Bioconcrete: next generation of self-healing concrete.

PubMed

Seifan, Mostafa; Samani, Ali Khajeh; Berenjian, Aydin

2016-03-01

Concrete is one of the most widely used construction materials and has a high tendency to form cracks. These cracks lead to significant reduction in concrete service life and high replacement costs. Although it is not possible to prevent crack formation, various types of techniques are in place to heal the cracks. It has been shown that some of the current concrete treatment methods such as the application of chemicals and polymers are a source of health and environmental risks, and more importantly, they are effective only in the short term. Thus, treatment methods that are environmentally friendly and long-lasting are in high demand. A microbial self-healing approach is distinguished by its potential for long-lasting, rapid and active crack repair, while also being environmentally friendly. Furthermore, the microbial self-healing approach prevails the other treatment techniques due to the efficient bonding capacity and compatibility with concrete compositions. This study provides an overview of the microbial approaches to produce calcium carbonate (CaCO3). Prospective challenges in microbial crack treatment are discussed, and recommendations are also given for areas of future research.

Physical activity, psychosocial and perceived environmental factors in adolescents from Northeast Brazil.

PubMed

Farias Júnior, José Cazuza de; Reis, Rodrigo Siqueira; Hallal, Pedro Curi

2014-05-01

The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between levels of physical activity, psychosocial and perceived environmental factors in adolescents from Northeastern Brazil. A cross-sectional epidemiologic study was conducted with 2,859 adolescents enrolled in secondary schools (57.8% females; mean = 16.5 years; SD = 1.2) in the city of João Pessoa, Paraíba State, Brazil. The following physical activity correlates were measured: attitude, self-efficacy, social support from friends and parents, and perceived environmental characteristics. Physical activity was measured using a questionnaire. Multivariable ordinal logistic regression with proportional odds model analysis showed that the following factors are positively related to physical activity levels in adolescents: attitude, self-efficacy, as well as social support from parents and friends. Physical activity intervention programs should increase self-efficacy and social support from parents and friends, as well as a positive attitude toward physical activity.

Effect of silk protein surfactant on silk degumming and its properties.

PubMed

Wang, Fei; Cao, Ting-Ting; Zhang, Yu-Qing

2015-10-01

The silk protein surfactant (SPS) first used as a silk degumming agent in this study is an amino acid-type anionic surfactant that was synthesized using silk fibroin amino acids and lauroyl chloride. We studied it systematically in comparison with the traditional degumming methods such as sodium carbonate (Na2CO3) and neutral soap (NS). The experimental results showed that the sericin can be completely removed from the silk fibroin fiber after boiling the fibers three times for 30 min and using a bath ratio of 1:80 (g/mL) and a concentration of 0.2% SPS in an aqueous solution. The results of the tensile properties, thermal analysis, and SEM all show that SPS is similar to the NS, far superior to Na2CO3. In short, SPS may be used as an environmentally friendly silk degumming/refining agent in the silk textile industry and in the manufacture of silk floss quilts. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Facile and environmentally friendly synthesis of ultrathin nickel hydroxide nanosheets with excellent supercapacitor performances

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hu, Xiaowei; Liu, Sheng; Li, Chenghui; Huang, Jiahao; Luv, Jixing; Xu, Pan; Liu, Jian; You, Xiao-Zeng

2016-06-01

In this article, we report a facile and environmentally friendly glutamic acid-assisted hydrothermal strategy for the preparation of ultrathin two-dimensional (2D) β-Ni(OH)2 nanosheets with a thickness of about 2 nm, which exhibit a maximum specific capacitance of 2537.4 F g-1 at a current density of 1 A g-1, even at 10 A g-1, the specific capacitance is still maintained at 2290.0 F g-1 with 77.6% retention after 3000 cycles.In this article, we report a facile and environmentally friendly glutamic acid-assisted hydrothermal strategy for the preparation of ultrathin two-dimensional (2D) β-Ni(OH)2 nanosheets with a thickness of about 2 nm, which exhibit a maximum specific capacitance of 2537.4 F g-1 at a current density of 1 A g-1, even at 10 A g-1, the specific capacitance is still maintained at 2290.0 F g-1 with 77.6% retention after 3000 cycles. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c6nr02912d

Comparison of Environmentally Friendly Space Compatible Grease to its Predecessor in a Space Mechanism Bearing Test Rig

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jett, T. R.; Baker, M. A.; Thom, R. L.

1997-01-01

Perfluoroakylpolyether (PFPE) greases are used extensively in critical flight hardware in a space environment. In the past, these greases have been processed using chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) based solvents. In response to the recent ban of CFC's, new formulations of environmentally friendly PFPE greases that are not processed with CFC based solvents were developed. The purpose of this study was to compare the performance of a new environmentally friendly formulation PFPE grease to a previously proven space compatible formulation PFPE grease. A one year test using 20 small electrical motors (two bearings per motor) was conducted in a high vacuum environment(2.0 x 10(exp 4)) Torr at a temperature of 90 C. Twenty bearings were lubricated with a new environmentally friendly formulation, and twenty bearings were lubricated with an old formulation. The mass of each lubricated bearing was measured both pre and post test. Along with mass loss measurements a profilometer trace was taken to measure post test wear of the bearings. In addition the bearings were visually examined and analyzed using an optical microscope.

Self-grown oxy-hydroxide@ nanoporous metal electrode for high-performance supercapacitors.

PubMed

Kang, JianLi; Hirata, Akihiko; Qiu, H-J; Chen, LuYang; Ge, XingBo; Fujita, Takeshi; Chen, MingWei

2014-01-15

A binder-free self-grown oxy-hydroxide@nanoporous Ni-Mn hybrid electrode with high capacitance and cyclic stability is fabricated by electrochemical polarization of a dealloyed nanoporous Ni-Mn alloy. Combined with the low material costs, high electrochemical stability, and environmentally friendly nature, this novel electrode holds great promise for applications in high-capacity commercial supercapacitors. © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

High thermal conductivity lossy dielectric using co-densified multilayer configuration

DOEpatents

Tiegs, Terry N.; Kiggans, Jr., James O.

2003-06-17

Systems and methods are described for loss dielectrics. A method of manufacturing a lossy dielectric includes providing at least one high dielectric loss layer and providing at least one high thermal conductivity-electrically insulating layer adjacent the at least one high dielectric loss layer and then densifying together. The systems and methods provide advantages because the lossy dielectrics are less costly and more environmentally friendly than the available alternatives.

Direct accessibility of mixed-metal (III/II) acid sites through the rational synthesis of porous metal carboxylates.

PubMed

Wongsakulphasatch, S; Nouar, F; Rodriguez, J; Scott, L; Le Guillouzer, C; Devic, T; Horcajada, P; Grenèche, J-M; Llewellyn, P L; Vimont, A; Clet, G; Daturi, M; Serre, C

2015-06-25

The scalable and environmentally-friendly synthesis of mixed Fe(III)/M(II) (M = Ni, Co, Mg) polycarboxylate porous MOFs based on the Secondary Building Unit approach is reported. A combination of in situ infrared spectroscopy, (57)Fe Mössbauer spectrometry and adsorption microcalorimetry confirms the direct accessibility of the iron(III) and metal(II) sites under low temperature activation conditions.

Use of natural gas, methanol, and ethanol fuel emulsions as environmentally friendly energy carriers for mobile heat power plants

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Likhanov, V. A.; Lopatin, O. P.

2017-12-01

The need for using environmentally friendly energy carriers for mobile heat power plants (HPPs) is grounded. Ecologically friendly sources of energy, such as natural gas as well as renewable methyl and ethyl alcohols, are investigated. In order to develop, determine, and optimize the composition of environmentally friendly energy carriers for an HPP, the latter has been tested when working on diesel fuel (DF), compressed natural gas (CNG), and methanol and ethanol fuel emulsions (MFE, EFE). It has been experimentally established that, for the application of environmentally friendly energy carriers for a 4Ch 11.0/12.5 diesel engine of a mobile fuel and power plant, it is necessary to maintain the following ratio of components when working on CNG: 80% gas and 20% DF primer portion. When working on an alcohol mixture, emulsions of the following composition were used: 25% alcohol (methanol or ethanol), 0.5% detergent-dispersant additive succinimide C-5A, 7% water, and 67.5% DF. When this diesel passed from oil DF to environmentally friendly energy sources, it allowed for the reduction of the content of exhaust gases (EG) (1) when working on CNG with recirculation of exhaust gases (EGR) (recirculation was used to eliminate the increased amount of nitric oxides by using CNG): carbon black by 5.8 times, carbon dioxide by 45.9%, and carbon monoxide by 23.8%; (2) when working on MFE: carbon black by 6.4 times, nitrogen oxides by 29.6%, carbon dioxide by 10.1%, and carbon oxide by 47.6%; (3) when working on EFE: carbon black by 4.8 times; nitrogen oxides by 40.3%, carbon dioxide by 26.6%, and carbon monoxide by 28.6%. The prospects of use of environmentally friendly energy carriers in diesels of mobile HPPs, such as natural gas, ethanol, and methanol, has been determined.

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

MacDonald, R.; Kelley, D.E.

In 1998, when Sunlaw Energy Corporation needed to retrofit their two natural gas fired power plants to meet new emissions requirements that were soon to come into place, they looked at existing technologies and found them either economically or environmentally undesirable. With the help of General Electric they developed a program of water injection that was capable of reducing the NO{sub x} emissions to 25 ppm. This, however, was not low enough to meet coming regulations. Sunlaw concluded that the best option for pollution control was to invert their own system. A partnership was formed between Sunlaw and Advanced Catalystmore » Systems, a catalyst development and manufacturing firm. The result of their efforts was Goal Line Environmental Technologies and the SCONOx catalytic absorption system. The newest SCONOx system, commissioned at Sunlaw's Federal cogeneration plant in December 1996, treats the exhaust of a GELM2500 gas turbine. Combined with water injection, it has reduced NO{sub x} emission from 160 ppm down to 1--2 ppm. Carbon monoxide emissions are virtually eliminated, with stack readings less than ambient levels. The SCONOx system uses single catalyst for both CO and NO{sub x} control. It oxidizes CO to CO{sub 2} and NO to NO{sub 2}, and the NO{sub 2} is then absorbed onto the surface of the catalyst. Just as a sponge absorbs water and must be periodically regenerated, the catalyst must be regenerated. This is accomplished by passing a dilute hydrogen gas across the surface of the catalyst in the absence of oxygen. Nitrogen oxygen are broken down into nitrogen and water, and this is exhausted up the stack instead of NO{sub x}. The SCONOx system is a breakthrough in CO and NO{sub x} control technology that makes it possible to have clean air without the use of ammonia or other hazardous materials. It is truly an environmentally friendly NO{sub x} system.« less

Characterization of digestive enzymes from de-oiled mackerel (Scomber japonicus) muscle obtained by supercritical carbon dioxide and n-hexane extraction as a comparative study.

PubMed

Asaduzzaman, A K M; Chun, Byung-Soo

2015-06-01

The oil in mackerel muscle was extracted using an environmental friendly solvent, supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2) at a semi-batch flow extraction process and an n-hexane. The SC-CO2 was carried out at temperature 45 °C and pressures ranging from 15 to 25 MPa. The flow rate of CO2 (27 g/min) was constant at the entire extraction period of 2 h. The highest oil extracted residues after SC-CO2 extraction was used for activity measurement of digestive enzymes. Four digestive enzymes were found in water soluble extracts after n-hexane and SC-CO2 treated samples. Amylase, lipase and trypsin activities were higher in water soluble extracts after SC-CO2 treated samples except protease. Among the four digestive enzymes, the activity of amylase was highest and the value was 44.57 uM/min/mg of protein. The water soluble extracts of SC-CO2 and n-hexane treated mackerel samples showed same alkaline optimum pH and pH stability for each of the digestive enzymes. Optimum temperature of amylase, lipase, protease and trypsin was 40, 50, 60 and 30 °C, respectively of both extracts. More than 80 % temperature stability of amylase, lipase, protease and trypsin were retained at mentioned optimum temperature in water soluble extracts of both treated samples. Based on protein patterns, prominent protein band showed in water soluble extracts after SC-CO2 treated samples indicates no denaturation of protein than untreated and n-hexane.

Environmentally friendly electroless plating for Ag/TiO2-coated core-shell magnetic particles using ultrasonic treatment.

PubMed

Kim, Soo-Dong; Choe, Won-Gyun; Jeong, Jong-Ryul

2013-11-01

In this work, high-reflectance brilliant white color magnetic microspheres comprising a Fe/TiO2/Ag core-shell structure with a continuous, uniform compact silver layer were successfully fabricated by TiO2-assisted electroless plating in a simple and eco-friendly method. The coating procedure for TiO2 and Ag involved a sol-gel reaction and electroless plating with ultrasound treatment. The electroless plating step was carried out in an eco-friendly manner in a single process without environmentally toxic additives. The TiO2 layer was used as a modification layer between the Fe microspheres and the silver layer to improve adhesion. A continuous and compact silver layer could be formed with a high degree of morphological control by introducing ultrasonication and adjusting the ammonium hydroxide concentration. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Abilities of Co-cultures of Brown-Rot Fungus Fomitopsis pinicola and Bacillus subtilis on Biodegradation of DDT.

PubMed

Sariwati, Atmira; Purnomo, Adi Setyo; Kamei, Ichiro

2017-09-01

DDT (1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-bis(4-chlorophenyl)ethane) is one of the pesticides that are hazardous for the environment and human health. Effective environmental-friendly treatment using co-cultures of fungi and bacteria is needed. In this study, the bacteria Bacillus subtilis at various volumes of 1, 3, 5, 7, and 10 mL (1 mL ≈ 6.7 × 10 8  CFU) were mixed into 10 mL of the brown-rot fungus Fomitopsis pinicola culture for degrading DDT during a 7-days incubation period. DDT was degraded by approximately 42% by F. pinicola during the 7-days incubation period. The addition of 10 mL of B. subtilis into F. pinicola culture showed the highest DDT degradation of approximately 86% during the 7-days incubation period. DDD (1,1-dichloro-2,2-bis(4-chlorophenyl)ethane), DDE (1,1-dichloro-2,2-bis(4-chlorophenyl)ethylene), and DDMU (1-chloro-2,2-bis(4-chlorophenyl)ethylene) were detected as metabolic products from DDT degradation by co-cultures of F. pinicola and B. subtilis. Transformation pathway was proposed in which DDT was transformed into three pathways as follows: (1) dechlorination to DDD, (2) dehydrochlorination to DDE, and (3) formation of DDMU.

Greenhouse gas emissions from municipal solid waste management in Vientiane, Lao PDR.

PubMed

Babel, Sandhya; Vilaysouk, Xaysackda

2016-01-01

Municipal solid waste (MSW) is one of the major environmental problems throughout the world including in Lao PDR. In Vientiane, due to the lack of a collection service, open burning and illegal dumping are commonly practised. This study aims to estimate the greenhouse gas (GHG) emission from the current situation of MSW management (MSWM) in Vientiane and proposes an alternative solution to reduce the GHG emission and environmental impacts. The 2006 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories (IPCC 2006 model) are used for the estimation of GHG emission from landfill and composting. For the estimation of GHG emission from open burning, the Atmospheric Brown Clouds Emission Inventory Manual (ABC EIM) is used. In Vientiane, a total of 232, 505 tonnes year(-1) of MSW was generated in 2011. Waste generation in Vientiane is 0.69 kg per capita per day, and about 31% of the total MSW generated was directly sent to landfill (71,162 tonnes year(-1)). The total potential GHG emission from the baseline scenario in 2011 was 110,182 tonnes year(-1) CO2-eq, which is 0.15 tonne year(-1) CO2-eq per capita. From the three MSWM scenarios proposed, scenario S3, which includes recycling, composting and landfilling, seems to be an effective solution for dealing with MSW in Vientiane with less air pollution, and is environmentally friendly. The total GHG emission in scenario S3 is reduced to 91,920 tonnes year(-1) CO2-eq (47% reduction), compared with the S1 scenario where all uncollected waste is diverted to landfill. © The Author(s) 2015.

Nutrient Tracking Tool - A user-friendly tool for evaluating the water and air quality and quantity as affected by various agricultural management practices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saleh, A.; Niraula, R.; Gallego, O.; Osei, E.; Kannan, N.

2017-12-01

The Nutrient Tracking Tool (NTT) is a user-friendly web-based computer program that estimate nutrient (nitrogen and phosphorus) and sediment losses from fields managed under a variety of cropping patterns and management practices. The NTT includes a user-friendly web-based interface and is linked to the Agricultural Policy Environmental eXtender (APEX) model. It also accesses USDA-NRCS's Web Soil Survey to obtain field, weather, and soil information. NTT provides producers, government officials, and other users with a fast and efficient method of estimating the nutrient, sediment, and atmosphoric gases (N2o, Co2, and NH4) losses, and crop production under different conservation practices regims at the farm-level. The information obtained from NTT can help producers to determine the most cost-effective conservation practice(s) to reduce the nutrient and sediment losses while optimizing the crop production. Also, the recent version of NTT (NTTg3) has been developed for those coutries without access to national databasis, such as soils and wether. The NTTg3 also has been designed as easy to use APEX interface. NTT is currently being evaluated for trading and other programs at Cheaseapea Bay regions and numerous states in US. During this presentation the new capabilities of NTTg3 will be described and demonstrated.

Effect of fluid flow, pH and tobacco extracts concentration as organic inhibitors to corrosion characteristics of AISI 1045 steel in 3.5% NaCl environment containing CO2 gas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kurniawan, Budi Agung; Pratiwi, Vania Mitha; Ahmadi, Nafi'ul Fikri

2018-04-01

Corrosion become major problem in most industries. In the oil and gas company, corrosion occurs because of reaction between steel and chemical species inside crude oil. Crude oil or nature gas provide corrosive species, such as CO2, O2, H2S and so on. Fluid containing CO2 gas causes CO2 corrosion which attack steel as well as other corrosion phenomena. This CO2 corrosion commonly called as sweet environment and produce FeCO3 as corrosion products. Fluid flow factor in pipelines during the oil and gas transportation might increase the rate of corrosion itself. Inhibitor commonly use used as corrosion protection because its simplicity in usage. Nowadays, organic inhibitor become main issue in corrosion protection because of biodegradable, low cost, and environmental friendly. This research tried to use tobacco leaf extract as organic inhibitor to control corrosion in CO2 environment. The electrolyte solution used was 3.5% NaCl at pH 4 and pH 7. Weight loss test results showed that the lowest corrosion rate was reach at 132.5 ppm inhibitor, pH 7 and rotational speed of 150 rpm with corrosion rate of 0.091 mm/y. While at pH 4, the lowest corrosion rate was found at rotational speed of 150 rpm with inhibitor concentration of 265 ppm and corrosion rate of 0.327 mm/y. FTIR results indicate the presence of nicotine functional groups on the steel surface. However, based on corrosion rate, it is believed that corrosion occurs, and FeCO3 was soluble in electrolyte. Tobacco leaf extract inhibitors worked by a physisorption mechanism, where tobacco inhibitors formed thin layer on the steel surface.

Facile and Eco-Friendly Synthesis of Finger-Like Co3O4 Nanorods for Electrochemical Energy Storage

PubMed Central

Sun, Shijiao; Zhao, Xiangyu; Yang, Meng; Ma, Liqun; Shen, Xiaodong

2015-01-01

Co3O4 nanorods were prepared by a facile hydrothermal method. Eco-friendly deionized water rather than organic solvent was used as the hydrothermal media. The as-prepared Co3O4 nanorods are composed of many nanoparticles of 30–50 nm in diameter, forming a finger-like morphology. The Co3O4 electrode shows a specific capacitance of 265 F g−1 at 2 mV s−1 in a supercapacitor and delivers an initial specific discharge capacity as high as 1171 mAh g−1 at a current density of 50 mA g−1 in a lithium ion battery. Excellent cycling stability and electrochemical reversibility of the Co3O4 electrode were also obtained. PMID:28347124

The Behavior of Environmentally Friendly Corrosion Preventative Compounds in an Aggressive Coastal Marine Environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Montgomery, Eliza L.; Calle, Luz Marina; Curran Jerome C.; Kolody, Mark R.

2013-01-01

The shift to use environmentally friendly technologies throughout future space-related launch programs prompted a study aimed at replacing current petroleum and solvent-based Corrosion Preventive Compounds (CPCs) with environmentally friendly alternatives. The work in this paper focused on the identification and evaluation of environmentally friendly CPCs for use in protecting flight hardware and ground support equipment from atmospheric corrosion. The CPCs, while a temporary protective coating, must survive in the aggressive coastal marine environment that exists throughout the Kennedy Space Center, Florida. The different protection behaviors of fifteen different soft film CPCs, both common petroleum-based and newer environmentally friendly types, were evaluated on various steel and aluminum substrates. The CPC and substrate systems were subjected to atmospheric testing at the Kennedy Space Center's Beachside Atmospheric Corrosion Test Site, as well as cyclic accelerated corrosion testing. Each CPC also underwent physical characterization and launch-related compatibility testing . The initial results for the fifteen CPC systems are reported : Key words: corrosion preventive compound, CPC, spaceport, environmentally friendly, atmospheric exposure, marine, carbon steel, aluminum alloy, galvanic corrosion, wire on bolt.

A Comparative Assessment of Life-Cycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Hypothetical Electric Airport Transportation Services in Thailand

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koiwanit, J.

2018-05-01

Global warming is an increase of average temperature in the atmosphere, which causes adverse effects on the environment. Carbon dioxide (CO2) from transportation sector is one of the main contributors of the overall greenhouse gases (GHG). To cope with this issue, electric car services are increasingly seen as popular alternative modes of green transportation especially for urban cities as it is more flexible, more environmentally-friendly, and less expensive than the use of conventional vehicles. The study analyses and compare the hypothetical electric car systems from airport transportation services. Center of Environmental Science of Leiden University (CML) 2001, the Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) method, is applied to convert life cycle inventory data into environmental impacts. The observed results showed that the electric shuttle bus had the highest impact in global warming potential (GWP) compared to other transportation types. Alternatively, this Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) study that evaluated different transportations provided important information for decision makers on quantifying the differences between each scenario.

Heterogeneous conversion of CO2 into cyclic carbonates at ambient pressure catalyzed by ionothermal-derived meso-macroporous hierarchical poly(ionic liquid)s† †Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Experimental section, details of the IR, 13C NMR and XPS spectra, characterization (1H NMR, 13C NMR, 13C CP-MAS NMR, TG, XRD, SEM, elemental analysis), N2 adsorption–desorption isotherms, pore size distribution, recycling test of the catalyst, comparison of the literature catalytic activity of different heterogeneous catalysts. See DOI: 10.1039/c5sc02050f

PubMed Central

Wang, Xiaochen; Zhou, Yu; Guo, Zengjing; Chen, Guojian; Li, Jing; Shi, Yuming; Liu, Yangqing

2015-01-01

Meso-macroporous hierarchical poly(ionic liquid)s (MPILs) with extremely high ionic site densities and tunable pore structures were ionothermally synthesized through the free radical self-polymerization of our newly designed rigid bis-vinylimidazolium salt monomer. The synthesis avoided the use of any templates, gave a high yield (>99%) and allowed recycling of the IL solvent; thus it is facile, atom-efficient, environmentally friendly and sustainable. The synthesized MPILs possessed distinctive features of polycation matrices, abundant halogen anions, and large surface areas. They not only presented enhanced CO2 capture, but led to breakthroughs in the heterogeneous catalytic conversion of CO2 into cyclic carbonates: (1) unprecedented high activity at atmospheric pressure and low temperature; (2) good substrate compatibility, even being active towards the extremely inert aliphatic long carbon-chain alkyl epoxides. This result renders the first occasion of a metal–solvent–additive free recyclable heterogeneous cycloaddition of CO2 at such mild conditions. PMID:29861930

Friendships with co-participants in organized activities: prevalence, quality, friends' characteristics, and associations with adolescents' adjustment.

PubMed

Poulin, François; Denault, Anne-Sophie

2013-01-01

The goal of this study was to provide an in-depth examination of friendships within organized activities. The prevalence of friendships with co-participants, their quality and characteristics, and their associations with adjustment were investigated. A sample of 281 (60% girls) 8th grade adolescents reported their friendships, activities, and adjustment. The results showed that 70% of youths have friends who co-participate with them. Friends in individual sports are more academically oriented whereas friends in team sports are more supportive but display higher levels of problem behavior. Finally, having friends in activities is associated with lower problem behavior and better academic functioning. Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., A Wiley Company.

Aerobic oxidation in nanomicelles of aryl alkynes, in water at room temperature.

PubMed

Handa, Sachin; Fennewald, James C; Lipshutz, Bruce H

2014-03-24

On the basis of the far higher solubility of oxygen gas inside the hydrocarbon core of nanomicelles, metal and peroxide free aerobic oxidation of aryl alkynes to β-ketosulfones has been achieved in water at room temperature. Many examples are offered that illustrate broad functional group tolerance. The overall process is environmentally friendly, documented by the associated low E Factors. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Electrochemistry serving people and nature: high-energy ecocapacitors based on redox-active electrolytes.

PubMed

Frackowiak, Elzbieta; Fic, Krzysztof; Meller, Mikolaj; Lota, Grzegorz

2012-07-01

Positive Poles: A new type of electrochemical capacitor with two different aqueous solutions, separated by a Nafion membrane is described. High capacitance values as well as excellent energy/power characteristics are reported and discussed. The neutral character of the applied electrolytes makes this capacitor an environmentally friendly, easy to assemble, and cost-effective device for energy storage. Copyright © 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Microbial Fuel Cell-driven caustic potash production from wastewater for carbon sequestration.

PubMed

Gajda, Iwona; Greenman, John; Melhuish, Chris; Santoro, Carlo; Ieropoulos, Ioannis

2016-09-01

This work reports on the novel formation of caustic potash (KOH) directly on the MFC cathode locking carbon dioxide into potassium bicarbonate salt (kalicinite) while producing, instead of consuming electrical power. Using potassium-rich wastewater as a fuel for microorganisms to generate electricity in the anode chamber, has resulted in the formation of caustic catholyte directly on the surface of the cathode electrode. Analysis of this liquid has shown to be highly alkaline (pH>13) and act as a CO2 sorbent. It has been later mineralised to kalicinite thus locking carbon dioxide into potassium bicarbonate salt. This work demonstrates an electricity generation method as a simple, cost-effective and environmentally friendly route towards CO2 sequestration that perhaps leads to a carbon negative economy. Moreover, it shows a potential application for both electricity production and nutrient recovery in the form of minerals from nutrient-rich wastewater streams such as urine for use as fertiliser in the future. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

A sustainable process for the recovery of valuable metals from spent lithium-ion batteries.

PubMed

Fan, Bailin; Chen, Xiangping; Zhou, Tao; Zhang, Jinxia; Xu, Bao

2016-05-01

In this work, an eco-friendly and hydrometallurgical process for the recovery of cobalt and lithium from spent lithium-ion batteries has been proposed, which includes pretreatment, citric acid leaching, selective chemical precipitation and circulatory leaching. After pretreatment (manual dismantling, N-methyl pyrrolidone immersion and calcination), Cu and Al foils are recycled directly and the cathode active materials are separated from the cathode efficiently. Then, the obtained cathode active materials (waste LiCoO2) was firstly leached with 1.25 mol l(-1) citric acid and 1 vol.% H2O2 solution. Then cobalt was precipitated using oxalic acid (H2C2O4) under a molar ratio of 1:1.05 (H2C2O4: Co(2+)). After filtration, the filtrate (containing Li(+)) and H2O2 was employed as a leaching agent and the optimum conditions are studied in detail. The leaching efficiencies can reach as high as 98% for Li and 90.2% for Co, respectively, using filter liquor as leaching reagent under conditions of leaching temperature of 90°C, 0.9 vol.% H2O2 and a solid-to-liquid ratio of 60 ml g(-1) for 35 min. After three bouts of circulatory leaching, more than 90% Li and 80% Co can be leached under the same leaching conditions. In this way, Li and Co can be recovered efficiently and waste liquor re-utilization is achievable with this hydrometallurgical process, which may promise both economic and environmental benefits. © The Author(s) 2016.

A Survey on Turkish Elementary School Students' Environmental Friendly Behaviours and Associated Variables

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alp, Elvan; Ertepinar, Hamide; Tekkaya, Ceren; Yilmaz, Ayhan

2008-01-01

This study investigated elementary school students' environmental knowledge and attitudes, the effects of sociodemographic variables on environmental knowledge and attitudes, and how self-reported environmentally friendly behaviour is related to environmental knowledge, behavioural intentions, environmental affects, and the students' locus of…

Biogas generation in anaerobic wastewater treatment under tetracycline antibiotic pressure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lu, Meiqing; Niu, Xiaojun; Liu, Wei; Zhang, Jun; Wang, Jie; Yang, Jia; Wang, Wenqi; Yang, Zhiquan

2016-06-01

The effect of tetracycline (TC) antibiotic on biogas generation in anaerobic wastewater treatment was studied. A lab-scale Anaerobic Baffled Reactor (ABR) with three compartments was used. The reactor was operated with synthetic wastewater in the absence of TC and in the presence of 250 μg/L TC for 90 days, respectively. The removal rate of TC, volatile fatty acids (VFAs), biogas compositions (hydrogen (H2), methane (CH4), carbon dioxide (CO2)), and total biogas production in each compartment were monitored in the two operational conditions. Results showed that the removal rate of TC was 14.97-67.97% in the reactor. The presence of TC had a large negative effect on CH4 and CO2 generation, but appeared to have a positive effect on H2 production and VFAs accumulation. This response indicated that the methanogenesis process was sensitive to TC presence, but the acidogenesis process was insensitive. This suggested that the presence of TC had less influence on the degradation of organic matter but had a strong influence on biogas generation. Additionally, the decrease of CH4 and CO2 generation and the increase of H2 and VFAs accumulation suggest a promising strategy to help alleviate global warming and improve resource recovery in an environmentally friendly approach.

Biogas generation in anaerobic wastewater treatment under tetracycline antibiotic pressure

PubMed Central

Lu, Meiqing; Niu, Xiaojun; Liu, Wei; Zhang, Jun; Wang, Jie; Yang, Jia; Wang, Wenqi; Yang, Zhiquan

2016-01-01

The effect of tetracycline (TC) antibiotic on biogas generation in anaerobic wastewater treatment was studied. A lab-scale Anaerobic Baffled Reactor (ABR) with three compartments was used. The reactor was operated with synthetic wastewater in the absence of TC and in the presence of 250 μg/L TC for 90 days, respectively. The removal rate of TC, volatile fatty acids (VFAs), biogas compositions (hydrogen (H2), methane (CH4), carbon dioxide (CO2)), and total biogas production in each compartment were monitored in the two operational conditions. Results showed that the removal rate of TC was 14.97–67.97% in the reactor. The presence of TC had a large negative effect on CH4 and CO2 generation, but appeared to have a positive effect on H2 production and VFAs accumulation. This response indicated that the methanogenesis process was sensitive to TC presence, but the acidogenesis process was insensitive. This suggested that the presence of TC had less influence on the degradation of organic matter but had a strong influence on biogas generation. Additionally, the decrease of CH4 and CO2 generation and the increase of H2 and VFAs accumulation suggest a promising strategy to help alleviate global warming and improve resource recovery in an environmentally friendly approach. PMID:27341657

An Asymmetric Supercapacitor Based on Activated Porous Carbon Derived from Walnut Shells and NiCo₂O₄ Nanoneedle Arrays Electrodes.

PubMed

Wang, Wei; Qi, Jiqiu; Sui, Yanwei; He, Yezeng; Meng, Qingkun; Wei, Fuxiang; Jin, Yunxue

2018-08-01

A facile method was utilized to convert a common biomass of walnut shells into activated porous carbon by carbonization and activation with nitricacid treatment. The obtained activated carbon (WSs-2) exhibited excellent electrochemical performance with high specific capacitance of 137 F · g-1 at 1 A · g-1 and super cycling performance of 96% capacitance retention at 5 A · g-1 after 5000 cycles. In addition, NiCo2O4 nanoneedle arrays with good electrochemical properties were successfully prepared by a simple hydrothermal method. An aqueous asymmetric supercapacitor (ASC) device based on WSs-2 and NiCo2O4 was assembled, which delivered 21 Wh · kg-1 at a power density of 424.5 W · kg-1, and maintained 19 Wh · kg-1 at power density of 4254 W · kg-1 as well as excellent cycling stability of 99.3% capacitance retention after 5000 cycles at 4 A · g-1. Through this method, low-cost, environmentally friendly and large-scale carbon materials can be fabricated and applied in supercapacitor electrodes.

Solution-Processed Two-Dimensional Metal Dichalcogenide-Based Nanomaterials for Energy Storage and Conversion.

PubMed

Cao, Xiehong; Tan, Chaoliang; Zhang, Xiao; Zhao, Wei; Zhang, Hua

2016-08-01

The development of renewable energy storage and conversion devices is one of the most promising ways to address the current energy crisis, along with the global environmental concern. The exploration of suitable active materials is the key factor for the construction of highly efficient, highly stable, low-cost and environmentally friendly energy storage and conversion devices. The ability to prepare two-dimensional (2D) metal dichalcogenide (MDC) nanosheets and their functional composites in high yield and large scale via various solution-based methods in recent years has inspired great research interests in their utilization for renewable energy storage and conversion applications. Here, we will summarize the recent advances of solution-processed 2D MDCs and their hybrid nanomaterials for energy storage and conversion applications, including rechargeable batteries, supercapacitors, electrocatalytic hydrogen generation and solar cells. Moreover, based on the current progress, we will also give some personal insights on the existing challenges and future research directions in this promising field. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Enhanced Photoelectrochemical Activity by Autologous Cd/CdO/CdS Heterojunction Photoanodes with High Conductivity and Separation Efficiency.

PubMed

Xie, Shilei; Zhang, Peng; Zhang, Min; Liu, Peng; Li, Wei; Lu, Xihong; Cheng, Faliang; Tong, Yexiang

2017-07-18

The development for hydrogen from solar energy has attracted great attention due to the global demand for clean, environmentally friendly energy. Herein, autologous Cd/CdO/CdS heterojunctions were prepared in a carefully controlled process with metallic Cd as the inner layer and CdO as the interlayer. Further research revealed that the transportation and separation of photogenerated pairs were enhanced due to low resistance of the Cd inner layer and the type II CdO/CdS heterojunction. As a result, the optimized Cd/CdO/CdS heterojunction photoanode showed outstanding and long-term photoelectrochemical activity for water splitting, with a current density of 3.52 mA cm -2 , or a benchmark specific hydrogen production rate of 1.65 μmol cm -2  min -1 at -0.3 V versus Ag/AgCl, by using the environmental pollutants of sulfide and sulfite as sacrificial agents. © 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Co-Rumination of Fat Talk and Weight Control Practices: An Application of Confirmation Theory.

PubMed

Arroyo, Analisa; Segrin, Chris; Harwood, Jake; Bonito, Joseph A

2017-04-01

Grounded in confirmation theory, the current research sought to explore the relationship between co-rumination of fat talk and weight control practices (i.e., binging and purging, exercising, and healthy eating behaviors), with a particular interest in whether perceptions of friends' responses during these interactions exacerbate or mitigate this relationship. Female friendship dyads completed online questionnaires at three time points across 2 weeks. Multilevel modeling analyses revealed that (a) co-rumination was positively associated with binging and purging and exercising, (b) women who perceived their friends as accepting reported less binging and purging, more exercising, and more healthy eating behaviors, (c) acceptance and challenge interacted to predict binging and purging, (d) acceptance moderated the relationships between co-rumination and binging and purging, and (e) challenge moderated the relationship between co-rumination and healthy eating behaviors.

Fe3O4 nanocubes assembled on RGO nanosheets: Ultrasound induced in-situ and eco-friendly synthesis, characterization and their excellent catalytic performance for the production of liquid fuel in Fischer-tropsch synthesis.

PubMed

Abbas, Mohamed; Zhang, Juan; Lin, Ke; Chen, Jiangang

2018-04-01

In this study, Fe 3 O 4 nanocubes (NCs) decorated on RGO nanosheets (NSs) structures were successfully synthesized through an innovative and environmentally-friendly rapid sonochemical method. More importantly, iron(II) sulfate heptahydrate and GO were employed as precursors and water as reaction medium, meanwhile, NaOH within the generated free radicals from the high intensity ultrasound were sufficient as reducing and base agent in our clean synthesis. Moreover, the hydrothermal method as a conventional approach was employed to synthesize the same catalysts for the comparison with the ultrasonocation technique. The as-synthesized Fe 3 O 4 and RGO/Fe 3 O 4 NSs catalysts were exposed to industrially relevant Fischer-tropsch synthesis (FTS) conditions at various reaction temperatures (250-290 °C), and they subjected to fully characterization before and after FTS reaction using XRD, TEM, HRTEM, EDS mapping, XPS, FTIR, BET, H 2 -TPR, H 2 -TPD and CO-TPD to understand the structure-performance relationships. Notably, the catalysts produced using the sonochemical method had a better CO conversion rate [Fe 3 O 4 (80%), RGO/Fe 3 O 4 (82%)] than the hydrothermally synthesized catalysts. However, compared to the naked-Fe 3 O 4 catalysts, the sonochemically and hydrothermally synthesized RGO-supported Fe 3 O 4 catalysts had higher long chain hydrocarbon (C5+) selectivity values (72% and 67%) and C 2 -C 4 olefin/paraffin selectivity ratio (3.2 and 2) and low CH4 selectivity values (6% and 8.5%), respectively. This can be attributed to their high surface area, the degree of reducibility, and content of Hägg iron carbide (χ-Fe 5 C 2 ) as the most active phase of the FTS reaction. Proposed reaction mechanisms for the sonochemical and hydrothermal reaction synthesis of Fe 3 O 4 and RGO/Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles are discussed. In conclusion, our developed surfactantless-sonochemical method holds promise for the eco-friendly synthesis of highly efficient catalysts materials for FTS reaction. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Pre-Service Teacher Opinions about Eco-Friendly Person Activity Package Developed to Raise Environmental Awareness

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Candan, Sevcan; Erten, Sinan

2015-01-01

In this study, the effectiveness of Eco-Friendly Person Activity Package developed in order to raise environmental awareness in pre-service teachers and enable them to be an example of an eco-friendly teacher for their future students, and the responses about Eco-Friendly Person Activity Package were investigated. The study was conducted on 75…

Environmentally Friendly, Rheoreversible, Hydraulic-fracturing Fluids for Enhanced Geothermal Systems

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

Shao, Hongbo; Kabilan, Senthil; Stephens, Sean A.

Cost-effective creation of high-permeability reservoirs inside deep crystalline bedrock is the primary challenge for the feasibility of enhanced geothermal systems (EGS). Current reservoir stimulation entails adverse environmental impacts and substantial economic costs due to the utilization of large volumes of water “doped” with chemicals including rheology modifiers, scale and corrosion inhibitors, biocides, friction reducers among others where, typically, little or no information of composition and toxicity is disclosed. An environmentally benign, CO2-activated, rheoreversible fracturing fluid has recently been developed that significantly enhances rock permeability at effective stress significantly lower than current technology. We evaluate the potential of this novel fracturingmore » fluid for application on geothermal sites under different chemical and geomechanical conditions, by performing laboratory-scale fracturing experiments with different rock sources under different confining pressures, temperatures, and pH environments. The results demonstrate that CO2-reactive aqueous solutions of environmentally amenable Polyallylamine (PAA) represent a highly versatile fracturing fluid technology. This fracturing fluid creates/propagates fracture networks through highly impermeable crystalline rock at significantly lower effective stress as compared to control experiments where no PAA was present, and permeability enhancement was significantly increased for PAA compared to conventional hydraulic fracturing controls. This was evident in all experiments, including variable rock source/type, operation pressure and temperature (over the entire range for EGS applications), as well as over a wide range of formation-water pH values. This versatile novel fracturing fluid technology represents a great alternative to industrially available fracturing fluids for cost-effective and competitive geothermal energy production.« less

CO2/pH-Controllable Viscoelastic Nanostructured Fluid Based on Stearic Acid Soap and Bola-Type Quaternary Ammonium Salt.

PubMed

Zhang, Yongmin; Kong, Weiwei; An, Pengyun; He, Shuai; Liu, Xuefeng

2016-03-15

Fatty acid soaps such as sodium stearate (NaOSA) represent a class of cheap, environmentally friendly surfactants; however, their poor solubility seriously challenges their application in various fields. Herein, we describe a CO2/pH-controllable viscoelastic nanostructured fluid, which was developed by simple mixing of the commodity soap NaOSA with a bola-type quaternary ammonium salt (Bola2be) in a 2:1 molar ratio without the need for complex organic synthesis. The introduction of Bola2be increased NaOSA solubility and promoted micelle growth by forming a noncovalent pseudo-Gemini structure, 2NaOSA-Bola2be. Long aggregates are formed with increases in concentration, and these become entangled into a three-dimensional network at 10 times that of the critical micelle concentration (0.057 mM), showing strong thickening ability. Micellar branching occurs above 22.38 mM, as deduced by rheology and verified by cryo-transmission electron microscopy. The worm-based fluid formed from the noncovalent pseudo-Gemini surfactant is highly thermosensitive, and features a higher flow activation energy of 399.76 kJ·mol(-1) compared with common worm systems. Because of the pH-sensitivity of NaOSA, the viscoelastic fluid can respond to common pH stimuli or green CO2 gas, and shows a transition between a gel-like wormlike micellar network and a water-like dispersion with precipitate. However, the CO2-responsive behavior is irreversible.

Biological construction of single-walled carbon nanotube electron transfer pathways in dye-sensitized solar cells.

PubMed

Inoue, Ippei; Watanabe, Kiyoshi; Yamauchi, Hirofumi; Ishikawa, Yasuaki; Yasueda, Hisashi; Uraoka, Yukiharu; Yamashita, Ichiro

2014-10-01

We designed and mass-produced a versatile protein supramolecule that can be used to manufacture a highly efficient dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC). Twelve single-walled carbon-nanotube (SWNT)-binding and titanium-mineralizing peptides were genetically integrated on a cage-shaped dodecamer protein (CDT1). A process involving simple mixing of highly conductive SWNTs with CDT1 followed by TiO2 biomineralization produces a high surface-area/weight TiO2 -(anatase)-coated intact SWNT nanocomposite under environmentally friendly conditions. A DSSC with a TiO2 photoelectrode containing 0.2 wt % of the SWNT-TiO2 nanocomposite shows a current density improvement by 80% and a doubling of the photoelectric conversion efficiency. The SWNT-TiO2 nanocomposite transfers photon-generated electrons from dye molecules adsorbed on the TiO2 to the anode electrode swiftly. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Environmentally-friendly oxygen-free roasting/wet magnetic separation technology for in situ recycling cobalt, lithium carbonate and graphite from spent LiCoO2/graphite lithium batteries.

PubMed

Li, Jia; Wang, Guangxu; Xu, Zhenming

2016-01-25

The definite aim of the present paper is to present some novel methods that use oxygen-free roasting and wet magnetic separation to in situ recycle of cobalt, Lithium Carbonate and Graphite from mixed electrode materials. The in situ recycling means to change waste into resources by its own components, which is an idea of "waste+waste→resources." After mechanical scraping the mixed electrode materials enrich powders of LiCoO2 and graphite. The possible reaction between LiCoO2 and graphite was obtained by thermodynamic analysis. The feasibility of the reaction at high temperature was studied with the simultaneous thermogravimetry analysis under standard atmospheric pressure. Then the oxygen-free roasting/wet magnetic separation method was used to transfer the low added value mixed electrode materials to high added value products. The results indicated that, through the serious technologies of oxygen-free roasting and wet magnetic separation, mixture materials consist with LiCoO2 and graphite powders are transferred to the individual products of cobalt, Lithium Carbonate and Graphite. Because there is not any chemical solution added in the process, the cost of treating secondary pollution can be saved. This study provides a theoretical basis for industrial-scale recycling resources from spent LIBs. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Which physical and social environmental factors are most important for adolescents' cycling for transport? An experimental study using manipulated photographs.

PubMed

Verhoeven, Hannah; Ghekiere, Ariane; Van Cauwenberg, Jelle; Van Dyck, Delfien; De Bourdeaudhuij, Ilse; Clarys, Peter; Deforche, Benedicte

2017-08-17

Ecological models emphasize that cycling for transport is determined by an interplay between individual, physical and social environmental factors. The current study investigated (a) which physical and social environmental factors determine adolescents' preferences towards cycling for transport and (b) which individual, physical and social environmental factors are associated with their intention to actually cycle for transport. An online questionnaire consisting of questions on individual and social environmental variables, and 15 choice-based conjoint tasks with manipulated photographs was completed by 882 adolescents (55.3% male; 13.9 ± 1.6 years). Within the choice tasks, participants were asked to indicate which of two situations they would prefer to cycle to a friend's house. The manipulated photographs were all modified versions of one semi-urban street which differed in the following physical micro-environmental attributes (separation of cycle path, evenness of cycle path, speed limit, speed bump, traffic density, amount of vegetation and maintenance). In addition, each photograph was accompanied by two sentences which described varying cycling distances and co-participation in cycling (i.e. cycling alone or with a friend). After each choice task participants were also asked if they would actually cycle in that situation in real life (i.e. intention). Hierarchical Bayes analyses were performed to calculate relative importances and part-worth utilities of environmental attributes. Logistic regression analyses were performed to investigate which individual, physical and social environmental factors were associated with adolescents' intention to actually cycle for transport. Adolescents' preference to cycle for transport was predominantly determined by separation of cycle path, followed by shorter cycling distance and co-participation in cycling. Higher preferences were observed for a separation between the cycle path and motorized traffic by means of a hedge versus a curb, versus a marked line. Similar findings were observed for intention to cycle. Furthermore, evenness of the cycle path and general maintenance of the street were also of considerable importance among adolescents, but to a lesser extent. Results of this experimental study justify investment by local governments in well-separated cycling infrastructure, which seemed to be more important than cycling distance and the social environment.

Biotechnologies for greenhouse gases (CH₄, N₂O, and CO₂) abatement: state of the art and challenges.

PubMed

López, Juan C; Quijano, Guillermo; Souza, Theo S O; Estrada, José M; Lebrero, Raquel; Muñoz, Raúl

2013-03-01

Today, methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions represent approximately 98 % of the total greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory worldwide, and their share is expected to increase significantly in this twenty-first century. CO2 represents the most important GHG with approximately 77 % of the total GHG emissions (considering its global warming potential) worldwide, while CH4 and N2O are emitted to a lesser extent (14 and 8 %, respectively) but exhibit global warming potentials 23 and 298 times higher than that of CO2, respectively. Most members of the United Nations, based on the urgent need to maintain the global average temperature 2 °C above preindustrial levels, have committed themselves to significantly reduce their GHG emissions. In this context, an active abatement of these emissions will help to achieve these target emission cuts without compromising industrial growth. Nowadays, there are sufficient empirical evidence to support that biological technologies can become, if properly tailored, a low-cost and environmentally friendly alternative to physical/chemical methods for the abatement of GHGs. This study constitutes a state-of-the-art review of the microbiology (biochemistry, kinetics, and waste-to-value processes) and bioreactor technology of CH4, N2O, and CO2 abatement. The potential and limitations of biological GHG degradation processes are critically discussed, and the current knowledge gaps and technology niches in the field are identified.

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

Ma, Hongwei; Shen, Jianfeng; Shi, Min

Graphical abstract: . The as-obtained ({alpha}-MnO{sub 2}) nanomaterials could act as an adsorbent to remove Conge red. More significantly, the nanomaterials are nontoxic and environmentally friendly though a biological MTT assay experiment. Plots of the capacity to remove Conge red with time by the commercial and new-prepared {alpha}-MnO{sub 2}. Inset shows absorption of Congo Red with time by new-prepared rod-clusters {alpha}-MnO{sub 2} (0, 10, 20, 40 and 60 min, respectively). Highlights: {yields} Nanostructured {alpha}-MnO{sub 2} was prepared through a template-free hydrothermal method. {yields} The obtained {alpha}-MnO{sub 2} could act as effective adsorbents to remove organic dyes. {yields} The obtained adsorbentsmore » are environmentally friendly. -- Abstract: In this paper, nanostructured MnO{sub 2} materials were successfully prepared through a simple and template-free hydrothermal method. X-ray diffraction pattern indicates that the as-prepared nanomaterials are {alpha}-MnO{sub 2}. Transmission Electron Microscopy and Scanning Electron Microscopy images demonstrate that nanostructured rod-clusters {alpha}-MnO{sub 2} could be evolved from the nanorods. Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area measurement was employed to characterize the surface property. Moreover, the as-obtained ({alpha}-MnO{sub 2}) nanomaterials could act as an efficient adsorbent to remove Congo Red and Methlylene Blue. More significantly, the nanomaterials are nontoxic and environmentally friendly via biological methylthiazolyldiphenyltetrazoliumbromide assay experiments. Its nontoxic and enhanced adsorbability properties guarantee their safe applications in environmental protection and industrial aspects.« less

Charged Covalent Triazine Frameworks for CO2 Capture and Conversion.

PubMed

Buyukcakir, Onur; Je, Sang Hyun; Talapaneni, Siddulu Naidu; Kim, Daeok; Coskun, Ali

2017-03-01

The quest for the development of new porous materials addressing both CO 2 capture from various sources and its conversion into useful products is a very active research area and also critical in order to develop a more sustainable and environmentally-friendly society. Here, we present the first charged covalent triazine framework (cCTF) prepared by simply heating nitrile functionalized dicationic viologen derivatives under ionothermal reaction conditions using ZnCl 2 as both solvent and trimerization catalyst. It has been demonstrated that the surface area, pore volume/size of cCTFs can be simply controlled by varying the synthesis temperature and the ZnCl 2 content. Specifically, increasing the reaction temperature led to controlled increase in the mesopore content and facilitated the formation of hierarchical porosity, which is critical to ensure efficient mass transport within porous materials. The resulting cCTFs showed high specific surface areas up to 1247 m 2 g -1 , and high physicochemical stability. The incorporation of ionic functional moieties to porous organic polymers improved substantially their CO 2 affinity (up to 133 mg g -1 , at 1 bar and 273 K) and transformed them into hierarchically porous organocatalysts for CO 2 conversion. More importantly, the ionic nature of cCTFs, homogeneous charge distribution together with hierarchical porosity offered a perfect platform for the catalytic conversion of CO 2 into cyclic carbonates in the presence of epoxides through an atom economy reaction in high yields and exclusive product selectivity. These results clearly demonstrate the promising aspect of incorporation of charged units into the porous organic polymers for the development of highly efficient porous organocatalysts for CO 2 capture and fixation.

Fabrication of Co3O4 mesoporous thin films by using cobalt/chitosan precursor on fluorine-doped tin oxide glass

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Hui-Chia; Tsai, Jung-Che

2017-06-01

For the development of high-performance and low-cost electrode materials, many alternative materials have been fabricated by various groups. Among these materials, Co3O4 has been demonstrated to be a promising candidate for pseudocapacitors because of its low potential environmental pollution, low cost, and extremely high theoretical specific capacitance. Chitosan, a linear polysaccharide produced by the deacetylation of chitin, is a nontoxic, tissue-compatible polymeric biomaterial. It is usually used to eliminate or filter the heavy metals in wastewater. That is, chitosan can act as a deliverer of metal ions and a nanostructure constructer of metals (or metal oxides). In this study, a facile approach is developed to synthesize mesoporous cobalt oxide thin films on fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO)-coated glass with environmentally friendly chitosan, which chelates cobalt ions.

Hydrogels from Amorphous Calcium Carbonate and Polyacrylic Acid: Bio-Inspired Materials for "Mineral Plastics".

PubMed

Sun, Shengtong; Mao, Li-Bo; Lei, Zhouyue; Yu, Shu-Hong; Cölfen, Helmut

2016-09-19

Given increasing environmental issues due to the large usage of non-biodegradable plastics based on petroleum, new plastic materials, which are economic, environmentally friendly, and recyclable are in high demand. One feasible strategy is the bio-inspired synthesis of mineral-based hybrid materials. Herein we report a facile route for an amorphous CaCO3 (ACC)-based hydrogel consisting of very small ACC nanoparticles physically cross-linked by poly(acrylic acid). The hydrogel is shapeable, stretchable, and self-healable. Upon drying, the hydrogel forms free-standing, rigid, and transparent objects with remarkable mechanical performance. By swelling in water, the material can completely recover the initial hydrogel state. As a matrix, thermochromism can also be easily introduced. The present hybrid hydrogel may represent a new class of plastic materials, the "mineral plastics". © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Laccase-catalyzed synthesis of 2,3-ethylenedithio-1,4-quinones

DOE PAGES

Cannatelli, Mark D.; Ragauskas, Arthur J.

2015-06-05

Laccases (benzenediol:oxygen oxidoreductase EC 1.10.3.2) are part of a family of multicopper oxidases. These environmentally friendly enzymes require O 2 as their only co-substrate and produce H 2O as their sole by-product. As a result, they have acquired increasing use in biotechnological applications, particularly in the field of organic synthesis. In the current study, laccases have been employed to successfully couple 1,2-ethanedithiol to various substituted hydroquinones to produce novel 2,3-ethylenedithio-1,4-quinones in good yields via an oxidation–addition–oxidation–addition–oxidation mechanism. The reactions proceeded in one-pot under mild conditions (room temperature, pH 5.0). This study further supports the use of laccases as green toolsmore » in organic chemistry. Furthermore, it provides evidence that laccase-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions involving small thiols are possible, in spite of research that suggests small thiols are potent inhibitors of laccases.« less

Synthesis and characterization of immobilized Ni-Co bimetallic using Tapanuli clay for catalyst application

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

Nuryanti,; Juwono, Ariadne L., E-mail: ariadne@sci.ui.ac.id; Krisnandi, Yuni K.

2016-04-19

Heterogeneous catalysts hold various advantages, namely, easy to separate from their products, reusable and regarded as environmental friendly materials. The synthesis of immobilized Ni monometallic, Co monometallic and Ni-Co bimetallic by Tapanuli clay were carried out using intercalation method. Firstly, the synthesis of Na-Bentonite was conducted to provide sufficient area to immobilize bimetal in the clay interlayer. Secondly, Ni, Co and Ni-Co were immobilized in the Tapanuli clay interlayer. Several techniques, such as X-Ray Diffraction, Fourier Transform Infra Red and Energy Dispersive X-Ray Analysis were applied to characterize and compare the properties of the synthesized materials. The results showed thatmore » the insertion of Ni, Co and Ni-Co in the clay interlayer occurred through a cation exchange reaction. The Energy Dispersive X-Ray analysis for Ni-Co bimetallic showed that the immobilized Ni and Co in the clay is in the ratio of 1:1. Catalytic test with Gas Chromatography showed that Ni-Co bimetallic generates a higher yield percentage compared to Ni and Co monometallic.« less

Isolation of essential oil from different plants and herbs by supercritical fluid extraction.

PubMed

Fornari, Tiziana; Vicente, Gonzalo; Vázquez, Erika; García-Risco, Mónica R; Reglero, Guillermo

2012-08-10

Supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) is an innovative, clean and environmental friendly technology with particular interest for the extraction of essential oil from plants and herbs. Supercritical CO(2) is selective, there is no associated waste treatment of a toxic solvent, and extraction times are moderate. Further, supercritical extracts were often recognized of superior quality when compared with those produced by hydro-distillation or liquid-solid extraction. This review provides a comprehensive and updated discussion of the developments and applications of SFE in the isolation of essential oils from plant matrices. SFE is normally performed with pure CO(2) or using a cosolvent; fractionation of the extract is commonly accomplished in order to isolate the volatile oil compounds from other co-extracted substances. In this review the effect of pressure, temperature and cosolvent on the extraction and fractionation procedure is discussed. Additionally, a comparison of the extraction yield and composition of the essential oil of several plants and herbs from Lamiaceae family, namely oregano, sage, thyme, rosemary, basil, marjoram and marigold, which were produced in our supercritical pilot-plant device, is presented and discussed. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Environmentally Friendly Corrosion Preventative Compounds for Ground Support Structures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Montgomery Eliza L.; Calle, Luz, Marina; Curran, Jerome P.; Kolody, Mark R.

2013-01-01

The need to use environmentally friendly technologies throughout future space-related launch programs prompted a study aimed at replacing current petroleum and solvent-based Corrosion Preventive Compounds (CPCs) with environmentally friendly alternatives. The work in this paper focused on the identification and evaluation of environmentally friendly CPCs for use in protecting flight hardware and ground support equipment from atmospheric corrosion. CPCs are used as temporary protective coatings and must survive in the aggressive coastal marine environment that exists throughout the Kennedy Space Center, Florida. The different protection behaviors of fifteen different oily film CPCs, both common petroleum-based and newer environmentally friendly types, were evaluated on various steel and aluminum substrates. CPC and substrate systems were subjected to atmospheric testing at the Kennedy Space Center's Beachside Atmospheric Corrosion Test Site, as well as cyclic accelerated corrosion testing. Each CPC also underwent physical characterization and launch-related compatibility testing. The results for the fifteen CPC systems are presented in this paper.

Environmentally friendly corrosion preventive compounds for ground support structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Montgomery, Eliza; Curran, Jerome; Calle, Luz Marina; Kolody, Mark

The need to use environmentally friendly technologies throughout future space-related launch programs prompted a study aimed at replacing current petroleum and solvent-based corrosion preventive compounds (CPCs) with environmentally friendly alternatives. The work in this paper focused on the identification and evaluation of environmentally friendly CPCs for use in protecting flight hardware and ground support equipment from atmospheric corrosion. CPCs are used as temporary protective coatings and must survive in the aggressive coastal marine environment that exists throughout the Kennedy Space Center, Florida. The different protection behaviors of fifteen different oily film CPCs, both common petroleum-based and newer environmentally friendly types, were evaluated on various steel and aluminum substrates. CPC and substrate systems were subjected to atmospheric testing at the Kennedy Space Center's Beachside Atmospheric Corrosion Test Site, as well as cyclic accelerated corrosion testing. Each CPC also underwent physical characterization and launch-related compatibility testing. The results for the fifteen CPC systems are presented in this paper.

Carbon dioxide emission and bio-capacity indexing for transportation activities: A methodological development in determining the sustainability of vehicular transportation systems.

PubMed

Labib, S M; Neema, Meher Nigar; Rahaman, Zahidur; Patwary, Shahadath Hossain; Shakil, Shahadat Hossain

2018-06-09

CO 2 emissions from urban traffic are a major concern in an era of increasing ecological disequilibrium. Adding to the problem net CO 2 emissions in urban settings are worsened due to the decline of bio-productive areas in many cities. This decline exacerbates the lack of capacity to sequestrate CO 2 at the micro and meso-scales resulting in increased temperatures and decreased air quality within city boundaries. Various transportation and environmental strategies have been implemented to address traffic related CO 2 emissions, however current literature identifies difficulties in pinpointing these critical areas of maximal net emissions in urban transport networks. This study attempts to close this gap in the literature by creating a new lay-person friendly index that combines CO 2 emissions from vehicles and the bio-capacity of specific traffic zones to identify these areas at the meso-scale within four ranges of values with the lowest index values representing the highest net CO 2 levels. The study used traffic volume, fuel types, and vehicular travel distance to estimate CO 2 emissions at major links in Dhaka, Bangladesh's capital city's transportation network. Additionally, using remote-sensing tools, adjacent bio-productive areas were identified and their bio-capacity for CO 2 sequestration estimated. The bio-productive areas were correlated with each traffic zone under study resulting in an Emission Bio-Capacity index (EBI) value estimate for each traffic node. Among the ten studied nodes in Dhaka City, nine had very low EBI values, correlating to very high CO 2 emissions and low bio-capacity. As a result, the study considered these areas unsustainable as traffic nodes going forward. Key reasons for unsustainability included increasing use of motorized traffic, absence of optimized signal systems, inadequate public transit options, disincentives for fuel free transport (FFT), and a decline in bio-productive areas. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Effects of Mothers' Educational Levels on University Students' Environmental Protection Commitments and Environmental Behaviors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Saraçli, Sinan; Yilmaz, Veysel; Arslan, Talha

2014-01-01

Problem Statement: The damage caused by recent environmental problems has led to increased environmental concerns and the development of environment-friendly consumption behaviours in almost every society. Environment-friendly consumption involves the consideration of environmental benefits by minimizing any damage done to the environment at all…

Applying DER-CAM for IIT Microgrid Explansion Planning

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

Shahidehpour, Mohammad; Li, Zuyi; Wang, Jianhui

The Distributed Energy Resources Customer Adoption Model (DER-CAM) is an economic and environmental model of customer DER adoption. This model has been in development at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory since 2000. The objective of the model is to find optimal DER investments while minimizing total energy costs or carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, or achieving a weighted objective that simultaneously considers both criteria. The Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) Microgrid project started in August 2008, and the majority of the project was completed in May 2013. IIT Microgrid, funded mostly by a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy asmore » well as State and philanthropic contributions, empowers the campus consumers with the objective of establishing a smart microgrid that is highly reliable, economically viable, environmentally friendly, fuel-efficient, and resilient in extreme circumstances with a self-healing capability. In this project, we apply DER-CAM to study the expansion planning of the IIT Microgrid. First, the load data, environmental data, utility data, and technology data for the IIT Microgrid are gathered and organized to follow the DER-CAM input requirements. Then, DERCAM is applied to study the expansion planning of the IIT Microgrid for different cases, where different objectives in DER-CAM and different utility conditions are tested. Case 1 considers the objective of minimizing energy costs with fixed utility rates and 100% electric utility availability. Case 2 considers the objective of minimizing energy costs with real-time utility rates and 4 emergency weeks when the IIT Microgrid does not have access to the electric utility grid and has to operate in island mode. In Case 3, the utility rates are restored to fixed values and 100% electric utility availability is assumed, but a weighted multi-objective (Obj: a × costs + b × CO2 emissions, where a and b are weights for cost minimization and CO2 emissions minimization) is utilized to consider both energy costs and CO2 emissions. On the basis of the test results, the IIT Microgrid has the potential to benefit from investments in more DER technologies. The current annual energy costs and CO2 emissions for the IIT Microgrid are 6,495.1 k$ and 39,838.5 metric tons, respectively. This represents the baseline for this project.« less

Bio-coal briquettes using low-grade coal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Estiaty, L. M.; Fatimah, D.; Widodo

2018-02-01

The technology in using briquettes for fuel has been widely used in many countries for both domestic and industrial purposes. Common types of briquette used are coal, peat, charcoal, and biomass. Several researches have been carried out in regards to the production and the use of briquettes. Recently, researches show that mixing coal and biomass will result in an environmentally friendly briquette with better combustion and physical characteristics. This type of briquette is known as bio-coal briquettes. Bio-coal briquettes are made from agriculture waste and coal, which are readily available, cheap and affordable. Researchers make these bio-coal briquettes with different aims and objectives, depending on the issues to address, e.g. utilizing agricultural waste as an alternative energy to replace fossil fuels that are depleting its reserves, adding coal to biomass in order to add calorific value to bio-coal briquette, and adding biomass to coal to improve its chemical and physical properties. In our research, biocoal briquettes are made to utilize low grade coal. The biomass we use, however, is different from the ones used in past researches because it has undergone fermentation. The benefits of using such biomass are 1. Fermentation turns the hemi cellulose into a simpler form, so that the burning activation energy decreases while the calorific value increases. 2. Enzym produced will bind to heavy metals from coal as co-factors, forming metals that are environmentally friendly.

Effect of Hydraulic Activity on Crystallization of Precipitated Calcium Carbonate (PCC) for Eco-Friendly Paper

PubMed Central

Kim, Jung-Ah; Han, Gi-Chun; Lim, Mihee; You, Kwang-Suk; Ryu, Miyoung; Ahn, Ji-Whan; Fujita, Toyohisa; Kim, Hwan

2009-01-01

Wt% of aragonite, a CaCO3 polymorph, increased with higher hydraulic activity (°C) of limestone in precipitated calcium carbonate (PCC) from the lime-soda process (Ca(OH)2-NaOH-Na2CO3). Only calcite, the most stable polymorph, was crystallized at hydraulic activity under 10 °C, whereas aragonite also started to crystallize over 10 °C. The crystallization of PCC is more dependent on the hydraulic activity of limestone than CaO content, a factor commonly used to classify limestone ores according to quality. The results could be effectively applied to the determination of polymorphs in synthetic PCC for eco-friendly paper manufacture. PMID:20087470

Effect of hydraulic activity on crystallization of precipitated calcium carbonate (PCC) for eco-friendly paper.

PubMed

Kim, Jung-Ah; Han, Gi-Chun; Lim, Mihee; You, Kwang-Suk; Ryu, Miyoung; Ahn, Ji-Whan; Fujita, Toyohisa; Kim, Hwan

2009-11-11

Wt% of aragonite, a CaCO(3) polymorph, increased with higher hydraulic activity ( degrees C) of limestone in precipitated calcium carbonate (PCC) from the lime-soda process (Ca(OH)(2)-NaOH-Na(2)CO(3)). Only calcite, the most stable polymorph, was crystallized at hydraulic activity under 10 degrees C, whereas aragonite also started to crystallize over 10 degrees C. The crystallization of PCC is more dependent on the hydraulic activity of limestone than CaO content, a factor commonly used to classify limestone ores according to quality. The results could be effectively applied to the determination of polymorphs in synthetic PCC for eco-friendly paper manufacture.

The carbon footprint of integrated milk production and renewable energy systems - A case study.

PubMed

Vida, Elisabetta; Tedesco, Doriana Eurosia Angela

2017-12-31

Dairy farms have been widely acknowledged as a source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The need for a more environmentally friendly milk production system will likely be important going forward. Whereas methane (CH 4 ) enteric emissions can only be reduced to a limited extent, CH 4 manure emissions can be reduced by implementing mitigation strategies, such as the use of an anaerobic digestion (AD). Furthermore, implementing a photovoltaic (PV) electricity generation system could mitigate the fossil fuels used to cover the electrical needs of farms. In the present study to detect the main environmental hotspots of milk production, a Life Cycle Assessment was adopted to build the Life Cycle Inventory according to ISO 14040 and 14044 in a conventional dairy farm (1368 animals) provided by AD and PV systems. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change tiered approach was adopted to associate the level of emission with each item in the life cycle inventory. The functional unit refers to 1kg of fat-and-protein-corrected-milk (FPCM). In addition to milk products, other important co-products need to be considered: meat and renewable energy production from AD and PV systems. A physical allocation was applied to attribute GHG emissions among milk and meat products. Renewable energy production from AD and PV systems was considered, discounting carbon credits due to lower CH 4 manure emissions and to the minor exploitation of fossil energy. The CF of this farm scenario was 1.11kg CO 2 eq/kg FPCM. The inclusion of AD allowed for the reduction of GHG emissions from milk production by 0.26kg CO 2 eq/kg FPCM. The PV system contribution was negligible due to the small dimensions of the technology. The results obtained in this study confirm that integrating milk production with other co-products, originated from more efficient manure management, is a successful strategy to mitigate the environmental impact of dairy production. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

N/S Co-Doped 3 D Porous Carbon Nanosheet Networks Enhancing Anode Performance of Sodium-Ion Batteries.

PubMed

Zou, Lei; Lai, Yanqing; Hu, Hongxing; Wang, Mengran; Zhang, Kai; Zhang, Peng; Fang, Jing; Li, Jie

2017-10-12

A facile and scalable method is realized for the in situ synthesis of N/S co-doped 3 D porous carbon nanosheet networks (NSPCNNs) as anode materials for sodium-ion batteries. During the synthesis, NaCl is used as a template to prepare porous carbon nanosheet networks. In the resultant architecture, the unique 3 D porous architecture ensures a large specific surface area and fast diffusion paths of both electrons and ions. In addition, the import of N/S produces abundant defects, increased interlayer spacings, more active sites, and high electronic conductivity. The obtained products deliver a high specific capacity and excellent long-term cycling performance, specifically, a capacity of 336.2 mA h g -1 at 0.05 A g -1 , remaining as large as 214.9 mA h g -1 after 2000 charge/discharge cycles at 0.5 A g -1 . This material has great prospects for future applications of scalable, low-cost, and environmentally friendly sodium-ion batteries. © 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

75 FR 34976 - Fresh Garlic from the People's Republic of China: Final Results and Partial Rescission of the...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-06-21

... comment on the Preliminary Results. Our analysis of the comments submitted and information received did... proceeding. These mandatory respondents are Anqiu Friend Food Co., Ltd. (Anqiu Friend), Jining Trans-High... Xintianfeng Foods Co., Ltd. (Qingdao Xintianfeng) and Weifang Hongqiao International Logistic Co., Ltd...

Lead-Free Organic-Inorganic Hybrid Perovskites for Photovoltaic Applications: Recent Advances and Perspectives.

PubMed

Shi, Zejiao; Guo, Jia; Chen, Yonghua; Li, Qi; Pan, Yufeng; Zhang, Haijuan; Xia, Yingdong; Huang, Wei

2017-04-01

Organic-inorganic hybrid halide perovskites (e.g., MAPbI 3 ) have recently emerged as novel active materials for photovoltaic applications with power conversion efficiency over 22%. Conventional perovskite solar cells (PSCs); however, suffer the issue that lead is toxic to the environment and organisms for a long time and is hard to excrete from the body. Therefore, it is imperative to find environmentally-friendly metal ions to replace lead for the further development of PSCs. Previous work has demonstrated that Sn, Ge, Cu, Bi, and Sb ions could be used as alternative ions in perovskite configurations to form a new environmentally-friendly lead-free perovskite structure. Here, we review recent progress on lead-free PSCs in terms of the theoretical insight and experimental explorations of the crystal structure of lead-free perovskite, thin film deposition, and device performance. We also discuss the importance of obtaining further understanding of the fundamental properties of lead-free hybrid perovskites, especially those related to photophysics. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Regio- and chemoselective reduction of nitroarenes and carbonyl compounds over recyclable magnetic ferrite-nickel nanoparticles (Fe(3)O(4)-Ni) by using glycerol as a hydrogen source.

PubMed

Gawande, Manoj B; Rathi, Anuj K; Branco, Paula S; Nogueira, Isabel D; Velhinho, Alexandre; Shrikhande, Janhavi J; Indulkar, Utkarsha U; Jayaram, Radha V; Ghumman, C Amjad A; Bundaleski, Nenad; Teodoro, Orlando M N D

2012-10-01

Reduction by magnetic nano-Fe(3)O(4)-Ni: a facile, simple and environmentally friendly hydrogen-transfer reaction that takes place over recyclable ferrite-nickel magnetic nanoparticles (Fe(3)O(4)-Ni) by using glycerol as hydrogen source allows aromatic amines and alcohols to be synthesized from the precursor nitroarenes and carbonyl compounds. Copyright © 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

A corrosion control concept by scale engineering: a novel green inhibitor applied for high temperature and pressure aqueous supercritical CO2 systems

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

Jiabin, Han; Carey, James W; Zhang, Jinsuo

2011-01-27

Traditional corrosion inhibitors are bio-toxic chemicals with organic components that bond to the fresh metal surface and thus isolate them from corrosive environments. The shortcoming of these inhibitors is that they are less effective in high-temperature and high-pressure environments, and where corrosion scale is formed or particulates are deposited. In this paper, we describe a novel green inorganic inhibitor made of environmentally friendly and cost-effective geo-material that was developed for high-temperature and high-pressure environments, particularly under scale-forming conditions. It inhibits corrosion by enhancing the protectiveness of corrosion scale. In contrast to traditional corrosion inhibitors which are efficient for bare surfacemore » corrosion but not effective with scale, the novel inhibitor has no effect on bare surface corrosion but greatly improves corrosion inhibition under scale-formation conditions. This is because a homogeneous scale doped with inhibitor component forms. This enhanced corrosion scale demonstrated excellent protection against corrosion. In high-pressure CO{sub 2} systems (pCO{sub 2}=10 Mpa, T=50 C and [NaCl]=1 wt%) without inhibitor, the bare-surface corrosion rate decreases from ca. 10 mm/y to 0.3 mm/year due to formation of scale. Application of a six hundred ppm solution ofthe new inorganic inhibitor reduced the corrosion rate to 0.01 mm/year, an additional factor of 30. The current inhibitor product was designed for application to CO{sub 2} systems that form corrosion scale, including but not limited to oil and gas wells, offshore production of oil and gas, CO{sub 2} sequestration and enhanced geothermal production involving CO{sub 2}.« less

Child-Friendly Cities: A Place for Active Citizenship in Geographical and Environmental Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wilks, Judith

2010-01-01

This research was designed to investigate innovative practices associated with child-friendly cities initiatives in the United Kingdom and Italy and how civics and citizenship initiatives are being applied into practical programmes of exploration and learning in geography and environmental education. The Child-Friendly Cities Initiative (CFCI) of…

Co-reduction of Copper Smelting Slag and Nickel Laterite to Prepare Fe-Ni-Cu Alloy for Weathering Steel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, Zhengqi; Pan, Jian; Zhu, Deqing; Zhang, Feng

2018-02-01

In this study, a new technique was proposed for the economical and environmentally friendly recovery of valuable metals from copper smelting slag while simultaneously upgrading nickel laterite through a co-reduction followed by wet magnetic separation process. Copper slag with a high FeO content can decrease the liquidus temperature of the SiO2-Al2O3-CaO-MgO system and facilitate formation of liquid phase in a co-reduction process with nickel laterite, which is beneficial for metallic particle growth. As a result, the recovery of Ni, Cu, and Fe was notably increased. A crude Fe-Ni-Cu alloy with 2.5% Ni, 1.1% Cu, and 87.9% Fe was produced, which can replace part of scrap steel, electrolytic copper, and nickel as the burden in the production of weathering steel by an electric arc furnace. The study further found that an appropriate proportion of copper slag and nickel laterite in the mixture is essential to enhance the reduction, acquire appropriate amounts of the liquid phase, and improve the growth of the metallic alloy grains. As a result, the liberation of alloy particles in the grinding process was effectively promoted and the metal recovery was increased significantly in the subsequent magnetic separation process.

A facile synthesis of poly(aniline-co-o-bromoaniline) copolymer: Characterization and application as semiconducting material

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mahudeswaran, A.; Vivekanandan, J.; Vijayanand, P. S.; Kojima, T.; Kato, S.

2016-01-01

Poly(aniline-co-o-bromoaniline) (p(an-co-o-BrAn)) copolymer has been synthesized using chemical oxidation method in the hydrochloric acid medium. Copolymerization of aniline with o-bromoaniline of different compositions, such as 1:1, 1:2, 2:1, 1:3 and 3:1 molar ratios were prepared. The synthesized copolymer is soluble in polar solvents like dimethyl sulphoxide (DMSO), dimethyl formamide (DMF), Tetrahydrofuran (THF) and 1-methyl 2-pyrrolidone (NMP). The copolymer is analyzed by various characterization techniques, such as FTIR, UV-Visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), conductivity, Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). FTIR spectrum confirms the characteristic peaks of the copolymer containing benzenoid and quinoid ring stretching. UV spectrum reveals the formation of π-π∗ transition and n-π∗ transition between the energy levels. XRD peaks reveal that the copolymer possesses amorphous nature. Morphological study reveals that the agglomerated particles form globular structure and size of the each particle is about 100 nm. The electrical conductivity of the copolymers is found in the range of 10-5Scm-1. These organic semiconductor materials can be used to fabricate thinner and cheaper environmental friendly optoelectronic devices that will replace the conventional inorganic semiconductors.

Analysis of co-eluted isomers of high-molecular weight polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in high performance liquid chromatography fractions via solid-phase nanoextraction and time-resolved Shpol'skii spectroscopy.

PubMed

Wilson, Walter B; Campiglia, Andres D

2011-09-28

We present an accurate method for the determination of isomers of high-molecular weight polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons co-eluted in HPLC fractions. The feasibility of this approach is demonstrated with two isomers of molecular weight 302 with identical mass fragmentation patterns, namely dibenzo[a,i]pyrene and naphtho[2,3-a]pyrene. Qualitative and quantitative analysis is carried out via laser-excited time-resolved Shpol'skii spectroscopy at liquid helium temperature. Unambiguous identification of co-eluted isomers is based on their characteristic 4.2 K line-narrowed spectra in n-octane as well as their fluorescence lifetimes. Pre-concentration of HPLC fractions prior to spectroscopic analysis is performed with the aid of gold nanoparticles via an environmentally friendly procedure. In addition to the two co-eluted isomers, the analytical figures of merit of the entire procedure were evaluated with dibenzo[a,l]pyrene, dibenzo[a,h]pyrene and dibenzo[a,e]pyrene. The analytical recoveries from drinking water samples varied between 98.2±5.5 (dibenzo[a,l]pyrene) and 102.7±3.2% (dibenzo[a,i]pyrene). The limits of detection ranged from 51.1 ng L(-1) (naphtho[2,3-a]pyrene) to 154 ng L(-1) (dibenzo[a,e]pyrene). The excellent analytical figures of merit associated to its HPLC compatibility makes this approach an attractive alternative for the analysis of co-eluted isomers with identical mass spectra. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Low-Temperature Molten-Salt Production of Silicon Nanowires by the Electrochemical Reduction of CaSiO3.

PubMed

Dong, Yifan; Slade, Tyler; Stolt, Matthew J; Li, Linsen; Girard, Steven N; Mai, Liqiang; Jin, Song

2017-11-13

Silicon is an extremely important technological material, but its current industrial production by the carbothermic reduction of SiO 2 is energy intensive and generates CO 2 emissions. Herein, we developed a more sustainable method to produce silicon nanowires (Si NWs) in bulk quantities through the direct electrochemical reduction of CaSiO 3 , an abundant and inexpensive Si source soluble in molten salts, at a low temperature of 650 °C by using low-melting-point ternary molten salts CaCl 2 -MgCl 2 -NaCl, which still retains high CaSiO 3 solubility, and a supporting electrolyte of CaO, which facilitates the transport of O 2- anions, drastically improves the reaction kinetics, and enables the electrolysis at low temperatures. The Si nanowire product can be used as high-capacity Li-ion battery anode materials with excellent cycling performance. This environmentally friendly strategy for the practical production of Si at lower temperatures can be applied to other molten salt systems and is also promising for waste glass and coal ash recycling. © 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Environmental Friendly Coatings and Corrosion Prevention For Flight Hardware Project

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Calle, Luz

2014-01-01

Identify, test and develop qualification criteria for environmentally friendly corrosion protective coatings and corrosion preventative compounds (CPC's) for flight hardware an ground support equipment.

NETL CO 2 Storage prospeCtive Resource Estimation Excel aNalysis (CO 2-SCREEN) User's Manual

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

Sanguinito, Sean M.; Goodman, Angela; Levine, Jonathan

This user’s manual guides the use of the National Energy Technology Laboratory’s (NETL) CO 2 Storage prospeCtive Resource Estimation Excel aNalysis (CO 2-SCREEN) tool, which was developed to aid users screening saline formations for prospective CO 2 storage resources. CO 2- SCREEN applies U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) methods and equations for estimating prospective CO 2 storage resources for saline formations. CO2-SCREEN was developed to be substantive and user-friendly. It also provides a consistent method for calculating prospective CO 2 storage resources that allows for consistent comparison of results between different research efforts, such as the Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnershipsmore » (RCSP). CO 2-SCREEN consists of an Excel spreadsheet containing geologic inputs and outputs, linked to a GoldSim Player model that calculates prospective CO 2 storage resources via Monte Carlo simulation.« less

Comparison of the microbiological quality of environmentally friendly and conventionally grown vegetables sold at retail markets in Korea.

PubMed

Ryu, Jee-Hoon; Kim, Minju; Kim, Eun-Gyeong; Beuchat, Larry R; Kim, Hoikyung

2014-09-01

Fresh produce is usually eaten raw without cooking or heating, which may increase the probability of foodborne infection. The microbiological quality of 11 types of fresh, raw vegetables (romaine lettuce, sesame leaves, crown daisy, garlic chives, iceberg lettuce, cabbage, broccoli, leek, chili pepper, capsicum, and zucchini) purchased at retail markets in Iksan, Korea as affected by cultivation method (environmentally friendly vegetables [organic, pesticide-free, and low-pesticide vegetables] and conventionally grown vegetables) and harvest season was determined. Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella were not detected in all samples of vegetables tested. Aerobic mesophiles (>6 log cfu/g) were detected in environmentally friendly romaine lettuce and crown daisy and environmentally friendly and conventionally grown garlic chives, which also contained coliforms (>3 log cfu/g). Sesame leaf and crown daisy (regardless of cultivation method), as well as conventionally grown romaine lettuce and leek, contained >1 log cfu/g of E. coli. The overall microbiological quality of environmentally friendly and conventionally grown vegetables was not significantly different (P > 0.05). However, there were seasonal effects on populations of coliforms and generic E. coli on vegetables. The greatest numbers of microorganisms were isolated from environmentally friendly or conventionally grown vegetables purchased in winter. The vegetables, regardless of cultivation method or season, should be subjected to appropriate antimicrobial treatment to enhance their microbial safety. © 2014 Institute of Food Technologists®

Synthetic Fuel

ScienceCinema

Idaho National Laboratory - Steve Herring, Jim O'Brien, Carl Stoots

2017-12-09

Two global energy priorities today are finding environmentally friendly alternatives to fossil fuels, and reducing greenhouse gass Two global energy priorities today are finding environmentally friendly alternatives to fossil fuels, and reducing greenhous

Ionic Liquid Pretreatment of Lignocellulosic Biomass for Enhanced Enzymatic Delignification.

PubMed

Moniruzzaman, Muhammad; Goto, Masahiro

2018-05-10

Ionic liquids (ILs), a potentially attractive "green," recyclable alternative to environmentally harmful volatile organic compounds, have been increasingly exploited as solvents and/or cosolvents and/or reagents in a wide range of applications, including pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass for further processing. The enzymatic delignification of biomass to degrade lignin, a complex aromatic polymer, has received much attention as an environmentally friendly process for clean separation of biopolymers including cellulose and lignin. For this purpose, enzymes are generally isolated from naturally occurring fungi or genetically engineered fungi and used in an aqueous medium. However, enzymatic delignification has been found to be very slow in these conditions, sometimes taking several months for completion. In this chapter, we highlight an environmentally friendly and efficient approach for enzymatic delignification of lignocellulosic biomass using room temperature ionic liquids (ILs) as (co)solvents or/and pretreatment agents. The method comprises pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass in IL-aqueous systems before enzymatic delignification, with the aim of overcoming the low delignification efficiency associated with low enzyme accessibility to the solid substrate and low substrate and product solubilities in aqueous systems. We believe the processes described here can play an important role in the conversion of lignocellulosic biomass-the most abundant renewable biomaterial in the world-to biomaterials, biopolymers, biofuels, bioplastics, and hydrocarbons. Graphical Abstract.

"Supergreen" Renewables: Integration of Mineral Weathering Into Renewable Energy Production for Air CO2 Removal and Storage as Ocean Alkalinity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rau, G. H.; Carroll, S.; Ren, Z. J.

2015-12-01

Excess planetary CO2 and accompanying ocean acidification are naturally mitigated on geologic time scales via mineral weathering. Here, CO2 acidifies the hydrosphere, which then slowly reacts with silicate and carbonate minerals to produce dissolved bicarbonates that are ultimately delivered to the ocean. This alkalinity not only provides long-term sequestration of the excess atmospheric carbon, but it also chemically counters the effects of ocean acidification by stabilizing or raising pH and carbonate saturation state, thus helping rebalance ocean chemistry and preserving marine ecosystems. Recent research has demonstrated ways of greatly accelerating this process by its integration into energy systems. Specifically, it has been shown (1) that some 80% of the CO2 in a waste gas stream can be spontaneously converted to stable, seawater mineral bicarbonate in the presence of a common carbonate mineral - limestone. This can allow removal of CO2 from biomass combustion and bio-energy production while generating beneficial ocean alkalinity, providing a potentially cheaper and more environmentally friendly negative-CO2-emissions alternative to BECCS. It has also been demonstrated that strong acids anodically produced in a standard saline water electrolysis cell in the formation of H2 can be reacted with carbonate or silicate minerals to generate strong base solutions. These solutions are highly absorptive of air CO2, converting it to mineral bicarbonate in solution. When such electrochemical cells are powered by non-fossil energy (e.g. electricity from wind, solar, tidal, biomass, geothermal, etc. energy sources), the system generates H2 that is strongly CO2-emissions-negative, while producing beneficial marine alkalinity (2-4). The preceding systems therefore point the way toward renewable energy production that, when tightly coupled to geochemical mitigation of CO2 and formation of natural ocean "antacids", forms a high capacity, negative-CO2-emissions, "supergreen" source of fuel or electrcity. 1) http://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/es102671x2) http://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/es800366q3) http://www.pnas.org/content/110/25/10095.full.pdf4) http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.est.5b00875

Measured Environmental Contributions to Cannabis Abuse/Dependence in an Offspring of Twins Design

PubMed Central

Scherrer, Jeffrey F.; Grant, Julia D.; Duncan, Alexis E.; Pan, Hui; Waterman, Brian; Jacob, Theodore; Haber, Jon Randolph; True, William R.; Heath, Andrew C.; Bucholz, Kathleen Keenan

2008-01-01

Genetic and environmental factors are known to contribute to cannabis abuse/dependence (CAD). We sought to determine the magnitude of the contribution from measured environmental variables to offspring cannabis dependence in a design that controls for familial vulnerability. Data come from a study of 725 twin members of the Vietnam Era Twin Registry, 720 of their biological offspring (age 18–32 years) and 427 mothers. Data were obtained on offspring perception of family and peer support and substance use behaviors and offspring CAD. After adjusting for familial risk, and environmental covariates, CAD was significantly more likely among male offspring (OR=2.73; 95% CI: 1.69–4.41). Offspring CAD was associated with reporting: siblings used illicit drugs (OR=3.40; 95%CI:1.81–6.38), a few friends used drugs (OR=2.72; 95%CI: 1.04–7.09), a quarter or more friends used drugs (OR=8.30; 95% CI:3.09–22.33) and one-half or more 12th grade peers used drugs (OR=3.17; 95%CI: 1.42–7.08). Perceived sibling, friend and school peer substance use are strongly associated with CAD in young adults even after accounting for latent familial risk and for multiple measured intra-family and extra-family environmental influences. PMID:18583065

An integrated green process: Subcritical water, enzymatic hydrolysis, and fermentation, for biohydrogen production from coconut husk.

PubMed

Muharja, Maktum; Junianti, Fitri; Ranggina, Dian; Nurtono, Tantular; Widjaja, Arief

2018-02-01

The objective of this work is to develop an integrated green process of subcritical water (SCW), enzymatic hydrolysis and fermentation of coconut husk (CCH) to biohydrogen. The maximum sugar yield was obtained at mild severity factor. This was confirmed by the degradation of hemicellulose, cellulose and lignin. The tendency of the changing of sugar yield as a result of increasing severity factor was opposite to the tendency of pH change. It was found that CO 2 gave a different tendency of severity factor compared to N 2 as the pressurizing gas. The result of SEM analysis confirmed the structural changes during SCW pretreatment. This study integrated three steps all of which are green processes which ensured an environmentally friendly process to produce a clean biohydrogen. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Synthesis of light-selective poly(ethylene-co-vinyl acetate) nanofilms in supercritical carbon dioxide

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, William (Zhiming)

Due to the increased requirements of environmental protection, significant effort has been made to develop new "green" chemistry and engineering methods. Two effective approaches for "green" processes are: (1) to employ routes with fewer synthetic and separation steps, and (2) to replace volatile organic solvents with environmentally friendly solvents. Supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2) has emerged as such a viable "green" alternative to organic solvents for several applications including extraction, polymerization, and nanotechnology, etc. In addition, it is an enabling solvent, allowing new types of chemistry and materials to be formed. In order to effectively utilize scCO2, it is required to study its effect on the relevant chemical process. This thesis focuses on the copolymerization of ethylene and vinyl acetate in scCO2, and the application of scCO2 in the synthesis of novel poly(vinyl acetate) (PVAc) and poly(ethylene-co-vinyl acetate) (PEVA) nanocomposites. Firstly, the kinetics of the process was investigated. The thermal decomposition of the free-radical initiator diethyl peroxydicarbonate (DEPDC) was monitored by in situ attenuate total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) in heptane, and in scCO2. The rate constant and activation energy of the thermal decomposition of DEPDC in scCO2 were determined, and a decomposition mechanism was proposed. Further, with a knowledge of the initiator kinetics, in situ ATR-FTIR was employed to monitor the initial formation of copolymers of ethylene and vinyl acetate during polymerization in scCO2. The reactivity ratios for the copolymerization of ethylene and vinyl acetate in scCO2 were determined using both the Kelen-Tudos and the non-linear least-squares methods. The potential of scCO2 was further examined to synthesize advanced and novel nanomaterials based on an understanding of the polymerization mechanism. A novel one-step synthesis route was developed for making silica-PVAc nanocomposites in scCO2, where the parallel reactions of free radical polymerization, hydrolysis/condensation, and linkage of the nanoparticles to the polymer chains, were found to take place simultaneously. This provides a new process featuring significant energy-saving, waste-reduction, and excellent distribution of nanoparticles in the polymer matrix. In addition, the incorporation of quantum dots (QDs) into a transparent polymer matrix was investigated to form light-selective nanofilms. Both CdS and CdS-ZnS core-shell QDs were synthesized, then functionalized with a methoxysilane group, and finally used to synthesize novel QD-PVAc and QD-PEVA nanocomposites in scCO2. The synthesized QD-PEVA nanofilms displayed significant absorption in the ultraviolet and violet regions of the electromagnetic spectrum, while providing a characteristic emission in the region from orange to red light. These materials have significant potential in green houses, and solar absorber films. Key words. supercritical CO2, initiator, thermal decomposition, kinetics, mechanism, ATR-FTIR, reactivity ratios, ethylene, vinyl acetate, silica, nanocomposite, one-pot synthesis, light-selective, nanofilm, quantum dots.

Synergistic effect of biogenic Fe3+ coupled to S° oxidation on simultaneous bioleaching of Cu, Co, Zn and As from hazardous Pyrite Ash Waste.

PubMed

Panda, Sandeep; Akcil, Ata; Mishra, Srabani; Erust, Ceren

2017-03-05

Pyrite ash, a waste by-product formed during roasting of pyrite ores, is a good source of valuable metals. The waste is associated with several environmental issues due to its dumping in sea and/or land filling. Although several other management practices are available for its utilization, the waste still awaits and calls for an eco-friendly biotechnological application for metal recovery. In the present study, chemolithotrophic meso-acidophilic iron and sulphur oxidisers were evaluated for the first time towards simultaneous mutli-metal recovery from pyrite ash. XRD and XRF analysis indicated higher amount of Hematite (Fe 2 O 3 ) in the sample. ICP-OES analysis indicated concentrations of Cu>Zn>Co>As that were considered for bioleaching. Optimization studies indicated Cu - 95%, Co - 97%, Zn - 78% and As - 60% recovery within 8days at 10% pulp density, pH - 1.75, 10% (v/v) inoculum and 9g/L Fe 2+ . The productivity of the bioleaching system was found to be Cu - 1696ppm/d (12% dissolution/d), Co - 338ppm/d (12.2% dissolution/d), Zn k 576ppm/d (9.8% dissolution/d) and As - 75ppm/d (7.5% dissolution/d). Synergistic actions for Fe 2+ - S° oxidation by iron and sulphur oxidisers were identified as the key drivers for enhanced metal dissolution from pyrite ash sample. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Influence of cobalt on structural and magnetic properties of nickel ferrite nanoparticles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ati, Ali A.; Othaman, Zulkafli; Samavati, Alireza

2013-11-01

Improving the magnetic response of nanocrystalline nickel ferrites is the key issue in high density recording media. A series of cobalt substituted nickel ferrite nanoparticles with composition Ni(1-x)CoxFe2O4, where 0.0 ⩽ x ⩽ 1.0, are synthesized using co-precipitation method. The XRD spectra revealed the single phase spinel structure and the average sizes of nanoparticles are estimated to be 16-19 nm. These sizes are small enough to achieve the suitable signal to noise ratio in the high density recording media. The lattice parameter and coercivity shows monotonic increment with the increase of Co contents ascribed to the larger ionic radii of the cobalt ion. The specific saturation magnetization (Ms), remanent magnetization (Mr) and the coercivity (Hc) of the spinel ferrites are further improved by the substitutions of Co+2 ions. The values of Ms for NiFe2O4 and CoFe2O4 are found to be 43.92 and 78.59 emu/g, respectively and Hc are in the range of 51-778 Oe. The FTIR spectra of the spinel phase calcinated at 600 °C exhibit two prominent fundamental absorption bands in the range of 350-600 cm-1 assigned to the intrinsic stretching vibrations of the metal at the tetrahedral and octahedral sites. The role played by the Co ions in improving the structural and magnetic properties are analyzed and understood. Our simple, economic and environmental friendly preparation method may contribute towards the controlled growth of high quality ferrite nanopowders, potential candidates for recording.

29 CFR 776.16 - Employment in “producing, * * * or in any other manner working on” goods.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

.... Friend, 156 F. 2d 429 (C.A. 8); Walling v. Commet Carriers, 151 F. 2d 107 (C.A. 2); Phillips v. Star Overall Dry Cleaning Laundry Co., 149 F. 2d 416 (C.A. 2); certiorari denied 327 U.S. 780; Walling v. Griffin Cartage Co., 62 F. Supp. 396, affirmed in 153 F. 2d 587 (C.A. 6). For examples, see paragraphs (c...

29 CFR 776.16 - Employment in “producing, * * * or in any other manner working on” goods.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

.... Friend, 156 F. 2d 429 (C.A. 8); Walling v. Commet Carriers, 151 F. 2d 107 (C.A. 2); Phillips v. Star Overall Dry Cleaning Laundry Co., 149 F. 2d 416 (C.A. 2); certiorari denied 327 U.S. 780; Walling v. Griffin Cartage Co., 62 F. Supp. 396, affirmed in 153 F. 2d 587 (C.A. 6). For examples, see paragraphs (c...

29 CFR 776.16 - Employment in “producing, * * * or in any other manner working on” goods.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

.... Friend, 156 F. 2d 429 (C.A. 8); Walling v. Commet Carriers, 151 F. 2d 107 (C.A. 2); Phillips v. Star Overall Dry Cleaning Laundry Co., 149 F. 2d 416 (C.A. 2); certiorari denied 327 U.S. 780; Walling v. Griffin Cartage Co., 62 F. Supp. 396, affirmed in 153 F. 2d 587 (C.A. 6). For examples, see paragraphs (c...

Biochar as potential sustainable precursors for activated carbon production: Multiple applications in environmental protection and energy storage.

PubMed

Tan, Xiao-Fei; Liu, Shao-Bo; Liu, Yun-Guo; Gu, Yan-Ling; Zeng, Guang-Ming; Hu, Xin-Jiang; Wang, Xin; Liu, Shao-Heng; Jiang, Lu-Hua

2017-03-01

There is a growing interest of the scientific community on production of activated carbon using biochar as potential sustainable precursors pyrolyzed from biomass wastes. Physical activation and chemical activation are the main methods applied in the activation process. These methods could have significantly beneficial effects on biochar chemical/physical properties, which make it suitable for multiple applications including water pollution treatment, CO 2 capture, and energy storage. The feedstock with different compositions, pyrolysis conditions and activation parameters of biochar have significant influences on the properties of resultant activated carbon. Compared with traditional activated carbon, activated biochar appears to be a new potential cost-effective and environmentally-friendly carbon materials with great application prospect in many fields. This review not only summarizes information from the current analysis of activated biochar and their multiple applications for further optimization and understanding, but also offers new directions for development of activated biochar. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Solar/Geothermal Saves Energy in Heating and Cooling of Greenhouses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sanders, Matthew; Thompson, Mark; Sikorski, Yuri

2010-04-01

The steady increase in world population and problems associated with conventional agricultural practices demand changes in food production methods and capabilities. Locally grown food minimizes the transportation costs and gas emissions responsible for Global Warming. Greenhouses have the potential to be extremely ecologically friendly by greatly increasing yields per year and facilitating reduced pesticide use. Globally, there are 2.5 million acres of greenhouse cover, including 30,640 acres in North America. In Europe, greenhouses consume 10% of the total energy in agriculture. Most of that energy is utilized for heating. Heating and cooling amount to 35% of greenhouse production costs. This high percentage value can be partially attributed to currently poor insulation values. In moderate-to-cold climate zones, it can take up to 2,500 gallons of propane, currently costing around 5,000, to keep a 2,000 sq. ft. greenhouse producing all winter. Around 350 tons of CO2 per acre per year are released from these structures, contributing to global climate change. Reducing the energy needs of a greenhouse is the first step in saving money and the environment. Therefore, an efficient and environmentally friendly heating and cooling system selection is also crucial. After selecting appropriate energy sources, the next major concern in a greenhouse would be heat loss. Consequently, it is critically important to understand factors contributing to heat loss.

Development of environmentally friendly messages to promote longer durations of breastfeeding for already breastfeeding mothers.

PubMed

Hamilton, Amanda E

2015-01-01

Durations of breastfeeding activity in the United States fall short of established recommendations by leading public health institutions. In response to this problem, this study sought to develop environmentally friendly messages to promote continued breastfeeding for moms already breastfeeding in order to help them reach recommended breastfeeding durations. Messages were successfully cultivated to encourage moms already breastfeeding to meet recommended breastfeeding durations. In addition, this study cultivated strategies by which to use environmentally friendly messages to urge mothers who still need to decide whether to breastfeed or formula feed to breastfeed, although this was not the purpose of the research. Avenues for future communication-based breastfeeding research were also elucidated. The Elaboration Likelihood Model serves as useful theory to assess the role of environmentally friendly messages in the promotion of continued breastfeeding.

How effective is greening policy in reducing GHG emissions from agriculture? Evidence from Italy.

PubMed

Solazzo, Roberto; Donati, Michele; Tomasi, Licia; Arfini, Filippo

2016-12-15

Agriculture contributes significantly to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, accounting for more than 10% of total CO 2 emissions in the EU-28 area. The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) plays an important role in promoting environmentally and climate friendly practices and needs to respond to the new environmental challenges by better integrating its objectives with other EU policies. In this respect, the recent CAP reform 2014-2020 made a further step, making a large part of direct payments conditional on new agricultural practices beneficial for the climate and the environment, i.e. "greening". In this study we estimate the potential environmental benefits from greening in terms of GHG emissions in four regions of Northern Italy, one of the major European agricultural areas in terms of emissions. The emissions were quantified and broken down into the three main GHGs (carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide) per production process. This information was subsequently used in a Positive Mathematical Programming (PMP) farm-based model on more than 3,000 farms, to estimate the effects of greening on regional land use and its contribution in reducing the total emissions. The new agri-environmental constraints produce a modest abatement of total emissions of greenhouse gases (-1.5%) in the analyzed area. The model estimates a reduction in CO 2 emissions of about 2%. Emissions from nitrous oxide show a decrease of 2.1% and the reduction in the methane is about 0.4% compared to the observed scenario. The process of "lightening" that affected the greening during the CAP negotiation has inevitably resulted in missing an opportunity to introduce a significant positive change of behaviour into agriculture, in line with the expectations and needs of society for EU agriculture as a provider of public goods. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Coupling of ultrasound-assisted extraction and expanded bed adsorption for simplified medicinal plant processing and its theoretical model: extraction and enrichment of ginsenosides from Radix Ginseng as a case study.

PubMed

Mi, Jianing; Zhang, Min; Zhang, Hongyang; Wang, Yuerong; Wu, Shikun; Hu, Ping

2013-02-01

A high-efficient and environmental-friendly method for the preparation of ginsenosides from Radix Ginseng using the method of coupling of ultrasound-assisted extraction with expanded bed adsorption is described. Based on the optimal extraction conditions screened by surface response methodology, ginsenosides were extracted and adsorbed, then eluted by the two-step elution protocol. The comparison results between the coupling of ultrasound-assisted extraction with expanded bed adsorption method and conventional method showed that the former was better than the latter in both process efficiency and greenness. The process efficiency and energy efficiency of the coupling of ultrasound-assisted extraction with expanded bed adsorption method rapidly increased by 1.4-fold and 18.5-fold of the conventional method, while the environmental cost and CO(2) emission of the conventional method were 12.9-fold and 17.0-fold of the new method. Furthermore, the theoretical model for the extraction of targets was derived. The results revealed that the theoretical model suitably described the process of preparing ginsenosides by the coupling of ultrasound-assisted extraction with expanded bed adsorption system. © 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Environmentally friendly preparation of metal nanoparticles

EPA Science Inventory

The book chapter summarizes the “state of the art” in the exploitation of various environmentally-friendly synthesis approaches, reaction precursors and conditions to manufacture metal and metal oxide nanoparticles for a vast variety of purposes.

One step electrodeposition of Cu2ZnSnS4 thin films in a novel bath with sulfurization free annealing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tang, Aiyue; Li, Zhilin; Wang, Feng; Dou, Meiling; Pan, Youya; Guan, Jingyu

2017-04-01

Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) is a quaternary kesterite compound with suitable band gap for thin film solar cells. In most electrodeposition-anneal routes, sulfurization is inevitable because the as-deposited film is lack of S. In this work, a novel green electrolyte was designed for synthesizing CZTS thin films with high S content. In the one-step electrodeposition, K4P2O7 and C7H6O6S were added to form complex with metallic ions in the electrolyte, which could attribute to co-deposition. The as-deposited film obtained high S content satisfying stoichiometry. After a sulfurization free annealing, the continuous and uniform CZTS thin film was obtained, which had pure kesterite structure and a suitable band gap of 1.53 eV. Electrodeposition mechanism investigation revealed that the K4P2O7 prevented the excessive deposition of Cu2+ and Sn2+. The C7H6O6S promoted the reduction of Zn2+. So the additives narrowed the co-deposition potentials of the metallic elements through a synergetic effect. They also promoted the reduction of S2O32- to ensure the co-deposition of the four elements and the stoichiometry. The sulfurization free annealing process can promote the commercialization of CZTS films and the successful design principle of environmental friendly electrolytes could be applied in other electrodeposition systems.

Biosorption of Cd+2 by green plant biomass, Araucaria heterophylla: characterization, kinetic, isotherm and thermodynamic studies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sarada, B.; Krishna Prasad, M.; Kishore Kumar, K.; Murthy, Ch V. R.

2017-11-01

The present study attempted to analyze the biosorption behavior of novel biosorbent, Araucaria heterophylla (green plant) biomass, to remove Cd+2 from solutions against various parameters, i.e., initial metal ion concentration, pH, temperature, sorbent dosage and biomass particle size. The maximum biosorption was found to be 90.02% at pH 5.5 and biosorption capacity ( q e) of Cd+2 is 9.2506 mg g-1. The Langmuir and Freundlich equilibrium adsorption isotherms were studied and it was observed that Freundlich model is the best fit than the Langmuir model with correlation co-efficient of 0.999. Kinetic studies indicated that the biosorption process of Cd+2 well followed the pseudo-second-order model with R 2 0.999. Thermodynamic studies observed that the process is exothermic (Δ H ° negative). Free energy change (Δ G °) with negative sign reflected the feasibility and spontaneous nature of the process. The chemical functional -OH groups, CH2 stretching vibrations, C=O carbonyl group of alcohol, C=O carbonyl group of amide, P=O stretching vibrations and -CH groups were involved in the biosorption process. The XRD pattern of the A. heterophylla was found to be mostly amorphous in nature. The SEM studies showed Cd+2 biosorption on selective grains of the biosorbent. It was concluded that A. heterophylla leaf powder can be used as an effective, low-cost, and environmentally friendly biosorbent for the removal of Cd+2 from aqueous solution.

Chemical Method to Improve CO{sub 2} Flooding Sweep Efficiency for Oil Recovery Using SPI-CO{sub 2} Gels

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

Burns, Lyle D.

2009-04-14

The problem in CO{sub 2} flooding lies with its higher mobility causing low conformance or sweep efficiency. This is an issue in oilfield applications where an injected fluid or gas used to mobilize and produce the oil in a marginal field has substantially higher mobility (function of viscosity and density and relative permeability) relative to the crude oil promoting fingering and early breakthrough. Conformance is particularly critical in CO{sub 2} oilfield floods where the end result is less oil recovered and substantially higher costs related to the CO{sub 2}. The SPI-CO{sub 2} (here after called “SPI”) gel system is amore » unique silicate based gel system that offers a technically effective solution to the conformance problem with CO{sub 2} floods. This SPI gel system remains a low viscosity fluid until an external initiator (CO{sub 2}) triggers gelation. This is a clear improvement over current technologies where the gels set up as a function of time, regardless of where it is placed in the reservoir. In those current systems, the internal initiator is included in the injected fluid for water shut off applications. In this new research effort, the CO{sub 2} is an external initiator contacted after SPI gel solution placement. This concept ensures in the proper water wet reservoir environment that the SPI gel sets up in the precise high permeability path followed by the CO{sub 2}, therefore improving sweep efficiency to a greater degree than conventional systems. In addition, the final SPI product in commercial quantities is expected to be low cost over the competing systems. This Phase I research effort provided “proof of concept” that SPI gels possess strength and may be formed in a sand pack reducing the permeability to brine and CO{sub 2} flow. This SPI technology is a natural extension of prior R & D and the Phase I effort that together show a high potential for success in a Phase II follow-on project. Carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}) is a major by-product of hydrocarbon combustion for energy, chemical and fertilizer plants. For example, coal fired power plants emit large amounts of CO{sub 2} in order to produce electrical energy. Carbon dioxide sequestration is gaining attention as concerns mount over possible global climate change caused by rising emissions of greenhouse gases. Removing the CO{sub 2} from the energy generation process would make these plants more environmentally friendly. In addition, CO{sub 2} flooding is an attractive means to enhance oil and natural gas recovery. Capture and use of the CO{sub 2} from these plants for recycling into CO{sub 2} flooding of marginal reservoirs provides a “dual use” opportunity prior to final CO{sub 2} sequestration in the depleted reservoir. Under the right pressure, temperature and oil composition conditions, CO{sub 2} can act as a solvent, cleaning oil trapped in the microscopic pores of the reservoir rock. This miscible process greatly increases the recovery of crude oil from a reservoir compared to recovery normally seen by waterflooding. An Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) project that uses an industrial source of CO{sub 2} that otherwise would be vented to the atmosphere has the added environmental benefit of sequestering the greenhouse gas.« less

Anaerobic sequencing batch reactor in pilot scale for treatment of tofu industry wastewater

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rahayu, Suparni Setyowati; Purwanto, Budiyono

2015-12-01

The small industry of tofu production process releases the waste water without being processed first, and the wastewater is directly discharged into water. In this study, Anaerobic Sequencing Batch Reactor in Pilot Scale for Treatment of Tofu Industry was developed through an anaerobic process to produce biogas as one kind of environmentally friendly renewable energy which can be developed into the countryside. The purpose of this study was to examine the fundamental characteristics of organic matter elimination of industrial wastewater with small tofu effective method and utilize anaerobic active sludge with Anaerobic Sequencing Bath Reactor (ASBR) to get rural biogas as an energy source. The first factor is the amount of the active sludge concentration which functions as the decomposers of organic matter and controlling selectivity allowance to degrade organic matter. The second factor is that HRT is the average period required substrate to react with the bacteria in the Anaerobic Sequencing Bath Reactor (ASBR).The results of processing the waste of tofu production industry using ASBR reactor with active sludge additions as starter generates cumulative volume of 5814.4 mL at HRT 5 days so that in this study it is obtained the conversion 0.16 L of CH4/g COD and produce biogas containing of CH4: 81.23% and CO2: 16.12%. The wastewater treatment of tofu production using ASBR reactor is able to produce renewable energy that has economic value as well as environmentally friendly by nature.

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

Rahayu, Suparni Setyowati, E-mail: suparnirahayu@yahoo.co.id; Department of Mechanical Engineering, State Polytechnic of Semarang, Semarang Indonesia; Purwanto,, E-mail: p.purwanto@che.undip.ac.id

The small industry of tofu production process releases the waste water without being processed first, and the wastewater is directly discharged into water. In this study, Anaerobic Sequencing Batch Reactor in Pilot Scale for Treatment of Tofu Industry was developed through an anaerobic process to produce biogas as one kind of environmentally friendly renewable energy which can be developed into the countryside. The purpose of this study was to examine the fundamental characteristics of organic matter elimination of industrial wastewater with small tofu effective method and utilize anaerobic active sludge with Anaerobic Sequencing Bath Reactor (ASBR) to get rural biogasmore » as an energy source. The first factor is the amount of the active sludge concentration which functions as the decomposers of organic matter and controlling selectivity allowance to degrade organic matter. The second factor is that HRT is the average period required substrate to react with the bacteria in the Anaerobic Sequencing Bath Reactor (ASBR).The results of processing the waste of tofu production industry using ASBR reactor with active sludge additions as starter generates cumulative volume of 5814.4 mL at HRT 5 days so that in this study it is obtained the conversion 0.16 L of CH{sub 4}/g COD and produce biogas containing of CH{sub 4}: 81.23% and CO{sub 2}: 16.12%. The wastewater treatment of tofu production using ASBR reactor is able to produce renewable energy that has economic value as well as environmentally friendly by nature.« less

Blended polymer materials extractable with supercritical carbon dioxide

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cai, Mei

Supercritical carbon dioxide is drawing more and more attention because of its unique solvent properties along with being environmentally friendly. Historically most of the commercial interests of supercritical carbon dioxide extraction are in the food industry, pharmaceutical industry, environmental preservation and polymer processing. Recently attention has shifted from the extraction of relatively simple molecules to more complex systems with a much broader range of physical and chemical transformations. However the available data show that a lot of commercially valuable substances are not soluble in supercritical carbon dioxide due to their polar structures. This fact really limits the application of SCF extraction technology to much broader industrial applications. Therefore, the study of a polymer's solubility in a given supercritical fluid and its thermodynamic behavior becomes one of the most important research topics. The major objective of this dissertation is to develop a convenient and economic way to enhance the polymer's solubility in supercritical carbon dioxide. Further objective is to innovate a new process of making metal casting parts with blended polymer materials developed in this study. The key technique developed in this study to change a polymer's solubility in SCF CO2 is to thermally blend a commercially available and CO2 non-soluble polymer material with a low molecular weight CO2 soluble organic chemical that acts as a co-solute. The mixture yields a plastic material that can be completely solubilized in SCF CO2 over a range of temperatures and pressures. It also exhibits a variety of physical properties (strength, hardness, viscosity, etc.) depending on variations in the mixture ratio. The three organic chemicals investigated as CO2 soluble materials are diphenyl carbonate, naphthalene, and benzophenone. Two commercial polymers, polyethylene glycol and polystyrene, have been investigated as CO2 non-soluble materials. The chemical, physical, thermal, and phase behavior of the blended polymers studied in this dissertation includes solubility in SCF CO2, the melt viscosity, the melting temperature depression, and phase equilibrium under SCF conditions. Several hypotheses are investigated to determine which mechanism plays the major role in the extraction. Finally a novel metal casting process is discussed with the materials developed in this study. This new method utilizes an adhesive or binder film composition for the purpose of building up a casting pattern of resin-bonded aggregate particles. The pattern is then encased in a conventional rigid shell mold that is not susceptible to degradation by SCF CO2. The pattern is then disintegrated within an unaffected mold by exposure to SCF CO 2. This is an efficient and low cost method of making patterns and molds, especially for the casting of a relatively low number of parts such as in prototype evaluations.

Interviews with employed people with mobility impairments and limitations: environmental supports impacting work acquisition and satisfaction.

PubMed

Miller, Lindsey C; Gottlieb, Meghan; Morgan, Kerri A; Gray, David B

2014-01-01

Less than 40% of people with disabilities work. Many studies have detailed the barriers to employment but few have examined the work experiences of those who are employed. A description of work conditions valued by a specific segment of employed people with disabilities is provided. Videotaped interviews of 33 successfully employed people with mobility impairments and limitations (PWMIL) were transcribed and analyzed to gather their perspectives on their work social and physical environments. Finding work was facilitated by family, friends and other social networks, vocational services, and prior education. Doing volunteer work, spending time at a paid and unpaid internship, and part-time work experiences were important aspects of job acquisition. Exterior and interior physical features were or had been made accessible. Expensive assistive technologies were paid for by the employee and their health insurance. Almost all personal assistance was provided by family, friends and co-workers. Work satisfaction included having a supportive employer, supportive co-workers, and flexible worksite policies. The interviews of employed PWMIL provide prospective employers and employees information on important social and physical work features that are needed to improve the possibilities for hiring people with disabilities and facilitating their successful careers.

Teaching Ecology to Children of Preschool Education to Instill Environmentally Friendly Behaviour

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ferreira, Maria Eduarda; Cruz, Catarina; Pitarma, Rui

2016-01-01

This qualitative study analyzes the results of a pedagogical and didactic experiment which was focused on the problem of teaching environmentally-friendly behaviours to young kindergarten children. It is essential to awaken children's curiosity and desire to know more about environmental issues in their regions so that children develop their own…

Environmentally friendly and biobased lubricants

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Biobased and environmentally friendly lubricants are finding applications in many areas ranging from hydraulic fluids to grease. They offer excellent biodegradability and very low ecotoxicity; high viscosity index; improved tribological properties; lower volatility and flash points relative to petro...

Leaching Process Investigation of Secondary Aluminum Dross: The Effect of CO2 on Leaching Process of Salt Cake from Aluminum Remelting Process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Peng; Guo, Min; Zhang, Mei; Teng, Lidong; Seetharaman, Seshadri

2012-10-01

For the recycling/disposal of aluminum dross/salt cake from aluminum remelting, aqueous leaching offers an interesting economic process route. One major obstacle is the reaction between the AlN present in the dross and the aqueous phase, which can lead to the emission of NH3 gas, posing a serious environmental problem. In the current work, a leaching process using CO2-saturated water is attempted with a view to absorb the ammonia formed in situ. The current results show that at a solid-to-liquid ratio of 1:20 and 3 hours at 291 K (18 °C), the extraction of Na and K from the dross could be kept as high as 95.6 pct and 95.9 pct respectively. At the same time, with continuous CO2 bubbling, the mass of escaping NH3 gas decreased from 0.25 mg in pure water down to <0.006 mg, indicating effective absorption of ammonia by carbonized water. Furthermore, the results in the case of the leaching experiments with synthetic AlN show that the introduction of CO2 causes hindrance to the hydrolysis of AlN. The plausible mechanisms for the observed phenomena are discussed. The concept of the leaching of the salt cake by carbonated water and the consequent retention of AlN in the leach residue opens up a promising route toward an environment-friendly recycling process for the salt cake viz. recovery of the salts, utilization of CO2, and further processing of the dross residue, toward the synthesis of AlON from the leach residues.

Preparation of NiS/ZnIn2S4 as a superior photocatalyst for hydrogen evolution under visible light irradiation

PubMed Central

Wei, Liang; Chen, Yongjuan; Zhao, Jialin

2013-01-01

Summary In this study, NiS/ZnIn2S4 nanocomposites were successfully prepared via a facile two-step hydrothermal process. The as-prepared samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). Their photocatalytic performance for hydrogen evolution under visible light irradiation was also investigated. It was found that the photocatalytic hydrogen evolution activity over hexagonal ZnIn2S4 can be significantly increased by loading NiS as a co-catalyst. The formation of a good junction between ZnIn2S4 and NiS via the two step hydrothermal processes is beneficial for the directional migration of the photo-excited electrons from ZnIn2S4 to NiS. The highest photocatalytic hydrogen evolution rate (104.7 μmol/h), which is even higher than that over Pt/ZnIn2S4 nanocomposite (77.8 μmol/h), was observed over an optimum NiS loading amount of 0.5 wt %. This work demonstrates a high potential of the developing of environmental friendly, cheap noble-metal-free co-catalyst for semiconductor-based photocatalytic hydrogen evolution. PMID:24455453

Sensitive determination of estrogens in environmental waters treated with polymeric ionic liquid-based stir cake sorptive extraction and liquid chromatographic analysis.

PubMed

Chen, Lei; Mei, Meng; Huang, Xiaojia; Yuan, Dongxing

2016-05-15

A simple, sensitive and environmentally friendly method using polymeric ionic liquid-based stir cake sorptive extraction followed by high performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection (HPLC/DAD) has been developed for efficient quantification of six selected estrogens in environmental waters. To extract trace estrogens effectively, a poly (1-ally-3-vinylimidazolium chloride-co-ethylene dimethacrylate) monolithic cake was prepared and used as the sorbent of stir cake sorptive extraction (SCSE). The effects of preparation conditions of sorbent and extraction parameters of SCSE for estrogens were investigated and optimized. Under optimal conditions, the developed method showed satisfactory analytical performance for targeted analytes. Low limits of detection (S/N=3) and quantification limits (S/N=10) were achieved within the range of 0.024-0.057 µg/L and 0.08-0.19 µg/L, respectively. Good linearity of method was obtained for analytes with the correlation coefficients (R(2)) above 0.99. At the same time, satisfactory method repeatability and reproducibility was achieved in terms of intra- and inter-day precisions, respectively. Finally, the established SCSE-HPLC/DAD method was successfully applied for the determination of estrogens in different environmental water samples. Recoveries obtained for the determination of estrogens in spiked samples ranged from 71.2% to 108%, with RSDs below 10% in all cases. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Environmentally friendly chemoselective oxidation of primary aliphatic amines by using a biomimetic electrocatalytic system.

PubMed

Largeron, Martine; Chiaroni, Angèle; Fleury, Maurice-Bernard

2008-01-01

Environmentally friendly oxidation of primary aliphatic amines to imines has been successfully achieved, under metal-free conditions, by the use of diverse electrogenerated o-azaquinone mediators. High catalytic performance, together with high chemoselectivity, were observed with electron-poor o-azaquinone catalysts generated from 2-aminoresorcinol derivatives. Similar to copper amine oxidase enzymes, these mediators exhibited lower reactivity toward alpha-branched primary amines and no reactivity toward secondary amines. In the case of 3,4-aminophenol derivatives lacking a 2-hydroxy group, the generated o-azaquinone species failed to catalyze the oxidation of the amine to the corresponding imine. Further mechanistic considerations allowed a rationalization of the crucial role of the 2-hydroxy group in converting a catalytically inert species into a highly effective biomimetic catalyst.

Environmental-benefit analysis of two urban waste collection systems.

PubMed

Aranda Usón, Alfonso; Ferreira, Germán; Zambrana Vásquez, David; Zabalza Bribián, Ignacio; Llera Sastresa, Eva

2013-10-01

Sustainable transportation infrastructure and travel policies aim to optimise the use of transportation systems to achieve economic and related social and environmental goals. To this end, a novel methodology based on life cycle assessment (LCA) has been developed in this study, with the aim of quantifying, in terms of CO2 emissions equivalent, the impact associated with different alternatives of waste collection systems in different urban typologies. This new approach is focussed on saving energy and raw materials and reducing the environmental impact associated with the waste collection system in urban areas, as well as allowing the design and planning of the best available technologies and most environment-friendly management. The methodology considers a large variety of variables from the point of view of sustainable urban transport such as the location and size of the urban area, the amount of solid waste generated, the level of social awareness on waste separation procedures, the distance between houses and waste collection points and the distance from the latter to the possible recovery plants and/or landfills, taking into account the material and energy recovery ratio within an integrated waste management system. As a case study, two different waste collection systems have been evaluated with this methodology in the ecocity Valdespartera located in Zaragoza, Spain, consisting of approximately 10,000 homes: (i) a system based on traditional truck transportation and manual collection, and (ii) a stationary vacuum waste collection system. Results show that, when operating at loads close to 100%, the stationary collection system has the best environmental performance in comparison with the conventional system. In contrast, when operating at load factors around 13% the environmental benefits in terms of net CO2-eq. emissions for the stationary collection system are around 60% lower in comparison with the conventional one. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A New Emulsion Liquid Membrane Based on a Palm Oil for the Extraction of Heavy Metals

PubMed Central

Björkegren, Sanna; Fassihi Karimi, Rose; Martinelli, Anna; Jayakumar, Natesan Subramanian; Hashim, Mohd Ali

2015-01-01

The extraction efficiency of hexavalent chromium, Cr(VI), from water has been investigated using a vegetable oil based emulsion liquid membrane (ELM) technique. The main purpose of this study was to create a novel ELM formulation by choosing a more environmentally friendly and non-toxic diluent such as palm oil. The membrane phase so formulated includes the mobile carrier tri-n-octylmethylammonium chloride (TOMAC), to facilitate the metal transport, and the hydrophilic surfactant Tween 80 to facilitate the dispersion of the ELM phase in the aqueous solution. Span 80 is used as surfactant and butanol as co-surfactant. Our results demonstrate that this novel ELM formulation, using the vegetable palm oil as diluent, is useful for the removal of hexavalent chromium with an efficiency of over 99% and is thus competitive with the already existing, yet less environmentally friendly, ELM formulations. This result was achieved with an optimal concentration of 0.1 M NaOH as stripping agent and an external phase pH of 0.5. Different water qualities have also been investigated showing that the type of water (deionized, distilled, or tap water) does not significantly influence the extraction rate. PMID:25915191

Biodegradation performance of environmentally-friendly insulating oil

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Jun; He, Yan; Cai, Shengwei; Chen, Cheng; Wen, Gang; Wang, Feipeng; Fan, Fan; Wan, Chunxiang; Wu, Liya; Liu, Ruitong

2018-02-01

In this paper, biodegradation performance of rapeseed insulating oil (RDB) and FR3 insulating oil (FR3) was studied by means of ready biodegradation method which was performed with Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) 301B. For comparison, the biodegradation behaviour of 25# mineral insulating oil was also characterized with the same method. The testing results shown that the biodegradation degree of rapeseed insulating oil, FR3 insulating oil and 25# mineral insulating oil was 95.8%, 98.9% and 38.4% respectively. Following the “new chemical risk assessment guidelines” (HJ/T 154 - 2004), which illustrates the methods used to identify and assess the process safety hazards inherent. The guidelines can draw that the two vegetable insulating oils, i.e. rapeseed insulating oil and FR3 insulating oil are easily biodegradable. Therefore, the both can be classified as environmentally-friendly insulating oil. As expected, 25# mineral insulating oil is hardly biodegradable. The main reason is that 25# mineral insulating oil consists of isoalkanes, cyclanes and a few arenes, which has few unsaturated bonds. Biodegradation of rapeseed insulating oil and FR3 insulating oil also remain some difference. Biodegradation mechanism of vegetable insulating oil was revealed from the perspective of hydrolysis kinetics.

Direct synthesis of ethanol from dimethyl ether and syngas over combined H-Mordenite and Cu/ZnO catalysts.

PubMed

Li, Xingang; San, Xiaoguang; Zhang, Yi; Ichii, Takashi; Meng, Ming; Tan, Yisheng; Tsubaki, Noritatsu

2010-10-25

Ethanol was directly synthesized from dimethyl ether (DME) and syngas with the combined H-Mordenite and Cu/ZnO catalysts that were separately loaded in a dual-catalyst bed reactor. Methyl acetate (MA) was formed by DME carbonylation over the H-Mordenite catalyst. Thereafter, ethanol and methanol were produced by MA hydrogenation over the Cu/ZnO catalyst. With the reactant gas containing 1.0% DME, the optimized temperature for the reaction was at 493 K to reach 100% conversion. In the products, the yield of methanol and ethanol could reach 46.3% and 42.2%, respectively, with a small amount of MA, ethyl acetate, and CO(2). This process is environmentally friendly as the main byproduct methanol can be recycled to DME by a dehydration reaction. In contrast, for the physically mixed catalysts, the low conversion of DME and high selectivity of methanol were observed.

A bioinspired catalytic aerobic oxidative C-H functionalization of primary aliphatic amines: synthesis of 1,2-disubstituted benzimidazoles.

PubMed

Nguyen, Khac Minh Huy; Largeron, Martine

2015-09-01

Aerobic oxidative CH functionalization of primary aliphatic amines has been accomplished with a biomimetic cooperative catalytic system to furnish 1,2-disubstituted benzimidazoles that play an important role as drug discovery targets. This one-pot atom-economical multistep process, which proceeds under mild conditions, with ambient air and equimolar amounts of each coupling partner, constitutes a convenient environmentally friendly strategy to functionalize non-activated aliphatic amines that remain challenging substrates for non-enzymatic catalytic aerobic systems. © 2015 The Authors. Published by Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA. This is an open access article under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.

An aptamer-based paper microfluidic device for the colorimetric determination of cocaine.

PubMed

Wang, Ling; Musile, Giacomo; McCord, Bruce R

2018-02-01

A method utilizing paper microfluidics coupled with gold nanoparticles and two anticocaine aptamers has been developed to detect seized cocaine samples. The ready-to-use format involves the use of a paper strip that produces a color change resulting from the salt-induced aggregation of gold nanoparticles producing a visible color change indicating the presence of the drug. This format is specific for the detection of cocaine. The visual LOD for the method was 2.5 μg and the camera based LOD was 2.36 μg. The operation of the device is easy and rapid, and does not require extensive training or instrumentation. All of the materials utilized in the device are safe and environmental friendly. This device should prove a useful tool for the screening of forensic samples. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

The Solid-Phase Synthesis of an Fe-N-C Electrocatalyst for High-Power Proton-Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells.

PubMed

Liu, Qingtao; Liu, Xiaofang; Zheng, Lirong; Shui, Jianglan

2018-01-26

The environmentally friendly synthesis of highly active Fe-N-C electrocatalysts for proton-exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) is desirable but remains challenging. A simple and scalable method is presented to fabricate Fe II -doped ZIF-8, which can be further pyrolyzed into Fe-N-C with 3 wt % of Fe exclusively in Fe-N 4 active moieties. Significantly, this Fe-N-C derived acidic PEMFC exhibits an unprecedented current density of 1.65 A cm -2 at 0.6 V and the highest power density of 1.14 W cm -2 compared with previously reported NPMCs. The excellent PEMFC performance can be attributed to the densely and atomically dispersed Fe-N 4 active moieties on the small and uniform catalyst nanoparticles. © 2018 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

High-performance supercapacitors using a nanoporous current collector made from super-aligned carbon nanotubes.

PubMed

Zhou, Ruifeng; Meng, Chuizhou; Zhu, Feng; Li, Qunqing; Liu, Changhong; Fan, Shoushan; Jiang, Kaili

2010-08-27

Nanoporous current collectors for supercapacitors have been fabricated by cross-stacking super-aligned carbon nanotube (SACNT) films as a replacement for heavy conventional metallic current collectors. The CNT-film current collectors have good conductivity, extremely low density (27 microg cm(-2)), high specific surface area, excellent flexibility and good electrochemical stability. Nanosized active materials such as NiO, Co(3)O(4) or Mn(2)O(3) nanoparticles can be directly synthesized on the SACNT films by a straightforward one-step, in situ decomposition strategy that is both efficient and environmentally friendly. These composite films can be integrated into a pseudo-capacitor that does not use metallic current collectors, but nevertheless shows very good performance, including high specific capacitance (approximately 500 F g(-1), including the current collector mass), reliable electrochemical stability (<4.5% degradation in 2500 cycles) and a very high rate capability (245 F g(-1) at 155 A g(-1)).

High-performance supercapacitors using a nanoporous current collector made from super-aligned carbon nanotubes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Ruifeng; Meng, Chuizhou; Zhu, Feng; Li, Qunqing; Liu, Changhong; Fan, Shoushan; Jiang, Kaili

2010-08-01

Nanoporous current collectors for supercapacitors have been fabricated by cross-stacking super-aligned carbon nanotube (SACNT) films as a replacement for heavy conventional metallic current collectors. The CNT-film current collectors have good conductivity, extremely low density (27 µg cm - 2), high specific surface area, excellent flexibility and good electrochemical stability. Nanosized active materials such as NiO, Co3O4 or Mn2O3 nanoparticles can be directly synthesized on the SACNT films by a straightforward one-step, in situ decomposition strategy that is both efficient and environmentally friendly. These composite films can be integrated into a pseudo-capacitor that does not use metallic current collectors, but nevertheless shows very good performance, including high specific capacitance (~500 F g - 1, including the current collector mass), reliable electrochemical stability (<4.5% degradation in 2500 cycles) and a very high rate capability (245 F g - 1 at 155 A g - 1).

New spectrophotometric estimation of indomethacin capsules with niacinamide as hydrotropic solubilizing agent.

PubMed

Maheshwari, R K; Rathore, Amit; Agrawal, Archana; Gupta, Megha A

2011-07-01

Hydrotropic solubilization process involves cooperative intermolecular interaction with several balancing molecular forces, rather than either a specific complexation event or a process dominated by a medium effect, such as co-solvency or salting-in. In the present investigation, hydrotropic solution of 2 M niacinamide was employed as the solubilizing agent to solubilize the poorly water-soluble drug, indomethacin, from the capsule dosage form for spectrophotometric determination in ultraviolet region. Hydrotropic agent used did not interfere in the spectrophotometric analysis. In preliminary solubility studies, it was found that there was more than fivefold enhancement in the aqueous solubility of indomethacin (poorly water-soluble drug) in 2 M niacinamide solution as compared to its aqueous solubility at 28 ± 1°C. The proposed method is new, simple, safe, environmentally friendly, economic, accurate and cost-effective and can be successfully employed in routine analysis.

Ascorbic Acid-Assisted Eco-friendly Synthesis of NiCo2O4 Nanoparticles as an Anode Material for High-Performance Lithium-Ion Batteries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karunakaran, Gopalu; Maduraiveeran, Govindhan; Kolesnikov, Evgeny; Balasingam, Suresh Kannan; Viktorovich, Lysov Dmitry; Ilinyh, Igor; Gorshenkov, Mikhail V.; Sasidharan, Manickam; Kuznetsov, Denis; Kundu, Manab

2018-05-01

We have synthesized NiCo2O4 nanoparticles (NCO NPs) using an ascorbic acid-assisted co-precipitation method for the first time. When NCO NPs are used as an anode material for lithium-ion batteries, the cell exhibits superior lithium storage properties, such as high capacity (700 mA h g-1 after 300 cycles at 200 mA g-1), excellent rate capabilities (applied current density range 100-1200 mA g-1), and impressive cycling stability (at 1200 mA g-1 up to 650 cycles). The enhanced electrochemical properties of NCO NPs are due to the nanometer dimensions which not only offers a smooth charge-transport pathway and short diffusion paths of the lithium ions but also adequate spaces for volume expansion during Li storage. Hence, this eco-friendly synthesis approach will provide a new strategy for the synthesis of various nanostructured metal oxide compounds, for energy conversion and storage systems applications.

Large and reversible inverse magnetocaloric effect in Ni48.1Co2.9Mn35.0In14.0 metamagnetic shape memory microwire

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qu, Y. H.; Cong, D. Y.; Chen, Z.; Gui, W. Y.; Sun, X. M.; Li, S. H.; Ma, L.; Wang, Y. D.

2017-11-01

High-performance magnetocaloric materials should have a large reversible magnetocaloric effect and good heat exchange capability. Here, we developed a Ni48.1Co2.9Mn35.0In14.0 metamagnetic shape memory microwire with a large and reversible inverse magnetocaloric effect. As compared to the bulk counterpart, the microwire shows a better combination of magnetostructural transformation parameters (magnetization difference across transformation ΔM, transformation entropy change ΔStr, thermal hysteresis ΔThys, and transformation interval ΔTint) and thus greatly reduced critical field required for complete and reversible magnetic-field-induced transformation. A strong and reversible metamagnetic transition occurred in the microwire, which facilitates the achievement of large reversible magnetoresponsive effects. Consequently, a large and reversible magnetic-field-induced entropy change ΔSm of 12.8 J kg-1 K-1 under 5 T was achieved in the microwire, which is the highest value reported heretofore in Ni-Mn-based magnetic shape memory wires. Furthermore, since microwires have a high surface/volume ratio, they exhibit very good heat exchange capability. The present Ni48.1Co2.9Mn35.0In14.0 microwire shows great potential for magnetic refrigeration. This study may stimulate further development of high-performance magnetocaloric wires for high-efficiency and environmentally friendly solid-state cooling.

Reduced graphene oxide-supported TiO2 fiber bundles with mesostructures as anode materials for lithium-ion batteries.

PubMed

Zhen, Mengmeng; Zhu, Xiaohe; Zhang, Xiao; Zhou, Zhen; Liu, Lu

2015-10-05

Although the synthesis of mesoporous materials is well established, the preparation of TiO2 fiber bundles with mesostructures, highly crystalline walls, and good thermal stability on the RGO nanosheets remains a challenge. Herein, a low-cost and environmentally friendly hydrothermal route for the synthesis of RGO nanosheet-supported anatase TiO2 fiber bundles with dense mesostructures is used. These mesostructured TiO2 -RGO materials are used for investigation of Li-ion insertion properties, which show a reversible capacity of 235 mA h g(-1) at 200 mA g(-1) and 150 mA h g(-1) at 1000 mA g(-1) after 1000 cycles. The higher specific surface area of the new mesostructures and high conductive substrate (RGO nanosheets) result in excellent lithium storage performance, high-rate performance, and strong cycling stability of the TiO2 -RGO composites. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Tunable solvation effects on the size-selective fractionation of metal nanoparticles in CO2 gas-expanded solvents.

PubMed

Anand, Madhu; McLeod, M Chandler; Bell, Philip W; Roberts, Christopher B

2005-12-08

This paper presents an environmentally friendly, inexpensive, rapid, and efficient process for size-selective fractionation of polydisperse metal nanoparticle dispersions into multiple narrow size populations. The dispersibility of ligand-stabilized silver and gold nanoparticles is controlled by altering the ligand tails-solvent interaction (solvation) by the addition of carbon dioxide (CO2) gas as an antisolvent, thereby tailoring the bulk solvent strength. This is accomplished by adjusting the CO2 pressure over the liquid, resulting in a simple means to tune the nanoparticle precipitation by size. This study also details the influence of various factors on the size-separation process, such as the types of metal, ligand, and solvent, as well as the use of recursive fractionation and the time allowed for settling during each fractionation step. The pressure range required for the precipitation process is the same for both the silver and gold particles capped with dodecanethiol ligands. A change in ligand or solvent length has an effect on the interaction between the solvent and the ligand tails and therefore the pressure range required for precipitation. Stronger interactions between solvent and ligand tails require greater CO2 pressure to precipitate the particles. Temperature is another variable that impacts the dispersibility of the nanoparticles through changes in the density and the mole fraction of CO2 in the gas-expanded liquids. Recursive fractionation for a given system within a particular pressure range (solvent strength) further reduces the polydispersity of the fraction obtained within that pressure range. Specifically, this work utilizes the highly tunable solvent properties of organic/CO2 solvent mixtures to selectively size-separate dispersions of polydisperse nanoparticles (2 to 12 nm) into more monodisperse fractions (+/-2 nm). In addition to providing efficient separation of the particles, this process also allows all of the solvent and antisolvent to be recovered, thereby rendering it a green solvent process.

16 CFR 260.11 - Ozone-safe and ozone-friendly claims.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 16 Commercial Practices 1 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Ozone-safe and ozone-friendly claims. 260.11... THE USE OF ENVIRONMENTAL MARKETING CLAIMS § 260.11 Ozone-safe and ozone-friendly claims. It is... friendly to, the ozone layer or the atmosphere. Example 1: A product is labeled “ozone-friendly.” The claim...

16 CFR 260.11 - Ozone-safe and ozone-friendly claims.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 16 Commercial Practices 1 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Ozone-safe and ozone-friendly claims. 260.11... THE USE OF ENVIRONMENTAL MARKETING CLAIMS § 260.11 Ozone-safe and ozone-friendly claims. It is... friendly to, the ozone layer or the atmosphere. Example 1: A product is labeled “ozone-friendly.” The claim...

Dye sensitized solar cell based on environmental friendly eosin Y dye and Al doped titanium dioxide nano particles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kulkarni, Swati S.; Bodkhe, Gajanan A.; Shirsat, Sumedh M.; Hussaini, S. S.; Shejwal, N. N.; Shirsat, Mahendra D.

2018-03-01

Present communication deals with the development of cost effective dye sensitized solar cell (DSSC) with eco-friendly materials. Eco-friendly Eosin Y dye was used to sensitize photo anode which was fabricated using undoped and Aluminium doped titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles. Undoped and Aluminium doped TiO2 nanoparticles were synthesized by simple and cost effective sol-gel method. Aluminium doped and undoped TiO2 nanoparticles were characterized using UV-visible, FT-IR spectroscopy, x-ray Diffraction, and Scanning Electron Micrograph with EDX. The photo-voltaic activity of the cell was studied under light irradiation of 100 milliwatt cm-2. Aluminium doped TiO2 nanoparticle photo electrode exhibits more than 60% increase in cell efficiency as compared to the undoped TiO2 nanoparticle photo electrode.

Characterization of Encapsulated Corrosion Inhibitors for Environmentally Friendly Smart Coatings

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pearman, B. P.; Calle, L. M.; Zhang, X.; Li, W.; Buhrow, J. W.; Johnsey, M. N.; Montgomery, E. L.; Fitzpatrick, L.; Surma, J. M.

2015-01-01

The NASA Kennedy Space Center's Corrosion Technology Lab at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, U.S.A. has been developing multifunctional smart coatings based on the microencapsulation of environmentally friendly corrosion indicators, inhibitors and self-healing agents. This allows the incorporation of autonomous corrosion control functionalities, such as corrosion detection and inhibition as well as the self-healing of mechanical damage, into coatings. This paper presents technical details on the characterization of inhibitor-containing particles and their corrosion inhibitive effects using electrochemical and mass loss methods. Three organic environmentally friendly corrosion inhibitors were encapsulated in organic microparticles that are compatible with desired coatings. The release of the inhibitors from the microparticles in basic solution was studied. Fast release, for immediate corrosion protection, as well as long-term release for continued protection, was observed. The inhibition efficacy of the inhibitors, incorporated directly and in microparticles, on carbon steel was evaluated. Polarization curves and mass loss measurements showed that, in the case of 2MBT, its corrosion inhibition effectiveness was greater when it was delivered from microparticles.

Achieving over 9.8% Efficiency in Nonfullerene Polymer Solar Cells by Environmentally Friendly Solvent Processing.

PubMed

Wu, Yue; Zou, Yan; Yang, Hang; Li, Yaowen; Li, Hongkun; Cui, Chaohua; Li, Yongfang

2017-10-25

Nowadays, most of the solution-processed high-efficiency polymer solar cell (PSC) devices are fabricated by halogenated solvents (such as chlorobenzene, 1,2-dichlorobenzene, chloroform, etc.) which are harmful to people and the environment. Therefore, it is essential to develop high-efficiency PSC devices processed by environmentally friendly solvent processing for their industrialization. In this regard, we report a new alkylthio chain-based conjugated polymer PBDB-TS as donor material for environmentally friendly solvent-processed PSCs. PBDB-TS possesses a low-lying HOMO energy level at -5.42 eV and a good solubility in toluene and o-xylene. By using o-xylene and 1% N-methylpyrrolidone as processing solvent, following by the thermal annealing treatment for PBDB-TS:ITIC blend films, well-developed morphological features, and balanced charge transport properties are observed, leading to a high power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 9.85%, higher than that of the device cast from halogenated solvent (PCE = 9.65%). The results suggest that PBDB-TS is an attractive donor material for nonhalogen solvents-processing PSCs.

Studies of the surface reactivity of metal oxyhydroxides and sulfides with relevance to environmental chemistry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pierre-Louis, Andro-Marc

With the benefits of an ever increasing advance of industrialization around the globe come formidable environmental problems. Three environmental problems that have relevance to the research described in this thesis are the 1) buildup of atmospheric CO2 gas through the burning of fossil fuels, 2) eutrophication of aquatic systems, and 3) the acidification of environments from acid mine drainage (AMD) resulting from coal-mining activities. In particular research is presented in this thesis that investigated the surface chemistry of CO2 and phosphate (PO43-) on a suite of environmentally relevant iron oxyhydroxide materials and the chemistry of phospholipid molecules on environmentally relevant iron sulfide surfaces to suppress AMD. To develop a microscopic understanding of the surface chemistry of the different systems, an array of experimental and computational techniques were used in the research. Techniques included X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, atomic adsorption, X-ray diffraction, scanning transmission microscopy with electron dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (STEM/EDS), ion chromatography (IC), and attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform Infrared (ATR-FTIR). Results from the latter technique were interpreted with the aid of density function theory (DFT) calculations. Iron oxyhydroxides, which consisted of ferrihydrite (FeOOH), goethite (α-FeOOH), ferrimagnetic ferrihydrite (FerriFh), and aluminum-doped iron oxyhydroxide (content from 0-100 mol%) were synthesized and studied before and after exposure to gaseous CO2, CO32-, and PO43- species. FeOOH and mixed Al/Fe oxyhydroxide surfaces showed high affinities for the formation of carbonate and bicarbonate species upon exposure to gaseous CO2. Within the Al/Fe oxyhydroxide circumstance, a low Al level of incorporation in the iron oxyhydroxide structure caused a slight increase in surface area and increase in the amount of oxyanion (e.g., CO32- or PO43-) adsorption up to an Al level of 30 mol%. Significant changes were observed in the binding geometry of the adsorbed complexes on the Al/Fe mineral compared to single phase α-FeOOH, AlOOH, and FeOOH surfaces. ATR-FTIR results combined with vibrational frequency (DFT) calculations suggested the formation of multiple phosphate surface complexes via a variety of configurations such as inner-sphere/outer-sphere bidentate, monodentate depending on the solution pH and the Al mol% substituted into the Fe-oxyhydroxide. Studies investigated the adsorption of CO2 on FerriFh and compared those results to CO2 on ferrihydrite. The CO2 pressures used in these particular studies ranged from 1 to 57.8 bars. It is found that citrate bound species, resulting from the synthesis conditions used to make FerriFh, blocked surface sites for the formation of carbonate and bicarbonate species on the magnetic FerriFh and ferrihydrite oxyhydroxide minerals upon CO2(gas) exposure. A bicarbonate or bent-CO 2 like species (~1220 cm-1) formed at lower CO2 pressures (≤ 3.5 bars) but was absent at the higher pressures. Additional studies investigated the adsorption of various phospholipid molecules on pyrite, and iron sulfide with FeS2 stoichiometry. These studies were focused on suppressing the oxidative decomposition of pyrite to sulfuric acid, the root cause of AMD. Batch and column studies were employed to investigate the ability of phospholipids to reduce AMD over an extended period of time (up to 3 years). In studies that used actual coal mining refuse, which contained significant amount of pyrite, it was shown that the rate of acid production from pyrite decomposition could be reduced by as much as 70% due to the presence of surface bound phospholipid. Assembly of the phospholipid into a bilayer motif on the sulfide surface was hypothesized to form a hydrophobic barrier that kept dissolved O2 and bacteria from facilitating the oxidation of FeS2. Column experiments showed that when water at pH 7 was flowed over the coal mining waste, the effluent had a pH close to 3. In contrast when water at pH 7 was flowed over the pyrite containing waste, which was pretreated with lipid, the effluent had a pH closer to 7, and the total amount of Fe (Fe2+/Fe3+) and SO42- in the effluent waters was also reduced relative to the untreated pyrite containing waste circumstance. These studies showed that the application of phospholipid to pyrite containing coal mining waste could potentially be an environmentally friendly remediation technique.

A Novel Real-time Carbon Dioxide Analyzer for Health and Environmental Applications

PubMed Central

Zhao, Di; Miller, Dylan; Xian, Xiaojun; Tsow, Francis

2014-01-01

To be able to detect carbon dioxide (CO2) with high accuracy and fast response time is critical for many health and environmental applications. We report on a pocket-sized CO2 sensor for real-time analysis of end-tidal CO2, and environmental CO2. The sensor shows fast and reversible response to CO2 over a wide concentration range, covering the needs of both environmental and health applications. It is also immune to the presence of various interfering gases in ambient or expired air. Furthermore, the sensor has been used for real-time breath analysis, and the results are in good agreement with those from a commercial CO2 detector. PMID:24659857

A Novel Real-time Carbon Dioxide Analyzer for Health and Environmental Applications.

PubMed

Zhao, Di; Miller, Dylan; Xian, Xiaojun; Tsow, Francis; Forzani, Erica S

2014-05-01

To be able to detect carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) with high accuracy and fast response time is critical for many health and environmental applications. We report on a pocket-sized CO 2 sensor for real-time analysis of end-tidal CO 2, and environmental CO 2 . The sensor shows fast and reversible response to CO 2 over a wide concentration range, covering the needs of both environmental and health applications. It is also immune to the presence of various interfering gases in ambient or expired air. Furthermore, the sensor has been used for real-time breath analysis, and the results are in good agreement with those from a commercial CO 2 detector.

Environmentally friendly driving feedback systems research and development for heavy duty trucks.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2016-03-31

In this research project, the research team developed an environmentally-friendly driving feedback system for heavy-duty trucks, which was : adapted from a similar system previously developed for light-duty cars. The system consists of: 1) Eco-Routin...

Realizing a facile and environmental-friendly fabrication of high-performance multi-crystalline silicon solar cells by employing ZnO nanostructures and an Al2O3 passivation layer

PubMed Central

Chen, Hong-Yan; Lu, Hong-Liang; Sun, Long; Ren, Qing-Hua; Zhang, Hao; Ji, Xin-Ming; Liu, Wen-Jun; Ding, Shi-Jin; Yang, Xiao-Feng; Zhang, David Wei

2016-01-01

Nowadays, the multi-crystalline silicon (mc-Si) solar cells dominate the photovoltaic industry. However, the current acid etching method on mc-Si surface used by firms can hardly suppress the average reflectance value below 25% in the visible light spectrum. Meanwhile, the nitric acid and the hydrofluoric contained in the etching solution is both environmental unfriendly and highly toxic to human. Here, a mc-Si solar cell based on ZnO nanostructures and an Al2O3 spacer layer is demonstrated. The eco-friendly fabrication is realized by low temperature atomic layer deposition of Al2O3 layer as well as ZnO seed layer. Moreover, the ZnO nanostructures are prepared by nontoxic and low cost hydro-thermal growth process. Results show that the best passivation quality of the n+ -type mc-Si surface can be achieved by balancing the Si dangling bond saturation level and the negative charge concentration in the Al2O3 film. Moreover, the average reflectance on cell surface can be suppressed to 8.2% in 400–900 nm range by controlling the thickness of ZnO seed layer. With these two combined refinements, a maximum solar cell efficiency of 15.8% is obtained eventually. This work offer a facile way to realize the environmental friendly fabrication of high performance mc-Si solar cells. PMID:27924911

Realizing a facile and environmental-friendly fabrication of high-performance multi-crystalline silicon solar cells by employing ZnO nanostructures and an Al2O3 passivation layer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Hong-Yan; Lu, Hong-Liang; Sun, Long; Ren, Qing-Hua; Zhang, Hao; Ji, Xin-Ming; Liu, Wen-Jun; Ding, Shi-Jin; Yang, Xiao-Feng; Zhang, David Wei

2016-12-01

Nowadays, the multi-crystalline silicon (mc-Si) solar cells dominate the photovoltaic industry. However, the current acid etching method on mc-Si surface used by firms can hardly suppress the average reflectance value below 25% in the visible light spectrum. Meanwhile, the nitric acid and the hydrofluoric contained in the etching solution is both environmental unfriendly and highly toxic to human. Here, a mc-Si solar cell based on ZnO nanostructures and an Al2O3 spacer layer is demonstrated. The eco-friendly fabrication is realized by low temperature atomic layer deposition of Al2O3 layer as well as ZnO seed layer. Moreover, the ZnO nanostructures are prepared by nontoxic and low cost hydro-thermal growth process. Results show that the best passivation quality of the n+ -type mc-Si surface can be achieved by balancing the Si dangling bond saturation level and the negative charge concentration in the Al2O3 film. Moreover, the average reflectance on cell surface can be suppressed to 8.2% in 400-900 nm range by controlling the thickness of ZnO seed layer. With these two combined refinements, a maximum solar cell efficiency of 15.8% is obtained eventually. This work offer a facile way to realize the environmental friendly fabrication of high performance mc-Si solar cells.

Polytobacco, marijuana, and alcohol use patterns in college students: A latent class analysis.

PubMed

Haardörfer, Regine; Berg, Carla J; Lewis, Michael; Payne, Jackelyn; Pillai, Drishti; McDonald, Bennett; Windle, Michael

2016-08-01

Limited research has examined polysubstance use profiles among young adults focusing on the various tobacco products currently available. We examined use patterns of various tobacco products, marijuana, and alcohol using data from the baseline survey of a multiwave longitudinal study of 3418 students aged 18-25 recruited from seven U.S. college campuses. We assessed sociodemographics, individual-level factors (depression; perceptions of harm and addictiveness,), and sociocontextual factors (parental/friend use). We conducted a latent class analysis and multivariable logistic regression to examine correlates of class membership (Abstainers were referent group). Results indicated five classes: Abstainers (26.1% per past 4-month use), Alcohol only users (38.9%), Heavy polytobacco users (7.3%), Light polytobacco users (17.3%), and little cigar and cigarillo (LCC)/hookah/marijuana co-users (10.4%). The most stable was LCC/hookah/marijuana co-users (77.3% classified as such in past 30-day and 4-month timeframes), followed by Heavy polytobacco users (53.2% classified consistently). Relative to Abstainers, Heavy polytobacco users were less likely to be Black and have no friends using alcohol and perceived harm of tobacco and marijuana use lower. Light polytobacco users were older, more likely to have parents using tobacco, and less likely to have friends using tobacco. LCC/hookah/marijuana co-users were older and more likely to have parents using tobacco. Alcohol only users perceived tobacco and marijuana use to be less socially acceptable, were more likely to have parents using alcohol and friends using marijuana, but less likely to have friends using tobacco. These findings may inform substance use prevention and recovery programs by better characterizing polysubstance use patterns. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Polytobacco, marijuana, and alcohol use patterns in college students: A latent class analysis

PubMed Central

Haardörfer, Regine; Berg, Carla J.; Lewis, Michael; Payne, Jackelyn; Pillai, Drishti; McDonald, Bennett; Windle, Michael

2016-01-01

Limited research has examined polysubstance use profiles among young adults focusing on the various tobacco products currently available. We examined use patterns of various tobacco products, marijuana, and alcohol using data from the baseline survey of a multiwave longitudinal study of 3418 students aged 18-25 recruited from seven U.S. college campuses. We assessed sociodemographics, individual-level factors (depression; perceptions of harm and addictiveness,), and sociocontextual factors (parental/friend use). We conducted a latent class analysis and multivariable logistic regression to examine correlates of class membership (Abstainers were referent group). Results indicated five classes: Abstainers (26.1% per past 4-month use), Alcohol only users (38.9%), Heavy polytobacco users (7.3%), Light polytobacco users (17.3%), and little cigar and cigarillo (LCC)/hookah/marijuana co-users (10.4%). The most stable was LCC/hookah/marijuana co-users (77.3% classified as such in past 30-day and 4-month timeframes), followed by Heavy polytobacco users (53.2% classified consistently). Relative to Abstainers, Heavy polytobacco users were less likely to be Black and have no friends using alcohol and perceived harm of tobacco and marijuana use lower. Light polytobacco users were older, more likely to have parents using tobacco, and less likely to have friends using tobacco. LCC/hookah/marijuana co-users were older and more likely to have parents using tobacco. Alcohol only users perceived tobacco and marijuana use to be less socially acceptable, were more likely to have parents using alcohol and friends using marijuana, but less likely to have friends using tobacco. These findings may inform substance use prevention and recovery programs by better characterizing polysubstance use patterns. PMID:27074202

Natural gas and CO2 price variation: impact on the relative cost-efficiency of LNG and pipelines.

PubMed

Ulvestad, Marte; Overland, Indra

2012-06-01

THIS ARTICLE DEVELOPS A FORMAL MODEL FOR COMPARING THE COST STRUCTURE OF THE TWO MAIN TRANSPORT OPTIONS FOR NATURAL GAS: liquefied natural gas (LNG) and pipelines. In particular, it evaluates how variations in the prices of natural gas and greenhouse gas emissions affect the relative cost-efficiency of these two options. Natural gas is often promoted as the most environmentally friendly of all fossil fuels, and LNG as a modern and efficient way of transporting it. Some research has been carried out into the local environmental impact of LNG facilities, but almost none into aspects related to climate change. This paper concludes that at current price levels for natural gas and CO 2 emissions the distance from field to consumer and the volume of natural gas transported are the main determinants of transport costs. The pricing of natural gas and greenhouse emissions influence the relative cost-efficiency of LNG and pipeline transport, but only to a limited degree at current price levels. Because more energy is required for the LNG process (especially for fuelling the liquefaction process) than for pipelines at distances below 9100 km, LNG is more exposed to variability in the price of natural gas and greenhouse gas emissions up to this distance. If the prices of natural gas and/or greenhouse gas emission rise dramatically in the future, this will affect the choice between pipelines and LNG. Such a price increase will be favourable for pipelines relative to LNG.

Natural gas and CO2 price variation: impact on the relative cost-efficiency of LNG and pipelines

PubMed Central

Ulvestad, Marte; Overland, Indra

2012-01-01

This article develops a formal model for comparing the cost structure of the two main transport options for natural gas: liquefied natural gas (LNG) and pipelines. In particular, it evaluates how variations in the prices of natural gas and greenhouse gas emissions affect the relative cost-efficiency of these two options. Natural gas is often promoted as the most environmentally friendly of all fossil fuels, and LNG as a modern and efficient way of transporting it. Some research has been carried out into the local environmental impact of LNG facilities, but almost none into aspects related to climate change. This paper concludes that at current price levels for natural gas and CO2 emissions the distance from field to consumer and the volume of natural gas transported are the main determinants of transport costs. The pricing of natural gas and greenhouse emissions influence the relative cost-efficiency of LNG and pipeline transport, but only to a limited degree at current price levels. Because more energy is required for the LNG process (especially for fuelling the liquefaction process) than for pipelines at distances below 9100 km, LNG is more exposed to variability in the price of natural gas and greenhouse gas emissions up to this distance. If the prices of natural gas and/or greenhouse gas emission rise dramatically in the future, this will affect the choice between pipelines and LNG. Such a price increase will be favourable for pipelines relative to LNG. PMID:24683269

Hybrid LCA model for assessing the embodied environmental impacts of buildings in South Korea

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

Jang, Minho, E-mail: minmin40@hanmail.net; Hong, Taehoon, E-mail: hong7@yonsei.ac.kr; Ji, Changyoon, E-mail: chnagyoon@yonsei.ac.kr

2015-01-15

The assessment of the embodied environmental impacts of buildings can help decision-makers plan environment-friendly buildings and reduce environmental impacts. For a more comprehensive assessment of the embodied environmental impacts of buildings, a hybrid life cycle assessment model was developed in this study. The developed model can assess the embodied environmental impacts (global warming, ozone layer depletion, acidification, eutrophication, photochemical ozone creation, abiotic depletion, and human toxicity) generated directly and indirectly in the material manufacturing, transportation, and construction phases. To demonstrate the application and validity of the developed model, the environmental impacts of an elementary school building were assessed using themore » developed model and compared with the results of a previous model used in a case study. The embodied environmental impacts from the previous model were lower than those from the developed model by 4.6–25.2%. Particularly, human toxicity potential (13 kg C{sub 6}H{sub 6} eq.) calculated by the previous model was much lower (1965 kg C{sub 6}H{sub 6} eq.) than what was calculated by the developed model. The results indicated that the developed model can quantify the embodied environmental impacts of buildings more comprehensively, and can be used by decision-makers as a tool for selecting environment-friendly buildings. - Highlights: • The model was developed to assess the embodied environmental impacts of buildings. • The model evaluates GWP, ODP, AP, EP, POCP, ADP, and HTP as environmental impacts. • The model presents more comprehensive results than the previous model by 4.6–100%. • The model can present the HTP of buildings, which the previous models cannot do. • Decision-makers can use the model for selecting environment-friendly buildings.« less

An eco friendly solution to the food waste disposal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Babu, G. Reddy; Kumar, G. Madhav

2017-07-01

In recent years, waste disposal at workmen camp is one of the major problems being faced by many nations across the world. In the workmen colony at Chittapur, a series of kitchens were built for cooking purpose and a number of small canteens are also functioning. Considerable quantity of food waste is collected daily from these eateries and disposed at a faraway place. Food waste is highly degradable in nature, if not disposed properly it causes problems related to environmental pollution. Hence, it is very important to identify an environment friendly process rather than opt for land filling or any disposal method. We worked together to find a suitable eco-friendly solution for the food waste disposal at Chittapur site and suggested that biogas production through anaerobic digestion is a solution for the disposal and utilization of food waste for better purpose. This resulted in setting up a 500 kg per day food waste treatment biogas plant at Chittapur. This establishment is the first time in the construction industry at workmen camp in India. Anaerobic Digestion has been recognized as one of the best options that is available for treating food waste, as it generates two valuable end products, biogas and compost. Biogas is a mixture of CH4 and CO2 about (55:45). Biogas generated can be used for thermal applications such as cooking or for generating electricity. The digested slurry is a well stabilized organic manure and can be used as soil fertilizer. Plant design is to handle 500 kg of food waste /day. 27 kg LPG is obtained from 500kg of kitchen waste. The Value of 27 kg of LPG is Rs.2700/day. Daily 1000 litres of digested effluent was obtained. It is good organic manure with plant micro nutrients and macro nutrients. This can be used for growing plants and in agriculture. The value of manure per day is Rs.250/-. The annual revenue is Rs.10.62 lakhs and the annual expenditure is 1.8 lakhs. The net benefit is 8.82 lakhs. Payback period is 2.1 years. This process controls the environmental pollution and fulfilled the concept of reuse, reduce, recycle and renewable

Public say food regulatory policies to improve health in Western Australia are important: population survey results.

PubMed

Pollard, Christina M; Daly, Alison; Moore, Michael; Binns, Colin W

2013-10-01

To investigate the level of support among Western Australian adults for food control policies to improve diet, reduce obesity and protect the environment. Attitudes towards government food control policies on food labelling, food advertising, and the supply of environmentally friendly food data were pooled from two Nutrition Monitoring Survey Series telephone surveys of 2,147 adults aged 18-64 years collected in 2009 and 2012. Descriptive and logistic regression analyses were conducted using survey module of STATA 12. The majority of adults believe it is important that government regulates food policy options under consideration: nutrition information on food labels (97% versus 2% who think it is not important); health rating on food labels (95% versus 3%); food advertising (83% versus 11%); and the supply of environmentally friendly food (86% versus 9%). Community perception is that government control or regulation of food labelling, food advertising and the supply of environmentally friendly food is important. Curbing excess weight gain and related disease burden is a public health priority. Australian governments are considering food regulatory interventions to assist the public to improve their dietary intake. These findings should provide reassurance to government officials considering these regulatory measures. © 2013 The Authors. ANZJPH © 2013 Public Health Association of Australia.

Green Leaders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kennedy, Mike

2008-01-01

More and more people are viewing the world through green-tinted glasses, and those ideas about making school and university facilities more environmentally friendly suddenly are appearing to be prudent and responsible. Among the groups that have been advocating for environmentally friendly school design for years are the Collaborative for High…

Environmentally friendly lubricant development programs at the USDA

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The USDA is engaged in a comprehensive program to bring about the development and commercialization of environmentally friendly lubricants. A wide range of critical issues are being addresses through basic and applied research internally and in collaboration with industry and academia. The main thr...

77 FR 60971 - Lock+ Hydro Friends Fund XLII, LLC; Notice of Application Tendered for Filing With the Commission...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-10-05

... Friends Fund XLII, LLC; Notice of Application Tendered for Filing With the Commission and Soliciting... No.: 13739-002. c. Date filed: September 17, 2012. d. Applicant: Lock+ Hydro Friends Fund XLII, LLC.... 791 (a)-825(r). h. Applicant Contact: Mr. Mark R. Stover, Lock+ TM Hydro Friends Fund XLII, c/o Hydro...

77 FR 9222 - Lock+ Hydro Friends Fund XLII, LLC; Notice of Intent To File License Application, Filing of Pre...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-02-16

... Friends Fund XLII, LLC; Notice of Intent To File License Application, Filing of Pre-Application Document.... Date Filed: December 23, 2011. d. Submitted By: Lock+ Hydro Friends Fund XLII, LLC. e. Name of Project... regulations. h. Potential Applicant Contact: Mr. Mark R. Stover, Lock+\\TM\\ Hydro Friends Fund XLII, c/o Hydro...

77 FR 16216 - Lock+ Hydro Friends Fund XLVI, LLC; Notice of Intent To File License Application, Filing of Pre...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-03-20

... Friends Fund XLVI, LLC; Notice of Intent To File License Application, Filing of Pre-Application Document.... Date Filed: February 7, 2012. d. Submitted By: Lock+ Hydro Friends Fund XLVI, LLC. e. Name of Project... regulations. h. Potential Applicant Contact: Mr. Mark R. Stover, Lock+\\TM\\ Hydro Friends Fund XLVI, c/o Hydro...

Hydrogen recovery from the thermal plasma gasification of solid waste.

PubMed

Byun, Youngchul; Cho, Moohyun; Chung, Jae Woo; Namkung, Won; Lee, Hyeon Don; Jang, Sung Duk; Kim, Young-Suk; Lee, Jin-Ho; Lee, Carg-Ro; Hwang, Soon-Mo

2011-06-15

Thermal plasma gasification has been demonstrated as one of the most effective and environmentally friendly methods for solid waste treatment and energy utilization in many of studies. Therefore, the thermal plasma process of solid waste gasification (paper mill waste, 1.2 ton/day) was applied for the recovery of high purity H(2) (>99.99%). Gases emitted from a gasification furnace equipped with a nontransferred thermal plasma torch were purified using a bag-filter and wet scrubber. Thereafter, the gases, which contained syngas (CO+H(2)), were introduced into a H(2) recovery system, consisting largely of a water gas shift (WGS) unit for the conversion of CO to H(2) and a pressure swing adsorption (PSA) unit for the separation and purification of H(2). It was successfully demonstrated that the thermal plasma process of solid waste gasification, combined with the WGS and PSA, produced high purity H(2) (20 N m(3)/h (400 H(2)-Nm(3)/PMW-ton), up to 99.99%) using a plasma torch with 1.6 MWh/PMW-ton of electricity. The results presented here suggest that the thermal plasma process of solid waste gasification for the production of high purity H(2) may provide a new approach as a future energy infrastructure based on H(2). Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Experimental investigation on predictive models for motive flow calculation through ejectors for transcritical CO2 heat pumps

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boccardi, G.; Lillo, G.; Mastrullo, R.; Mauro, A. W.; Saraceno, L.; Pieve, M.; Trinchieri, R.

2017-11-01

Nowadays, air conditioning systems, especially those used in residential and office buildings, contribute largely to the energy consumptions and to the direct and indirect emissions of greenhouse gases. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is an interesting option to replace traditional HFCs in vapor compression systems, due to its environmentally friendly characteristics: zero ODP and extremely low GWP. In the case of heat pumps, the use of ejection systems for the expansion phase can contribute to recovery a fraction of the mechanical energy otherwise dissipated as friction, bringing to significant benefits in terms of performance. Currently, at the laboratory DTE-PCU-SPCT of the research center ENEA (Casaccia) in cooperation with the Industrial Engineering Department of Federico II University of Naples, a project is in progress, in order to evaluate experimentally the effect of several ejectors geometries on the global performance of a CO2 heat pump working with a transcritical cycle. As a part of this project, measurements of the motive flow mass flow rate have been carried out, in transcritical CO2 conditions. The ejector sizing is a crucial point for the balancing of components and the correct operation of the CO2 heat pump and therefore the availability of reliable calculation methods for the motive flowrate would be useful. This paper presents the results obtained by a comparison between the new experimental data and the predictions of some predictive semi-empirical correlations available in the open literature for transcritical CO2 conditions. Their predictions are analyzed as a function of the main physical parameters of the process to assess their reliability compared to the experimental data. Based on these indications and of the available experimental data, a new semi-empirical correlations and a calculation method based on the hypothesis of isentropic and choked two-phase flow are presented.

Hydroxyl-Exchanged Nanoporous Ionic Copolymer toward Low-Temperature Cycloaddition of Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide into Carbonates.

PubMed

Guo, Zengjing; Cai, Xiaochun; Xie, Jingyan; Wang, Xiaochen; Zhou, Yu; Wang, Jun

2016-05-25

An ionic copolymer catalyst with nanopores, large surface area, high ionic density, and superior basicity was prepared via the radical copolymerization of amino-functionalized ionic liquid bromide and divinylbenzene, followed with a hydroxyl exchange for removing bromonium. Evaluated in chemical fixation of CO2 with epoxides into cyclic carbonates in the absence of any solvent and basic additive, the nanoporous copolymer catalyst showed high and stable activity, superior to various control catalysts including the halogen-containing analogue. Further, high yields were obtained over a wide scope of substrates including aliphatic long carbon-chain alkyl epoxides and internal epoxide, even under atmospheric pressure and less than 100 °C for the majority of the substrates. On the basis of in situ Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) investigation and density functional theory (DFT) calculation for the reaction intermediates, we proposed a possible reaction mechanism accounting for the superior catalytic activity of the ionic copolymer. The specifically prepared ionic copolymer material of this work features highly stable, noncorrosive, and sustainable catalysis and, thus, may be a new possibility for efficient chemical fixation of CO2 since it is an environmentally friendly, metal-free solid catalyst.

Solvent-free dry powder coating process for low-cost manufacturing of LiNi1/3Mn1/3Co1/3O2 cathodes in lithium-ion batteries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Al-Shroofy, Mohanad; Zhang, Qinglin; Xu, Jiagang; Chen, Tao; Kaur, Aman Preet; Cheng, Yang-Tse

2017-06-01

We report a solvent-free dry powder coating process for making LiNi1/3Mn1/3Co1/3O2 (NMC) positive electrodes in lithium-ion batteries. This process eliminates volatile organic compound emission and reduces thermal curing time from hours to minutes. A mixture of NMC, carbon black, and poly(vinylidene difluoride) was electrostatically sprayed onto an aluminum current collector, forming a uniformly distributed electrode with controllable thickness and porosity. Charge/discharge cycling of the dry-powder-coated electrodes in lithium-ion half cells yielded a discharge specific capacity of 155 mAh g-1 and capacity retention of 80% for more than 300 cycles when the electrodes were tested between 3.0 and 4.3 V at a rate of C/5. The long-term cycling performance and durability of dry-powder coated electrodes are similar to those made by the conventional wet slurry-based method. This solvent-free dry powder coating process is a potentially lower-cost, higher-throughput, and more environmentally friendly manufacturing process compared with the conventional wet slurry-based electrode manufacturing method.

Removal of formaldehyde from air using functionalized silica supports.

PubMed

Ewlad-Ahmed, Abdunaser M; Morris, Michael A; Patwardhan, Siddharth V; Gibson, Lorraine T

2012-12-18

This paper demonstrates the use of functionalized meso-silica materials (MCM-41 or SBA-15) as adsorbents for formaldehyde (H₂CO) vapor from contaminated air. Additionally new green nanosilica (GNs) materials were prepared via a bioinspired synthesis route and were assessed for removal of H₂CO from contaminated indoor air. These exciting new materials were prepared via rapid, 15 min, environmentally friendly synthesis routes avoiding any secondary pollution. They provided an excellent platform for functionalization and extraction of H₂CO demonstrating similar performance to the conventional meso-silica materials. To the authors' knowledge this is the first reported practical application of this material type. Prior to trapping, all materials were functionalized with amino-propyl groups which led to chemisorption of H₂CO; removing it permanently from air. No retention of H₂CO was achieved with nonfunctionalized material and it was observed that best extraction performance required a dynamic adsorption setup when compared to passive application. These results demonstrate the first application of GNs as potential adsorbents and functionalized meso-silica for use in remediation of air pollution in indoor air.

Analysis of Environmental Friendly Library Based on the Satisfaction and Service Quality: study at Library “X”

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Herdiansyah, Herdis; Satriya Utama, Andre; Safruddin; Hidayat, Heri; Gema Zuliana Irawan, Angga; Immanuel Tjandra Muliawan, R.; Mutia Pratiwi, Diana

2017-10-01

One of the factor that influenced the development of science is the existence of the library, which in this case is the college libraries. Library, which is located in the college environment, aims to supply collections of literatures to support research activities as well as educational for students of the college. Conceptually, every library now starts to practice environmental principles. For example, “X” library as a central library claims to be an environmental friendly library for practicing environmental friendly management, but the X library has not inserted the satisfaction and service aspect to the users, including whether it is true that environmental friendly process is perceived by library users. Satisfaction can be seen from the comparison between expectations and reality of library users. This paper analyzes the level of library user satisfaction with library services in the campus area and the gap between expectations and reality felt by the library users. The result of the research shows that there is a disparity between the hope of library management, which is sustainable and environmentally friendly with the reality in the management of the library, so that it has not given satisfaction to the users yet. The gap value of satisfaction that has the biggest difference is in the library collection with the value of 1.57; while for the smallest gap value is in the same service to all students with a value of 0.67.

CO2calc: A User-Friendly Seawater Carbon Calculator for Windows, Mac OS X, and iOS (iPhone)

USGS Publications Warehouse

Robbins, L.L.; Hansen, M.E.; Kleypas, J.A.; Meylan, S.C.

2010-01-01

A user-friendly, stand-alone application for the calculation of carbonate system parameters was developed by the U.S. Geological Survey Florida Shelf Ecosystems Response to Climate Change Project in response to its Ocean Acidification Task. The application, by Mark Hansen and Lisa Robbins, USGS St. Petersburg, FL, Joanie Kleypas, NCAR, Boulder, CO, and Stephan Meylan, Jacobs Technology, St. Petersburg, FL, is intended as a follow-on to CO2SYS, originally developed by Lewis and Wallace (1998) and later modified for Microsoft Excel? by Denis Pierrot (Pierrot and others, 2006). Besides eliminating the need for using Microsoft Excel on the host system, CO2calc offers several improvements on CO2SYS, including: An improved graphical user interface for data entry and results Additional calculations of air-sea CO2 fluxes (for surface water calculations) The ability to tag data with sample name, comments, date, time, and latitude/longitude The ability to use the system time and date and latitude/ longitude (automatic retrieval of latitude and longitude available on iPhone? 3, 3GS, 4, and Windows? hosts with an attached National Marine Electronics Association (NMEA)-enabled GPS) The ability to process multiple files in a batch processing mode An option to save sample information, data input, and calculated results as a comma-separated value (CSV) file for use with Microsoft Excel, ArcGIS,? or other applications An option to export points with geographic coordinates as a KMZ file for viewing and editing in Google EarthTM

Investigation of gamma ray shielding efficiency and mechanical performances of concrete shields containing bismuth oxide as an environmentally friendly additive

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yao, Ya; Zhang, Xiaowen; Li, Mi; Yang, Rong; Jiang, Tianjiao; Lv, Junwen

2016-10-01

Concrete has a proven ability to attenuate gamma rays and neutrons without compromising structural property; therefore, it is widely used as the primary shielding material in many nuclear facilities. Recently, there is a tendency toward using various additives to enhance the shielding properties of these concrete mixtures. However, most of these additives being used either pose hygiene hazards or require special handling processes. It would be ideal if environmentally friendly additives were available for use. The bismuth oxide (Bi2O3) additive shows promise in various shielding applications due to its proven radiation attenuation ability and environmentally friendly nature. To the best of our knowledge, however, Bi2O3 has never been used in concrete mixtures. Therefore, for this research, we fabricated the Bi2O3-based concrete mixtures by adding Bi2O3 powder in the ordinary concrete mixture. Concrete mixtures with lead oxide (PbO) additives were used for comparison. Radiation shielding parameters like the linear attenuation coefficients (LAC) of all these concrete mixtures showing the effects of the Bi2O3 additions are presented. The mechanical performances of concrete mixtures incorporated with Bi2O3 additive were also investigated. It suggested that the concrete mixture containing 25% Bi2O3 powder (B5 in this study) provided the best shielding capacity and mechanical performance among other mixes. It has a significant potential for application as a structural concrete where radiological protection capability is required.

Biofuels Potential for Transportation Fuels in Vietnam: A Status Quo and SWOT Analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Trinh, Tu Anh; Phuong Linh Le, Thi

2018-04-01

Petroleum consumption for road transportation is well-known as the largest source of CO2 emissions. Worldwide, biofuel is becoming more attractive as substitute for crude oil owing to the increasing demand for environmentally friendly energy and its contribution towards petro dependency reduction and climate change mitigation. This paper reviews the facts and prospects of biofuel production in Vietnam. A SWOT model is adopted to study the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of biofuels production. The conclusion is drawn that with advantages of weather conditions, soil conditions, the availability of biomass and commitment from government, the country has potential to develop biobuels for domestic consumption. However, threats to production are posed by social acceptance, land use, and technology. Thus, biofuels production still need more supports from government through robust policies, regulations, and institutional framework.

Production of Magnesium by Vacuum Aluminothermic Reduction with Magnesium Aluminate Spinel as a By-Product

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Yaowu; You, Jing; Peng, Jianping; Di, Yuezhong

2016-06-01

The Pidgeon process currently accounts for 85% of the world's magnesium production. Although the Pidgeon process has been greatly improved over the past 10 years, such production still consumes much energy and material and creates much pollution. The present study investigates the process of producing magnesium by employing vacuum aluminothermic reduction and by using magnesite as material and obtaining magnesium aluminate spinel as a by-product. The results show that compared with the Pidgeon process, producing magnesium by vacuum aluminothermic reduction can save materials by as much as 50%, increase productivity up to 100%, and save energy by more than 50%. It can also reduce CO2 emission by up to 60% and realize zero discharge of waste residue. Vacuum aluminothermic reduction is a highly efficient, low-energy-consumption, and environmentally friendly method of producing magnesium.

Advances in refrigeration and heat transfer engineering

DOE PAGES

Bansal, Pradeep; Cremaschi, Prof. Lorenzo

2015-05-13

This special edition of Science and Technology for the Built Environment (STBE) presents selected high quality papers that were presented at the 15th International Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Conference held at Purdue University during July 14-17 2014. All papers went through the additional review before being finally accepted for publication in this special issue of Science and Technology and the Built Environment. Altogether 20 papers made to this special issue that cover a wide range of topics, including advancements in alternative refrigerants, heat exchangers/heat transfer, nano-fluids, systems design and optimization and modeling approaches. Although CO 2 may perhaps have beenmore » the most researched and popular refrigerant in the past decade, R32 is being seriously considered lately as an alternative and environmentally friendly refrigerant for small systems due to its low Global Warming Potential (GWP).« less

Advances in refrigeration and heat transfer engineering

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

Bansal, Pradeep; Cremaschi, Prof. Lorenzo

This special edition of Science and Technology for the Built Environment (STBE) presents selected high quality papers that were presented at the 15th International Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Conference held at Purdue University during July 14-17 2014. All papers went through the additional review before being finally accepted for publication in this special issue of Science and Technology and the Built Environment. Altogether 20 papers made to this special issue that cover a wide range of topics, including advancements in alternative refrigerants, heat exchangers/heat transfer, nano-fluids, systems design and optimization and modeling approaches. Although CO 2 may perhaps have beenmore » the most researched and popular refrigerant in the past decade, R32 is being seriously considered lately as an alternative and environmentally friendly refrigerant for small systems due to its low Global Warming Potential (GWP).« less

Environmentally Friendly Pretreatment for Department of Defense Applications

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-08-29

Develop an environmentally friendly pretreatment system for multi-material Department of Defense applications ― Free of hexavalent chromium (Cr6...Zn phosphate and chrome wash primer •Two Zirconium pretreatment variations passed the 336 hr and 1000 hr B-117 outlined per MIL-DTL-53022 or MIL

[Lead adsorption and arsenite oxidation by cobalt doped birnessite].

PubMed

Yin, Hui; Feng, Xiong-Han; Qiu, Guo-Hong; Tan, Wen-Feng; Liu, Fan

2011-07-01

In order to study the effects of transition metal ions on the physic-chemical properties of manganese dioxides as environmental friendly materials, three-dimensional nano-microsphere cobalt-doped birnessite was synthesized by reduction of potassium permanganate by mixtures of concentrated hydrochloride and cobalt (II) chloride. Powder X-ray diffraction, chemical analysis, N2 physical adsorption, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS) were used to characterize the crystal structure, chemical composition and micro-morphologies of products. In the range of molar ratios from 0.05 to 0.20, birnessite was fabricated exclusively. It was observed that cobalt incorporated into the layers of birnessite and had little effect on the crystal structure and micromorpholgy, but crystallinity decreased after cobalt doping. Both chemical analysis and XPS results showed that manganese average oxidation state decreased after cobalt doping, and the percentage of Mn3+ increased. Co(III) OOH existed mainly in the structure. With the increase of cobalt, hydroxide oxygen percentage in molar increased from 12.79% for undoped birnessite to 13.05%, 17.69% and 17.79% for doped samples respectively. Adsorption capacity for lead and oxidation of arsenite of birnessite were enhanced by cobalt doping. The maximum capacity of Pb2+ adsorption increased in the order HB (2 538 mmol/kg) < CoB5 (2798 mmol/kg) < CoB10 (2932 mmol/kg) < CoB20 (3 146 mmol/kg). Oxidation percentage of arsenite in simulated waste water by undoped birnessite was 76.5%, those of doped ones increased by 2.0%, 12.8% and 18.9% respectively. Partial of Co3+ substitution for Mn4+ results in the increase of negative charge of the layer and the content of hydroxyl group, which could account for the improved adsorption capacity of Pb2+. After substitution of manganese by cobalt, oxidation capacity of arsenite by birnessite increases likely due to the higher standard redox potential of Co3+/Co2+ than those of Mn4+/Mn3+/Mn2+. Therefore, Co-doped birnessite is more applicable for the remediation of water polluted with heavy metal ions, implying new methods of modification of manganese dioxides in practice.

Peer Substance Use Associated with the Co-Occurrence of Borderline Personality Disorder Features and Drug Use Problems in College Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pizzarello, Scott; Taylor, Jeanette

2011-01-01

Objective: To determine if the substance use patterns of one's close friends and romantic partners would be a significant contributor to the co-occurrence of borderline personality disorder (BPD) features and drug use problems above and beyond impulsivity and negative emotionality. Participants: Participants were 2,202 undergraduates who attended…

Freestanding mesoporous VN/CNT hybrid electrodes for flexible all-solid-state supercapacitors.

PubMed

Xiao, Xu; Peng, Xiang; Jin, Huanyu; Li, Tianqi; Zhang, Chengcheng; Gao, Biao; Hu, Bin; Huo, Kaifu; Zhou, Jun

2013-09-25

High-performance all-solid-state supercapacitors (SCs) are fabricated based on thin, lightweight, and flexible freestanding MVNN/CNT hybrid electrodes. The device shows a high volume capacitance of 7.9 F/cm(3) , volume energy and power density of 0.54 mWh/cm(3) and 0.4 W/cm(3) at a current density of 0.025 A/cm(3) . By being highly flexible, environmentally friendly, and easily connectable in series and parallel, the all-solid-state SCs promise potential applications in portable/wearable electronics. © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Engineering deacetoxycephalosporin C synthase as a catalyst for the bioconversion of penicillins.

PubMed

Fan, Keqiang; Lin, Baixue; Tao, Yong; Yang, Keqian

2017-05-01

7-aminodeacetoxycephalosporanic acid (7-ADCA) is a key intermediate of many clinically useful semisynthetic cephalosporins that were traditionally prepared by processes involving chemical ring expansion of penicillin G. Bioconversion of penicillins to cephalosporins using deacetoxycephalosporin C synthase (DAOCS) is an alternative and environmentally friendly process for 7-ADCA production. Arnold Demain and co-workers pioneered such a process. Later, protein engineering efforts to improve the substrate specificity and catalytic efficiency of DAOCS for penicillins have been made by many groups, and a whole cell process using Escherichia coli for bioconversion of penicillins has been developed.

Hydrogel-coated feed spacers in two-phase flow cleaning in spiral wound membrane elements: a novel platform for eco-friendly biofouling mitigation.

PubMed

Wibisono, Yusuf; Yandi, Wetra; Golabi, Mohsen; Nugraha, Roni; Cornelissen, Emile R; Kemperman, Antoine J B; Ederth, Thomas; Nijmeijer, Kitty

2015-03-15

Biofouling is still a major challenge in the application of nanofiltration and reverse osmosis membranes. Here we present a platform approach for environmentally friendly biofouling control using a combination of a hydrogel-coated feed spacer and two-phase flow cleaning. Neutral (polyHEMA-co-PEG10MA), cationic (polyDMAEMA) and anionic (polySPMA) hydrogels have been successfully grafted onto polypropylene (PP) feed spacers via plasma-mediated UV-polymerization. These coatings maintained their chemical stability after 7 days incubation in neutral (pH 7), acidic (pH 5) and basic (pH 9) environments. Anti-biofouling properties of these coatings were evaluated by Escherichia coli attachment assay and nanofiltration experiments at a TMP of 600 kPag using tap water with additional nutrients as feed and by using optical coherence tomography. Especially the anionic polySPMA-coated PP feed spacer shows reduced attachment of E. coli and biofouling in the spacer-filled narrow channels resulting in delayed biofilm growth. Employing this highly hydrophilic coating during removal of biofouling by two-phase flow cleaning also showed enhanced cleaning efficiency, feed channel pressure drop and flux recoveries. The strong hydrophilic nature and the presence of negative charge on polySPMA are most probably responsible for the improved antifouling behavior. A combination of polySPMA-coated PP feed spacers and two-phase flow cleaning therefore is promising and an environmentally friendly approach to control biofouling in NF/RO systems employing spiral-wound membrane modules. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

77 FR 64971 - Lock+ Hydro Friends Fund XLII, LLC; Notice of Waiver, in Part, of Prefiling Consultation Required...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-10-24

... Friends Fund XLII, LLC; Notice of Waiver, in Part, of Prefiling Consultation Required Under Section 4.38(C... License. b. Project No.: 13739-002. c. Date Filed: September 17, 2012. d. Applicant: Lock+ Hydro Friends.... 791(a)-825(r). h. Applicant Contact: Mr. Mark R. Stover, Lock+\\TM\\ Hydro Friends Fund XLII, c/o Hydro...

77 FR 23241 - Lock+ Hydro Friends Fund XXX, LLC; Notice of Intent To File License Application, Filing of Pre...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-04-18

... Friends Fund XXX, LLC; Notice of Intent To File License Application, Filing of Pre-Application Document.... Date Filed: February 20, 2012. d. Submitted By: Lock+ Hydro Friends Fund XXX, LLC. e. Name of Project... Applicant Contact: Mr. Mark R. Stover, Lock+\\TM\\ Hydro Friends Fund XXX, c/o Hydro Green Energy, LLC, 900...

Preparation of novel cotton fabric composites with pH controlled switchable wettability for efficient water-in-oil and oil-in-water emulsions separation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Qian; Wu, Jianning; Meng, Guihua; Wang, Yixi; Liu, Zhiyong; Guo, Xuhong

2018-06-01

The wetting materials with the ability of controllable oil/water separation have drawn more and more public attention. In this article, the novel cotton fabric (CF) with pH controlled wettability transition was designed by a simple, environmentally friendly coating copolymer/SiO2 nanoparticles, poly(heptadecafluorodecyl methacrylate- co-3-trimethoxysilylpropyl methacrylate- co-2-vinilpiridine) (PHDFDMA- co-PTMSPMA- co-P2VP). Furthermore, the structures and morphologies of coated CF were confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), NMR, GPC, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The coated CF exhibits switchable wettability between superhydrophobicity and superhydrophilicity via adjusting pH value. When the coated CF is placed in the neutral aqueous (pH = 7.0), it is superhydrophobic in the air and superoleophilic. It allows oil to go through but blocking water. However, in acidic aqueous environment (pH = 3.0), it turns superhydrophilic and underwater superoleophobic, which allows water to penetrate but blocking oil. Therefore, the coated CF could be applied to separate oil/water mixtures, ternary oil/water/water mixtures continuously and different surfactant stabilized emulsions (oil-in-water, water-in-oil) and displays the superior separation capacity for oil-water mixtures with a high efficiency of 99.8%. Moreover, the cycling tests demonstrate that the coated CF possesses excellent recyclability and durability. Such an eminent, controllable water/oil permeation feature makes coated CF could be selected as an ideal candidate for oil/water separation.

Nitrous Oxide Abatement Coupled with Biopolymer Production As a Model GHG Biorefinery for Cost-Effective Climate Change Mitigation.

PubMed

Frutos, Osvaldo D; Cortes, Irene; Cantera, Sara; Arnaiz, Esther; Lebrero, Raquel; Muñoz, Raúl

2017-06-06

N 2 O represents ∼6% of the global greenhouse gas emission inventory and the most important O 3 -depleting substance emitted in this 21st century. Despite its environmental relevance, little attention has been given to cost-effective and environmentally friendly N 2 O abatement methods. Here we examined, the potential of a bubble column (BCR) and an internal loop airlift (ALR) bioreactors of 2.3 L for the abatement of N 2 O from a nitric acid plant emission. The process was based on the biological reduction of N 2 O by Paracoccus denitrificans using methanol as a carbon/electron source. Two nitrogen limiting strategies were also tested for the coproduction of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) coupled with N 2 O reduction. High N 2 O removal efficiencies (REs) (≈87%) together with a low PHBV cell accumulation were observed in both bioreactors in excess of nitrogen. However, PHBV contents of 38-64% were recorded under N limiting conditions along with N 2 O-REs of ≈57% and ≈84% in the ALR and BCR, respectively. Fluorescence in situ hybridization analyses showed that P. denitrificans was dominant (>50%) after 6 months of experimentation. The successful abatement of N 2 O concomitant with PHBV accumulation confirmed the potential of integrating biorefinery concepts into biological gas treatment for a cost-effective GHG mitigation.

Interdisciplinary Chemistry Experiment: An Environmentally Friendly Extraction of Lycopene

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zhu, Jie; Zhang, Mingjie; Liu, Qingwei

2008-01-01

A novel experiment for the extraction of lycopene from tomato paste without the use of an organic solvent is described. The experiment employs polymer, green, and analytical chemistry. This environmentally friendly extraction is more efficient and requires less time than the traditional approach using an organic solvent. The extraction is…

Does better for the environment mean less tasty? Offering more climate-friendly meals is good for the environment and customer satisfaction.

PubMed

Visschers, Vivianne H M; Siegrist, Michael

2015-12-01

Food consumption comprises a significant portion of the total environmental impact of households. One way to reduce this impact may be to offer consumers more climate-friendly meal choices, such as when eating out. However, the environmental benefits of such an intervention will depend on not only consumers' liking of the climate-friendlier meals, but also on the perceived environmental impact. We therefore investigated the relationship between the global warming potential (GWP) of and consumers' liking of meals in two field studies in the same restaurant. Visitors to the restaurant were asked to rate the taste of the meal they had just consumed. These taste ratings were then related to the meals' GWP and number of purchases. In the second study, an intervention was tested consisting of a climate-friendly choice label and information posters. Contrary to expectations, it was found in both studies that the GWP of the meals was unrelated to the taste or the number of purchases. Offering more climate-friendly meals did not change consumer satisfaction. As expected, the introduction of the climate-friendly choice label increased the number of climate-friendly meal purchases. Therefore, offering more climate-friendly meals with a climate-friendly choice label can affect consumers' meal choices, but not their preferences or satisfaction, which is beneficial for the climate, consumers and gastronomic establishments. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Investigation of chemical and electrochemical reactions mechanisms in a direct carbon fuel cell using olive wood charcoal as sustainable fuel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Elleuch, Amal; Halouani, Kamel; Li, Yongdan

2015-05-01

Direct carbon fuel cell (DCFC) is a high temperature fuel cell using solid carbon as fuel. The use of environmentally friendly carbon material constitutes a promising option for the DCFC future. In this context, this paper focuses on the use of biomass-derived charcoal renewable fuel. A practical investigation of Tunisian olive wood charcoal (OW-C) in planar DCFCs is conducted and good power density (105 mW cm-2) and higher current density (550 mA cm-2) are obtained at 700 °C. Analytical and predictive techniques are performed to explore the relationships between fuel properties and DCFC chemical and electrochemical mechanisms. High carbon content, carbon-oxygen groups and disordered structure, are the key parameters allowing the achieved good performance. Relatively complex chain reactions are predicted to explain the gas evolution within the anode. CO, H2 and CH4 participation in the anodic reaction is proved.

Controlling the biodegradability of poly(butylene succinate-co-butylene adipate) (PBSA) by solvents used in the dried-gel process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yamazaki, Hana; Kamitabira, Saya; Maeda, Tomoki; Hotta, Atsushi

Considering an environmentally friendly material, poly(butylene succinate-co-butylene adipate)(PBSA) is one of the attractive biodegradable plastics that can be eventually degraded into H2O and CO2 by neighboring water molecules and microorganisms after the disposal. In order to expand the application of PBSA, the precise control of the biodegradability of PBSA is necessary. In this study, the dried-gel process was introduced to control the biodegradability of PBSA. The dried PBSA gels were prepared by using three different solvents (toluene, cyclohexanone, and o-dichlorobenzene). The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) micrographs revealed that the PBSA prepared by toluene had smaller spherocrystals than the other PBSA dried-gels prepared by cyclohexanone or o-dichlorobenzene. The biodegradability testing by immersing the three types of PBSA in NaOH aq. showed that the percentage of the weight loss of the PBSA produced by toluene was the highest. The results indicated that the microstructures of PBSA could be controlled by changing solvents during the gel preparations, and that the biodegradability of PBSA could therefore be efficiently modified by changing solvents. This work was supported by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (A) (No. 15H02298 to A.H.) and a Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Start-up (No.15H06586 to T.M.) from JSPS: KAKENHI\\x9D.

Study on the CO2 electric driven fixed swash plate type compressor for eco-friendly vehicles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nam, Donglim; Kim, Kitae; Lee, Jehie; Kwon, Yunki; Lee, Geonho

2017-08-01

The purpose of this study is to experiment and to performance analysis about the electric-driven fixed swash plate compressor using alternate refrigerant(R744). Comprehensive simulation model for an electric driven compressor using CO2 for eco-friendly vehicle is presented. This model consists of compression model and dynamic model. The compression model included valve dynamics, leakage, and heat transfer models. And the dynamic model included frictional loss between piston ring and cylinder wall, frictional loss between shoe and swash plate, frictional loss of bearings, and electric efficiency. Especially, because the efficiency of an electric parts(motor and inverter) in the compressor affects the loss of the compressor, the dynamo test was performed. We made the designed compressor, and tested the performance of the compressor about the variety pressure conditions. Also we compared the performance analysis result and performance test result.

Environmental characteristics comparison of Li-ion batteries and Ni-MH batteries under the uncertainty of cycle performance.

PubMed

Yu, Yajuan; Wang, Xiang; Wang, Dong; Huang, Kai; Wang, Lijing; Bao, Liying; Wu, Feng

2012-08-30

An environmental impact assessment model for secondary batteries under uncertainty is proposed, which is a combination of the life cycle assessment (LCA), Eco-indicator 99 system and Monte Carlo simulation (MCS). The LCA can describe the environmental impact mechanism of secondary batteries, whereas the cycle performance was simulated through MCS. The composite LCA-MCS model was then carried out to estimate the environmental impact of two kinds of experimental batteries. Under this kind of standard assessment system, a comparison between different batteries could be accomplished. The following results were found: (1) among the two selected batteries, the environmental impact of the Li-ion battery is lower than the nickel-metal hydride (Ni-MH) battery, especially with regards to resource consumption and (2) the lithium ion (Li-ion) battery is less sensitive to cycle uncertainty, its environmental impact fluctuations are small when compared with the selected Ni-MH battery and it is more environmentally friendly. The assessment methodology and model proposed in this paper can also be used for any other secondary batteries and they can be helpful in the development of environmentally friendly secondary batteries. Crown Copyright © 2012. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Electrolysis of metal oxides in MgCl2 based molten salts with an inert graphite anode.

PubMed

Yuan, Yating; Li, Wei; Chen, Hualin; Wang, Zhiyong; Jin, Xianbo; Chen, George Z

2016-08-15

Electrolysis of solid metal oxides has been demonstrated in MgCl2-NaCl-KCl melt at 700 °C taking the electrolysis of Ta2O5 as an example. Both the cathodic and anodic processes have been investigated using cyclic voltammetry, and potentiostatic and constant voltage electrolysis, with the cathodic products analysed by XRD and SEM and the anodic products by GC. Fast electrolysis of Ta2O5 against a graphite anode has been realized at a cell voltage of 2 V, or a total overpotential of about 400 mV. The energy consumption was about 1 kW h kgTa(-1) with a nearly 100% Ta recovery. The cathodic product was nanometer Ta powder with sizes of about 50 nm. The main anodic product was Cl2 gas, together with about 1 mol% O2 gas and trace amounts of CO. The graphite anode was found to be an excellent inert anode. These results promise an environmentally-friendly and energy efficient method for metal extraction by electrolysis of metal oxides in MgCl2 based molten salts.

Lead-free Perovskite Materials (NH4 )3 Sb2 Ix Br9-x.

PubMed

Zuo, Chuantian; Ding, Liming

2017-06-01

A family of perovskite light absorbers (NH 4 ) 3 Sb 2 I x Br 9-x (0≤x≤9) was prepared. These materials show good solubility in ethanol, a low-cost, hypotoxic, and environmentally friendly solvent. The light absorption of (NH 4 ) 3 Sb 2 I x Br 9-x films can be tuned by adjusting I and Br content. The absorption onset for (NH 4 ) 3 Sb 2 I x Br 9-x films changes from 558 nm to 453 nm as x changes from 9 to 0. (NH 4 ) 3 Sb 2 I 9 single crystals were prepared, exhibiting a hole mobility of 4.8 cm 2  V -1  s -1 and an electron mobility of 12.3 cm 2  V -1  s -1 . (NH 4 ) 3 Sb 2 I 9 solar cells gave an open-circuit voltage of 1.03 V and a power conversion efficiency of 0.51 %. © 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Microfluidic platform for studying the electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Whipple, Devin Talmage

Diminishing supplies of conventional energy sources and growing concern over greenhouse gas emissions present significant challenges to supplying the world's rapidly increasing demand for energy. The electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide has the potential to address many of these issues by providing a means of storing electricity in chemical form. Storing electrical energy as chemicals is beneficial for leveling the output of clean, but intermittent renewable energy sources such as wind and solar. Electrical energy stored as chemicals can also be used as carbon neutral fuels for portable applications allowing petroleum derived fuels in the transportation sector to be replaced by more environmentally friendly energy sources. However, to be a viable technology, the electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide needs to have both high current densities and energetic efficiencies (Chapter 1). Although many researchers have studied the electrochemical reduction of CO2 including parameters such as catalysts, electrolytes and temperature, further investigation is needed to improve the understanding of this process and optimize the performance (Chapter 2). This dissertation reports the development and validation of a microfluidic reactor for the electrochemical reduction of CO2 (Chapter 3). The design uses a flowing liquid electrolyte instead of the typical polymer electrolyte membrane. In addition to other benefits, this flowing electrolyte gives the reactor great flexibility, allowing independent analysis of each electrode and the testing of a wide variety of conditions. In this work, the microfluidic reactor has been used in the following areas: • Comparison of different metal catalysts for the reduction of CO2 to formic acid and carbon monoxide (Chapter 4). • Investigation of the effects of the electrolyte pH on the reduction of CO2 to formic acid and carbon monoxide (Chapter 5). • Study of amine based electrolytes for lowering the overpotentials for CO2 reduction and suppressing undesirable hydrogen evolution (Chapter 6). • Investigation of the effects of reaction temperature on the Faradaic efficiency and current density for CO2 reduction on several catalysts (Chapter 7). These studies demonstrate the utility of this flexible reactor design and provide increased understanding of the electrochemical reduction of CO2 and the critical parameters for optimization of this process.

Complete Lesson 2: Pesky Pests and Household Hazards

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Examines environmentally friendly ways to keep our homes and schools pest-free. Defines pests, pesticides, household hazards, chemicals, and toxic, and explores strategies for keeping common household hazards out of reach.

Solid Phase Extraction of Trace Elements in Waterand Tissue Samples on a Mini Column with Diphenylcarbazone Impregnated Nano-TiO2 and Their Determination by Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry

PubMed Central

Baytak, Sıtkı; Arslan, Zikri

2015-01-01

This study presents a simple, robust and environmentally friendly solid phase preconcentration procedure for multielement determination by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) using diphenylcarbazone (DPC) impregnated TiO2 nanopowder (n-TiO2). DPC was successfully impregnated onto n-TiO2 in colloidal solution. A number of elements, including Co(II), Cr(III), Cu(II), Fe(III), Mn(II) and Zn(II) were quantitatively preconcentrated from aqueous solutions between pH 8 and 8.5 at a flow rate of 2 mL min−1, and then eluted with 2 mL of 5% (v/v) HNO3. A mini-column packed with 0.12 g DPC impregnated n-TiO2 retained all elements quantitatively from up to 250 mL multielement solution (2.5 μg per analyte) affording an enrichment factor of 125. The limits of detection (LOD) for preconcentration of 50 mL blank solutions (n = 12) were 0.28, 0.15, 0.25, 0.22, 0.12, and 0.10 μg L−1 for Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, and Zn, respectively. The relative standard deviation (RSD) for five replicate determinations was 0.8, 3.4, 2.6, 2.2, 1.2 and 3.3% for Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn and Zn, respectively, at 5 μg L−1 level. The method was validated with analysis of Freshwater (SRM 1643e) and Lobster hepatopancreas (TORT-2) certified reference materials, and then applied to the determination of the elements from tap water and lake water samples by ICP-OES. PMID:26236403

Eco-friendly synthesis of metal dichalcogenides nanosheets and their environmental remediation potential driven by visible light

PubMed Central

Mishra, Ashish Kumar; Lakshmi, K. V.; Huang, Liping

2015-01-01

Exfoliated transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) such as WS2 and MoS2 have shown exciting potential for energy storage, catalysis and optoelectronics. So far, solution based methods for scalable production of few-layer TMDs usually involve the use of organic solvents or dangerous chemicals. Here, we report an eco-friendly method for facile synthesis of few-layer WS2 and MoS2 nanosheets using dilute aqueous solution of household detergent. Short time sonication of varying amount of bulk samples in soapy water was used to scale up the production of nanosheets. Thermal stability, optical absorption and Raman spectra of as-synthesized WS2 and MoS2 nanosheets are in close agreement with those from other synthesis techniques. Efficient photocatalytic activity of TMDs nanosheets was demonstrated by decomposing Brilliant Green dye in aqueous solution under visible light irradiation. Our study shows the great potential of TMDs nanosheets for environmental remediation by degrading toxic industrial chemicals in wastewater using sunlight. PMID:26503125

Eco-friendly synthesis of metal dichalcogenides nanosheets and their environmental remediation potential driven by visible light

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mishra, Ashish Kumar; Lakshmi, K. V.; Huang, Liping

2015-10-01

Exfoliated transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) such as WS2 and MoS2 have shown exciting potential for energy storage, catalysis and optoelectronics. So far, solution based methods for scalable production of few-layer TMDs usually involve the use of organic solvents or dangerous chemicals. Here, we report an eco-friendly method for facile synthesis of few-layer WS2 and MoS2 nanosheets using dilute aqueous solution of household detergent. Short time sonication of varying amount of bulk samples in soapy water was used to scale up the production of nanosheets. Thermal stability, optical absorption and Raman spectra of as-synthesized WS2 and MoS2 nanosheets are in close agreement with those from other synthesis techniques. Efficient photocatalytic activity of TMDs nanosheets was demonstrated by decomposing Brilliant Green dye in aqueous solution under visible light irradiation. Our study shows the great potential of TMDs nanosheets for environmental remediation by degrading toxic industrial chemicals in wastewater using sunlight.

Release Properties and Electrochemical Characterization of Encapsulated Corrosion Inhibitors for Environmentally Friendly Smart Coatings

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pearman, B. P.; Calle, L. M.; Zhang, X.; Li, W.; Buhrow, J. W.; Johnsey, M. N.; Montgomery, E. L.; Fitzpatrick, L.; Surma, J. M.

2015-01-01

The NASA Kennedy Space Center's Corrosion Technology Lab at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, U.S.A. has been developing multifunctional smart coatings based on the microencapsulation of environmentally friendly corrosion indicators, inhibitors and self-healing agents. This allows for the incorporation of autonomous corrosion control functionalities, such as corrosion detection and inhibition as well as the self-healing of mechanical damage, into coatings. This paper presents technical details on the characterization of inhibitor-containing particles and their corrosion inhibitive effects using electrochemical and mass loss methods. Three organic environmentally friendly corrosion inhibitors were encapsulated in organic microparticles that are compatible with desired coatings. The total inhibitor content and the release of one of the inhibitors from the microparticles in basic solution was measured. Particles with inhibitor contents of up 60 wt% were synthesized. Fast release, for immediate corrosion protection, as well as long-term release for continued protection, was observed. The inhibition efficacy of the inhibitors, both as the pure materials and in microparticles, on carbon steel was evaluated. Polarization curves and mass loss measurements showed that, in the case of 2MBT, its corrosion inhibition effectiveness was greater when it was delivered from microparticles.

Synthesis, characterisation and catalytic activity of 4, 5-imidazoledicarboxylate ligated Co(II) and Cd(II) metal-organic coordination complexes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gangu, Kranthi Kumar; Maddila, Suresh; Mukkamala, Saratchandra Babu; Jonnalagadda, Sreekantha B.

2017-09-01

Two mono nuclear coordination complexes, namely, [Co(4,5-Imdc)2 (H2O)2] (1) and [Cd(4,5-Imdc)2(H2O)3]·H2O (2) were constructed using Co(II) and Cd(II) metal salts with 4,5-Imidazoledicarboxylic acid (4,5-Imdc) as organic ligand. Both 1, 2 were structurally characterized by single crystal XRD and the results reveal that 1 belongs to P21/n space group with unit cell parameters [a = 5.0514(3) Å, b = 22.5786(9) Å, c = 6.5377(3) Å, β = 111.5°] whereas, 2 belongs to P21/c space group with unit cell parameters [a = 6.9116(1) Å, b = 17.4579(2) Å, c = 13.8941(2) Å, β = 97.7°]. While Co(II) in 1 exhibited a six coordination geometry with 4,5-Imdc and water molecules, Cd(II) ion in 2 showed a seven coordination with the same ligand and solvent. In both 1 and 2, the hydrogen bond interactions with mononuclear unit generated 3D-supramolecular structures. Both complexes exhibit solid state fluorescent emission at room temperature. The efficacy of both the complexes as heterogeneous catalysts was examined in the green synthesis of six pyrano[2,3,c]pyrazole derivatives with ethanol as solvent via one-pot reaction between four components, a mixture of aromatic aldehyde, malononitrile, hydrazine hydrate and dimethyl acetylenedicarboxylate. Both 1 and 2 have produced pyrano [2,3,c]pyrazoles in impressive yields (92-98%) at room temperature in short interval of times (<20 min), with no need for any chromatographic separations. With good stability, ease of preparation and recovery plus reusability up to six cycles, both 1 and 2 prove to be excellent environmental friendly catalysts for the value-added organic transformations using green principles.

Antiscalant properties of Spergularia rubra and Parietaria officinalis aqueous solutions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cheap-Charpentier, Hélène; Gelus, Dominique; Pécoul, Nathalie; Perrot, Hubert; Lédion, Jean; Horner, Olivier; Sadoun, Jonathan; Cachet, Xavier; Litaudon, Marc; Roussi, Fanny

2016-06-01

The formation of calcium carbonate in water has important implications in industry. Chemical antiscalant is usually used to control scale depositions. Plant extracts have been recently used as new green antiscalant agents, as they can be easily prepared and are environmentally friendly. In this study, stock aqueous solutions of Spergularia rubra and Parietaria officinalis, two plants used in traditional medicine to treat or prevent urolithiasis, were obtained by infusion. The antiscaling properties of these extracts towards CaCO3 formation were tested by using chronoamperometry and Fast Controlled Precipitation methods. The aqueous solution of S. rubra was further fractionated to isolate compounds of lower polarity. Their efficiency towards CaCO3 precipitation was characterized by Fast Controlled Precipitation method. The inhibiting efficiency of this fractionated solution was greater than that of the stock aqueous solution.

A fast and environment-friendly method for determination of chemical oxygen demand by using the heterogeneous Fenton-like process (H2O2/Fe(3-x)Co(x)O4 nanoparticles) as an oxidant.

PubMed

Esteves, Lorena C R; Oliveira, Thaís R O; Souza, Elias C; Bomfeti, Cleide A; Gonçalves, Andrea M; Oliveira, Luiz C A; Barbosa, Fernando; Pereira, Márcio C; Rodrigues, Jairo L

2015-04-01

An easy, fast and environment-friendly method for COD determination in water is proposed. The procedure is based on the oxidation of organic matter by the H2O2/Fe(3-x)Co(x)O4 system. The Fe(3-x)Co(x)O4 nanoparticles activate the H2O2 molecule to produce hydroxyl radicals, which are highly reactive for oxidizing organic matter in an aqueous medium. After the oxidation step, the organic matter amounts can be quantified by comparing the quantity of H2O2 consumed. Moreover, the proposed COD method has several distinct advantages, since it does not use toxic reagents and the oxidation reaction of organic matter is conducted at room temperature and atmospheric pressure. Method detection limit is 2.0 mg L(-1) with intra- and inter-day precision lower than 1% (n=5). The calibration graph is linear in the range of 2.0-50 mg L(-1) with a sample throughput of 25 samples h(-1). Data are validated based on the analysis of six contaminated river water samples by the proposed method and by using a comparative method validated and marketed by Merck, with good agreement between the results (t test, 95%). Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The synthetic activities of TiO2-moringa oleifera seed powder in the treatment of the wastewater of the coal mining industry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marhaini; Legiso; Trilestari

2018-04-01

To process the coal wastewater, the combination of chemical based technology of Advanced Oxidation Process (AOP) of a strong oxidizer using TiO2 photocatalyst and biological treatment of moringa seed powder (Moringa oleifera) is used in the composite form. AOP can be used as an alternative treatment of coal wastewater which is quite economical and environmentally friendly. The XRD results of TiO2 powder and the synthesis of TiO2 - is moringa seed powder in the form of tetragonal crystals. The degradation results of the quality of the coal wastewater using TiO2 powder reached a decrease of (TSS, Fe, Mn, Zn, Hg, Cu, Co, Cr, Al and Ni) by an average of 70% and the increase of pH value of 7 at 200 minute stirring time. The decrease of the wastewater quality using the synthesis of TiO2- moringa seed powder by using sunlight and without sunlight is detected negative (-) at 200 minute stirring time.

Pectin-based nanocomposite aerogels for potential insulated food packaging application.

PubMed

Nešić, Aleksandra; Gordić, Milan; Davidović, Sladjana; Radovanović, Željko; Nedeljković, Jovan; Smirnova, Irina; Gurikov, Pavel

2018-09-01

Environmental-friendly pectin-TiO 2 nanocomposite aerogels were prepared via sol-gel process and subsequent drying under supercritical conditions. The first step includes dissolution of pectin in water, addition of proper amount of TiO 2 colloid and crosslinking reaction induced in the presence of tert-butanol and zinc ions. Then, the gels are subjected to the solvent exchange and supercritical CO 2 drying. The influence of TiO 2 nanoparticles on the textural, mechanical, thermal and antibacterial properties of aerogels was investigated. Results indicate that in the presence of TiO 2 nanoparticles (NPs) mechanical, thermal and antimicrobial properties of pectin-based aerogels are improved in comparison to the control pectin aerogels. It should be emphasized that the thermal conductivity of pectin-based aerogels (0.022-0.025 W m -1  K -1 ) is lower than the thermal conductivity of air. Generally, the results propose that the pectin-TiO 2 nanocomposite aerogels, as bio-based material, might have potential application for the storage of temperature-sensitive food. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Distribution of heavy metals from flue gas in algal bioreactor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Napan, Katerine

Flue gas from coal-fired power plants is a major source of CO2 to the atmosphere. Microalgae can use this enriched form of CO2 as carbon source and in turn the biomass can be used to produce food, feed, fertilizer and biofuels. However, along with CO2, coal-based flue gas will inevitably introduce heavy metals, which have a high affinity to bind algal cells, could be toxic to the organisms and if transferred to the products could limit their uses. This study seeks to address the distribution and impact of heavy metals present in flue gas on microalgae production systems. To comprehend its effects, algae Scenedesmus obliquus was grown in batch reactors in a multimetal system. Ten heavy metals (Cu, Co, Zn, Pb, As, Se, Cr, Hg, Ni and Cd) were selected and were evaluated at four concentrations (1X, 2X, 5X and 10X). Results show that most heavy metals accumulated mainly in biomass and were found in very low concentrations in media. Hg was shown to be lost from the culture, with low amounts present in the biomass. An upper limit for As uptake was observed, suggesting its likelihood to build-up in the system during medium recycle. The As limited bioaccumulation was overcome by addition of sulfur to the algal medium. Heavy metal at 2X, 5X and 10X inhibited both growth and lipid production, while at the reference concentration both biomass and lipids yields were increased. Heavy metal concentrations in the medium and biomass were time dependent, and at the end of the cultivation most heavy metals in the supernatant solution complied with the recommendations for irrigation water, while biomass was below limits for cattle and poultry feed, fertilizer, plastic and paper. This research shows that bioremediation of CO2 and heavy metals in combination with energy production can be integrated, which is an environmentally friendly form of biotechnology.

Environmentally-Friendly Geopolymeric Binders Made with Silica

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Erdogan, S. T.

2013-12-01

Portland cement (PC) is the ubiquitous binding material for constructions works. It is a big contributor to global warming and climate change since its production is responsible for 5-10 % of all anthropogenic CO2 emissions. Half of this emission arises from the calcination of calcareous raw materials and half from kiln fuel burning and cement clinker grinding. Recently there have been efforts to develop alternative binders with lower greenhouse gas emissions. One such class of binders is geopolymers, formed by activating natural or waste materials with suitable alkaline or acidic solutions. These binders use natural or industrial waste raw materials with a very low CO2 footprint from grinding of the starting materials, and some from the production of the activating chemicals. The total CO2 emissions from carefully formulated mixtures can be as low as 1/10th - 1/5th of those of PC concrete mixtures with comparable properties. While use of industrial wastes as raw materials is environmentally preferable, the variability of their chemical compositions over time renders their use difficult. Use of natural materials depletes resources but can have more consistent properties and can be more easily accepted. Silica sand is a natural material containing very high amounts of quartz. Silica fume is a very fine waste from silicon metal production that is mostly non-crystalline silica. This study describes the use of sodium hydroxide and sodium silicate solutions to yield mortars with mechanical properties comparable to those of portland cement mortars and with better chemical and thermal durability. Strength gain is slower than with PC mixtures at room temperature but adequate ultimate strength can be achieved with curing at slightly elevated temperatures in less than 24 h. The consistency of the chemical compositions of these materials and their abundance in several large, developing countries makes silica attractive for producing sustainable concretes with reduced carbon footprints.

A Rapid Process for Fabricating Gas Sensors

PubMed Central

Hsiao, Chun-Ching; Luo, Li-Siang

2014-01-01

Zinc oxide (ZnO) is a low-toxicity and environmentally-friendly material applied on devices, sensors or actuators for “green” usage. A porous ZnO film deposited by a rapid process of aerosol deposition (AD) was employed as the gas-sensitive material in a CO gas sensor to reduce both manufacturing cost and time, and to further extend the AD application for a large-scale production. The relative resistance change (ΔR/R) of the ZnO gas sensor was used for gas measurement. The fabricated ZnO gas sensors were measured with operating temperatures ranging from 110 °C to 180 °C, and CO concentrations ranging from 100 ppm to 1000 ppm. The sensitivity and the response time presented good performance at increasing operating temperatures and CO concentrations. AD was successfully for applied for making ZnO gas sensors with great potential for achieving high deposition rates at low deposition temperatures, large-scale production and low cost. PMID:25010696

Engineering Yarrowia lipolytica as a platform for synthesis of drop-in transportation fuels and oleochemicals

PubMed Central

Xu, Peng; Qiao, Kangjian; Ahn, Woo Suk; Stephanopoulos, Gregory

2016-01-01

Harnessing lipogenic pathways and rewiring acyl-CoA and acyl-ACP (acyl carrier protein) metabolism in Yarrowia lipolytica hold great potential for cost-efficient production of diesel, gasoline-like fuels, and oleochemicals. Here we assessed various pathway engineering strategies in Y. lipolytica toward developing a yeast biorefinery platform for sustainable production of fuel-like molecules and oleochemicals. Specifically, acyl-CoA/acyl-ACP processing enzymes were targeted to the cytoplasm, peroxisome, or endoplasmic reticulum to generate fatty acid ethyl esters and fatty alkanes with tailored chain length. Activation of endogenous free fatty acids and the subsequent reduction of fatty acyl-CoAs enabled the efficient synthesis of fatty alcohols. Engineering a hybrid fatty acid synthase shifted the free fatty acids to a medium chain-length scale. Manipulation of alternative cytosolic acetyl-CoA pathways partially decoupled lipogenesis from nitrogen starvation and unleashed the lipogenic potential of Y. lipolytica. Taken together, the strategies reported here represent promising steps to develop a yeast biorefinery platform that potentially upgrades low-value carbons to high-value fuels and oleochemicals in a sustainable and environmentally friendly manner. PMID:27621436

Water soluble nano-scale transient material germanium oxide for zero toxic waste based environmentally benign nano-manufacturing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Almuslem, A. S.; Hanna, A. N.; Yapici, T.; Wehbe, N.; Diallo, E. M.; Kutbee, A. T.; Bahabry, R. R.; Hussain, M. M.

2017-02-01

In the recent past, with the advent of transient electronics for mostly implantable and secured electronic applications, the whole field effect transistor structure has been dissolved in a variety of chemicals. Here, we show simple water soluble nano-scale (sub-10 nm) germanium oxide (GeO2) as the dissolvable component to remove the functional structures of metal oxide semiconductor devices and then reuse the expensive germanium substrate again for functional device fabrication. This way, in addition to transiency, we also show an environmentally friendly manufacturing process for a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology. Every year, trillions of complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) electronics are manufactured and billions are disposed, which extend the harmful impact to our environment. Therefore, this is a key study to show a pragmatic approach for water soluble high performance electronics for environmentally friendly manufacturing and bioresorbable electronic applications.

Facile synthesis of Co(OH)2/Al(OH)3 nanosheets with improved electrochemical properties for asymmetric supercapacitor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Cuimei; Ren, Fang; Cao, Yang; Xue, Xiangxin; Duan, Xiaoyue; Wang, Hairui; Chang, Limin

2018-01-01

Sheet-like Co(OH)2/Al(OH)3 or Co(OH)2 nanomaterial has been synthesized on conducting carbon fiber paper (CFP) by a facile one-step electrochemical deposition. The binder-free Co(OH)2/Al(OH)3/CFP displays an improved electrical conductivity, electrochemical activity and material utilization than solitary Co(OH)2, therefore Co(OH)2/Al(OH)3 nanomaterial exhibits improved electrochemical properties (a maximum capacitance of 1006 Fg-1 at 2 Ag-1, with 77% retention even at a high current density of 32 Ag-1, and more than 87% of the capacitance retention after 10000 cycles at 32 Ag-1) in comparison to that of the Co(OH)2/CFP (709 Fg-1, 65%, 79%). In addition, an asymmetric supercapacitor (ASC) fabricated with Co(OH)2/Al(OH)3/CFP positive electrode and AC/CFP negative electrode demonstrates ultrahigh specific capacitance (75.8 Fg-1) and potential window (1.7 V). These encouraging results make these low-cost and eco-friendly materials promising for high-performance energy storage application.

Numerical simulation of mechanical properties tests of tungsten mud waste geopolymer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Paszek, Natalia; Krystek, Małgorzata

2018-03-01

Geopolymers are believed to become in the future an environmental friendly alternative for the concrete. The low CO2 emission during the production process and the possibility of ecological management of the industrial wastes are mentioned as main advantages of geopolymers. The main drawback, causing problems with application of geopolymers as a building material is the lack of the theoretical material model. Indicated problem is being solved now by the group of scientists from the Silesian University of Technology. The series of laboratory tests are carried out within the European research project REMINE. The paper introduces the numerical analyses of tungsten mud waste geopolymer samples which have been performed in the Atena software on the basis of the laboratory tests. Numerical models of bended and compressed samples of different shapes are presented in the paper. The results obtained in Atena software were compared with results obtained in Abaqus and Mafem3D software.

How light, temperature, and measurement and growth [CO2] interactively control isoprene emission in hybrid aspen

PubMed Central

Niinemets, Ülo; Sun, Zhihong

2015-01-01

Plant isoprene emissions have been modelled assuming independent controls by light, temperature and atmospheric [CO2]. However, the isoprene emission rate is ultimately controlled by the pool size of its immediate substrate, dimethylallyl diphosphate (DMADP), and isoprene synthase activity, implying that the environmental controls might interact. In addition, acclimation to growth [CO2] can shift the share of the control by DMADP pool size and isoprene synthase activity, and thereby alter the environmental sensitivity. Environmental controls of isoprene emission were studied in hybrid aspen (Populus tremula × Populus tremuloides) saplings acclimated either to ambient [CO2] of 380 μmol mol–1 or elevated [CO2] of 780 μmol mol–1. The data demonstrated strong interactive effects of environmental drivers and growth [CO2] on isoprene emissions. Light enhancement of isoprene emission was the greatest at intermediate temperatures and was greater in elevated-[CO2]-grown plants, indicating greater enhancement of the DMADP supply. The optimum temperature for isoprene emission was higher at lower light, suggesting activation of alternative DMADP sinks at higher light. In addition, [CO2] inhibition of isoprene emission was lost at a higher temperature with particularly strong effects in elevated-[CO2]-grown plants. Nevertheless, DMADP pool size was still predicted to more strongly control isoprene emission at higher temperatures in elevated-[CO2]-grown plants. We argue that interactive environmental controls and acclimation to growth [CO2] should be incorporated in future isoprene emission models at the level of DMADP pool size. PMID:25399006

Preparation of micro-fibrillated cellulose from sorghum fibre through alkalization and acetylation treatments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ismojo; Simanulang, P. H.; Zulfia, A.; Chalid, M.

2017-07-01

Recently, the pollution due to non-degradable materials including plastics, has led to needs on the development of environmental-friendly material. Owing to its biodegradability nature, sorghum fibres are interesting to be modified with petro-polymer as a composite. These materials are also expected to reduce the impact of environmental pollution. Surface modification of sorghum through chemical treatment was aimed to enhanced crystalline part of micro-fibrillated cellulose, thus increased compatibility to petro-polymer, as mean to improve composite properties. The experiments were conducted by alkalization process (10% NaOH) followed by acetylation with acetic acid glacial and acetic anhydride (CH3CO2)2 with additions of 1 and 2 drops of 25% H2SO4. Fourier transform infra-red (FTIR) spectroscopy, field-emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM) and x-ray diffraction (XRD) were used to characterize the treated and untreated fibres. The results of investigation showed that the chemical treatments have effectively produced MFC with the smallest fibre size around 5.5 - 6.5 microns and reduced lignin and hemicellulose where the highest crystalline part up to 80.64% was obtained through acetate acid treatment of 17.4 M, followed acetic anhydride with 1 drop of H2SO4 addition. Based on the current results, it is promising that the synthesized composites can be improved for their compatibilities.

Sludge thermal oxidation processes: mineral recycling, energy impact, and greenhouse effect gases release.

PubMed

Guibelin, E

2004-01-01

Different treatment routes have been studied for a mixed sludge: the conventional agricultural use is compared with the thermal oxidation processes, including incineration (in gaseous phase) and wet air oxidation (in liquid phase). The interest of a sludge digestion prior to the final treatment has been also considered according to the two major criteria, which are the fossil energy utilisation and the greenhouse effect gases (CO2, CH4, N2O) release. Thermal energy has to be recovered on thermal processes to make these processes environmentally friendly, otherwise their main interest is to extract or destroy micropollutants and pathogens from the carbon cycle. In case of continuous energy recovery, incineration can produce more energy than it consumes. Digestion is especially interesting for agriculture: according to these two schemes, the energy final balance can also be in excess. As to wet air oxidation, it is probably one of the best ways to minimize greenhouse effect gases emission.

Self-cleaning geopolymer concrete - A review

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Norsaffirah Zailan, Siti; Mahmed, Norsuria; Bakri Abdullah, Mohd Mustafa Al; Sandu, Andrei Victor

2016-06-01

Concrete is the most widely used construction materials for building technology. However, cement production releases high amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) to the atmosphere that leads to increasing the global warming. Thus, an alternative, environmental friendly construction material such as geopolymer concrete has been developed. Geopolymer concrete applies greener alternative binder, which is an innovative construction material that replaces the Portland cement. This technology introduced nano-particles such as nanoclay into the cement paste in order to improve their mechanical properties. The concrete materials also have been developed to be functioned as self-cleaning construction materials. The self-cleaning properties of the concrete are induced by introducing the photocatalytic materials such as titania (TiO2) and zinc oxide (ZnO). Self-cleaning concrete that contains those photocatalysts will be energized by ultraviolet (UV) radiation and accelerates the decomposition of organic particulates. Thus, the cleanliness of the building surfaces can be maintained and the air surrounding air pollution can be reduced. This paper briefly reviews about self-cleaning concrete.

Plasmonic enhancement in BiVO4 photonic crystals for efficient water splitting.

PubMed

Zhang, Liwu; Lin, Chia-Yu; Valev, Ventsislav K; Reisner, Erwin; Steiner, Ullrich; Baumberg, Jeremy J

2014-10-15

Photo-electrochemical water splitting is a very promising and environmentally friendly route for the conversion of solar energy into hydrogen. However, the solar-to-H2 conversion efficiency is still very low due to rapid bulk recombination of charge carriers. Here, a photonic nano-architecture is developed to improve charge carrier generation and separation by manipulating and confining light absorption in a visible-light-active photoanode constructed from BiVO4 photonic crystal and plasmonic nanostructures. Synergistic effects of photonic crystal stop bands and plasmonic absorption are observed to operate in this photonic nanostructure. Within the scaffold of an inverse opal photonic crystal, the surface plasmon resonance is significantly enhanced by the photonic Bragg resonance. Nanophotonic photoanodes show AM 1.5 photocurrent densities of 3.1 ± 0.1 mA cm(-2) at 1.23 V versus RHE, which is among the highest for oxide-based photoanodes and over 4 times higher than the unstructured planar photoanode. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Multiwell capillarity-based microfluidic device for the study of 3D tumour tissue-2D endothelium interactions and drug screening in co-culture models.

PubMed

Virumbrales-Muñoz, María; Ayuso, José María; Olave, Marta; Monge, Rosa; de Miguel, Diego; Martínez-Lostao, Luis; Le Gac, Séverine; Doblare, Manuel; Ochoa, Ignacio; Fernandez, Luis J

2017-09-20

The tumour microenvironment is very complex, and essential in tumour development and drug resistance. The endothelium is critical in the tumour microenvironment: it provides nutrients and oxygen to the tumour and is essential for systemic drug delivery. Therefore, we report a simple, user-friendly microfluidic device for co-culture of a 3D breast tumour model and a 2D endothelium model for cross-talk and drug delivery studies. First, we demonstrated the endothelium was functional, whereas the tumour model exhibited in vivo features, e.g., oxygen gradients and preferential proliferation of cells with better access to nutrients and oxygen. Next, we observed the endothelium structure lost its integrity in the co-culture. Following this, we evaluated two drug formulations of TRAIL (TNF-related apoptosis inducing ligand): soluble and anchored to a LUV (large unilamellar vesicle). Both diffused through the endothelium, LUV-TRAIL being more efficient in killing tumour cells, showing no effect on the integrity of endothelium. Overall, we have developed a simple capillary force-based microfluidic device for 2D and 3D cell co-cultures. Our device allows high-throughput approaches, patterning different cell types and generating gradients without specialised equipment. We anticipate this microfluidic device will facilitate drug screening in a relevant microenvironment thanks to its simple, effective and user-friendly operation.

Superior Cycle Stability Performance of Quasi-Cuboidal CoV2O6 Microstructures as Electrode Material for Supercapacitors.

PubMed

Wang, Yucheng; Chai, Hui; Dong, Hong; Xu, Jiayu; Jia, Dianzeng; Zhou, Wanyong

2016-10-12

In this study, a rapid, facile, and environment-friendly microwave-assisted method followed by annealing for synthesizing the quasi-cuboidal CoV 2 O 6 is developed. The as-prepared samples manifest high supercapacitor properties with a specific capacitance of 223 F g -1 , good rate capability, and superior cycle stability, retaining 123.3% capacitance when the number of cycles reaches 15,000 after determined by electrochemical tests. More importantly, the quasi-cuboidal CoV 2 O 6 for the first time is introduced into the supercapacitor as a kind of electrode material. The superior electrochemical performance of the quasi-cuboidal CoV 2 O 6 will render the metal vanadium oxides as new and attractive active material for promising application in supercapacitors.

WEB-GIS Decision Support System for CO2 storage

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gaitanaru, Dragos; Leonard, Anghel; Radu Gogu, Constantin; Le Guen, Yvi; Scradeanu, Daniel; Pagnejer, Mihaela

2013-04-01

Environmental decision support systems (DSS) paradigm evolves and changes as more knowledge and technology become available to the environmental community. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) can be used to extract, assess and disseminate some types of information, which are otherwise difficult to access by traditional methods. In the same time, with the help of the Internet and accompanying tools, creating and publishing online interactive maps has become easier and rich with options. The Decision Support System (MDSS) developed for the MUSTANG (A MUltiple Space and Time scale Approach for the quaNtification of deep saline formations for CO2 storaGe) project is a user friendly web based application that uses the GIS capabilities. MDSS can be exploited by the experts for CO2 injection and storage in deep saline aquifers. The main objective of the MDSS is to help the experts to take decisions based large structured types of data and information. In order to achieve this objective the MDSS has a geospatial objected-orientated database structure for a wide variety of data and information. The entire application is based on several principles leading to a series of capabilities and specific characteristics: (i) Open-Source - the entire platform (MDSS) is based on open-source technologies - (1) database engine, (2) application server, (3) geospatial server, (4) user interfaces, (5) add-ons, etc. (ii) Multiple database connections - MDSS is capable to connect to different databases that are located on different server machines. (iii)Desktop user experience - MDSS architecture and design follows the structure of a desktop software. (iv)Communication - the server side and the desktop are bound together by series functions that allows the user to upload, use, modify and download data within the application. The architecture of the system involves one database and a modular application composed by: (1) a visualization module, (2) an analysis module, (3) a guidelines module, and (4) a risk assessment module. The Database component is build by using the PostgreSQL and PostGIS open source technology. The visualization module allows the user to view data of CO2 injection sites in different ways: (1) geospatial visualization, (2) table view, (3) 3D visualization. The analysis module will allow the user to perform certain analysis like Injectivity, Containment and Capacity analysis. The Risk Assessment module focus on the site risk matrix approach. The Guidelines module contains the methodologies of CO2 injection and storage into deep saline aquifers guidelines.

A feasibility study of municipal solid waste incineration fly ash utilisation in Estonia.

PubMed

Berber, Hakan; Frey, Ruedi; Voronova, Viktoria; Koroljova, Arina

2017-09-01

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the alternative environmental management options for the utilisation of municipal solid waste (MSW) incineration fly ash (FA), which is generated at Iru Power Plant where MSW is incinerated in Estonia. To determine sustainable and economically feasible environmental management options for MSW incineration FA in Estonia, CO 2 sequestration with a further carbonation process was examined. A partial Cost & Benefit Analysis has been conducted to compare the carbonation process to the current situation. Two carbonation options were developed. Option 1 is to use carbonated FA in any other processes based on the waste-to-product principle. Option 2 is to send carbonated FA to the non-hazardous landfill in Tallinn, Estonia. Important parameters, such as Net Present Value (NPV), Internal Rate of Return (IRR), Benefit-Cost Ratio (BCR) and Break Even Point (BEP), have been calculated for carbonation options and the current case. In addition, a sensitivity analysis has been conducted to examine its robustness. The results showed that the best option is carbonation Option 1 with NPV of 9,209,662 EUR, IRR of 43%, BCR of 2.63 and BEP between 2018 and 2019. Both Options 1 and 2 constitute more sustainable and environmentally friendly management options compared to the current situation. It can be concluded that this preliminary feasibility study showed that running a carbonation plant may be profitable and sustainable for Estonia. Currently, there is no treatment technology for MSW incineration FA in Estonia and FA is sent to a neighbouring country for further utilisation. This is the first study to demonstrate FA management options with economic and environmental benefits.

Environmentally friendly ionic liquid-in-water microemulsions for extraction of hydrophilic and lipophilic components from Flos Chrysanthemi.

PubMed

Chen, Jue; Cao, Jun; Gao, Wen; Qi, Lian-Wen; Li, Ping

2013-10-21

Ionic liquids (ILs) have numerous chemical applications as environmentally green solvents that are extending into microemulsion applications. In this work, a novel benign IL-in-water microemulsion system modified by an IL surfactant has been proposed for simultaneous extraction of hydrophilic and lipophilic constituents from Flos Chrysanthemi (Chrysanthemum morifolium). Constituents were analyzed by rapid-resolution liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry. A mixture-design approach was used to optimize the IL surfactant and the IL oil phase in the microemulsion system. Microemulsions consisting of 6.0% 1-dodecyl-3-methylimidazolium hydrogen sulfate, 0.1% 1-vinyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate and 93.9% water offered the acceptable extract efficiency that are comparable to or even better than conventional volatile organic solvents. This assay was fully validated with respect to the linearity of response (r(2) > 0.999 over two orders of magnitude), precision (intra-RSD < 0.49 and inter-day RSD < 2.21), and accuracy (recoveries ranging from 93.73% to 101.84%). The proposed IL-in-water microemulsion method provided an environmentally friendly alternative for efficient extraction of compounds from Flos Chrysanthemi and could be extended to complex environmental and pharmaceutical samples.

Synthesis of γ-Valerolactone from Carbohydrates and its Applications.

PubMed

Zhang, Zehui

2016-01-01

γ-Valerolactone (GVL) is a valuable chemical intermediate that can be obtained by catalytic reduction of levulinic acid (LA) or alkyl levulinates (AL). There are many reports on the synthesis of GVL from LA or AL. However, the demand for the large-scale synthesis of GVL requires more environmentally friendly and cost-effective production processes. This article focuses on the recent advance in the synthesis of GVL from carbohydrates or lignocellulosic biomass. In addition, application of GVL as the reaction solvents, fuel additives, and as precursor for the synthesis of jet fuel and polymer monomers is also discussed. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Optimization of Chlorella vulgaris and bioflocculant-producing bacteria co-culture: enhancing microalgae harvesting and lipid content.

PubMed

Wang, Y; Yang, Y; Ma, F; Xuan, L; Xu, Y; Huo, H; Zhou, D; Dong, S

2015-05-01

Microalgae are a sustainable bioresource, and the biofuel they produce is widely considered to be an alternative to limited natural fuel resources. However, microalgae harvesting is a bottleneck in the development of technology. Axenic Chlorella vulgaris microalgae exhibit poor harvesting, as expressed by a flocculation efficiency of 0·2%. This work optimized the co-culture conditions of C. vulgaris and bioflocculant-producing bacteria in synthetic wastewater using response surface methodology (RSM), thus aiming to enhance C. vulgaris harvesting and lipid content. Three significant process variables- inoculation ratio of bacteria and microalgae, initial glucose concentration, and co-culture time- were proposed in the RSM model. F-values (3·98/8·46) and R(2) values (0·7817/0·8711) both indicated a reasonable prediction by the RSM model. The results showed that C. vulgaris harvesting efficiency reached 45·0-50·0%, and the lipid content was over 21·0% when co-cultured with bioflocculant-producing bacteria under the optimized culture conditions of inoculation ratio of bacteria and microalgae of 0·20-0·25, initial glucose concentration of <1·5 kg m(-3) and co-culture time of 9-14 days. This work provided new insights into microalgae harvesting and cost-effective microalgal bioproducts, and confirmed the promising prospect of introducing bioflocculant-producing bacteria into microalgae bioenergy production. This work optimized the co-culture conditions of microalgae (C. vulgaris) and bioflocculant-producing bacteria (F2, Rhizobium radiobacter) in synthetic wastewater using response surface methodology, aiming to enhance C. vulgaris harvesting and lipid produced content. Bioflocculant-producing microbes are environmentally friendly functional materials. They avoid the negative effects of traditional chemical flocculants. This work provided new insights into microalgae harvesting and cost-effective production of microalgal bioproducts, and confirmed the promising prospect of introducing bioflocculant-producing bacteria into microalgae bioenergy production. © 2015 The Society for Applied Microbiology.

Hydrogen storage and delivery: the carbon dioxide - formic acid couple.

PubMed

Laurenczy, Gábor

2011-01-01

Carbon dioxide and the carbonates, the available natural C1 sources, can be easily hydrogenated into formic acid and formates in water; the rate of this reduction strongly depends on the pH of the solution. This reaction is catalysed by ruthenium(II) pre-catalyst complexes with a large variety of water-soluble phosphine ligands; high conversions and turnover numbers have been realised. Although ruthenium(II) is predominant in these reactions, the iron(II) - tris[(2-diphenylphosphino)-ethyl]phosphine (PP3) complex is also active, showing a new perspective to use abundant and inexpensive iron-based compounds in the CO2 reduction. In the catalytic hydrogenation cycles the in situ formed metal hydride complexes play a key role, their structures with several other intermediates have been proven by multinuclear NMR spectroscopy. In the other hand safe and convenient hydrogen storage and supply is the fundamental question for the further development of the hydrogen economy; and carbon dioxide has been recognised to be a viable H2 vector. Formic acid--containing 4.4 weight % of H2, that is 53 g hydrogen per litre--is suitable for H2 storage; we have shown that in aqueous solutions it can be selectively decomposed into CO-free (CO < 10 ppm) CO2 and H2. The reaction takes place under mild experimental conditions and it is able to generate high pressure H2 (up to 600 bar). The cleavage of HCOOH is catalysed by several hydrophilic Ru(II) phosphine complexes (meta-trisulfonated triphenylphosphine, mTPPTS, being the most efficient one), either in homogeneous systems or as immobilised catalysts. We have also shown that the iron(II)--hydrido tris[(2-diphenylphosphino)ethyl]phosphine complex catalyses with an exceptionally high rate and efficiency (turnover frequency, TOF = 9425 h(-1)mol(-1); turnover number, TON = 92400) the formic acid cleavage, in environmentally friendly propylene carbonate solution, opening the way to use cheap, non-noble metal based catalysts for this reaction, too.

Eco-friendly synthesis of TiO2, Au and Pt doped TiO2 nanoparticles for dye sensitized solar cell applications and evaluation of toxicity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gopinath, K.; Kumaraguru, S.; Bhakyaraj, K.; Thirumal, S.; Arumugam, A.

2016-04-01

Driven by the demand of pure TiO2, Au and Pt doped TiO2 NPs were successfully synthesized using Terminalia arjuna bark extract. The eco-friendly synthesized NPs were characterized by UV-Vis-DRS, ATR-FT-IR, PL, XRD, Raman, SEM with EDX and TEM analysis. The synthesized NPs were investigation for dye sensitized solar cell applications. UV-Vis-Diffused Reflectance Spectra clearly showed that the expected TiO2 inter band absorption below 306 nm, incorporation of gold shows surface plasma resonant (SPR) near 555 nm and platinum incorporated TiO2 NPs shows absorbance at 460 nm. The energy conversion efficiency for Au doped TiO2 NPs when compared to pure and Pt doped TiO2 NPs. In addition to that, Au noble metal present TiO2 matrix and an improve open-circuit voltage (Voc) of DSSC. Synthesized NPs was evaluated into antibacterial and antifungal activities by disk diffusion method. It is observed that NPs have not shown any activities in all tested bacterial and fungal strains. In this eco-friendly synthesis method to provide non toxic and environmental friendly nanomaterials can be used for solar energy device application.

Synthesis of composite nanoparticles using co-precipitation of a magnetic iron-oxide shell onto core nanoparticles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Primc, Darinka; Belec, Blaž; Makovec, Darko

2016-03-01

Composite nanoparticles can be synthesized by coating a shell made of one material onto core nanoparticles made of another material. Here we report on a novel method for coating a magnetic iron oxide onto the surface of core nanoparticles in an aqueous suspension. The method is based on the heterogeneous nucleation of an initial product of Fe3+/Fe2+ co-precipitation on the core nanoparticles. The close control of the supersaturation of the precipitating species required for an exclusively heterogeneous nucleation and the growth of the shell were achieved by immobilizing the reactive Fe3+ ions in a nitrate complex with urea ([Fe((CO(NH2)2)6](NO3)3) and by using solid Mg(OH)2 as the precipitating reagent. The slow thermal decomposition of the complex at 60 °C homogeneously releases the reactive Fe3+ ions into the suspension of the core nanoparticles. The key stage of the process is the thermal hydrolysis of the released Fe3+ ions prior to the addition of Mg(OH)2. The thermal hydrolysis results in the formation of γ-FeOOH, exclusively at the surfaces of the core nanoparticles. After the addition of the solid hydroxide Mg(OH)2, the pH increases and at pH 5.7 the Fe2+ precipitates and reacts with the γ-FeOOH to form magnetic iron oxide with a spinel structure (spinel ferrite) at the surfaces of the core nanoparticles. The proposed low-temperature method for the synthesis of composite nanoparticles is capable of forming well-defined interfaces between the two components, important for the coupling of the different properties. The procedure is environmentally friendly, inexpensive, and appropriate for scaling up to mass production.

Development and Substantiation of Parameters of Environmentally Friendly Technology for Filling the Vertical Mine Workings with Autoclaved Slag-Concrete

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Uglyanitca, Andrey; Solonin, Kirill

2017-11-01

The environmentally friendly technology for filling the vertical mine workings with autoclaved slag-concrete, prefabricated on the surface of the mine is presented in the article; the optimal parameters of filling technology are proposed. The developed technology for filling the abandoned vertical mine workings allows ensuring the environmental safety of the territories adjacent to the abandoned mine, utilizing slag dumps and providing the possibility of shaft recovery, if necessary, with minimal labor and material costs.

Synthesis of copper oxide nanowires and nanoporous copper via environmentally friendly transformation of bulk copper-calcium alloys.

PubMed

Zhang, X; Turcheniuk, K; Zusmann, B; Benson, J; Nelson, S; Luo, S; Magasinski, A; Yushin, G

2018-05-24

In this work, we report a novel, one-step, inexpensive and environmentally friendly synthesis of Cu nanostructures by means of chemical de-alloying of bulk Cu-Ca alloys in aqueous solutions. By controlling the synthesis conditions, we tune the morphology of the nanostructured Cu from nanoporous Cu to copper oxide nanowires.

Awareness, Openness and Eco-Friendly (AOE) Model Teaches Pre-Service Teachers on How to Be Eco-Friendly

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jena, Ananta Kumar

2012-01-01

This paper studied the empirical pattern to observe the overall attitude of pre service teachers' of different training colleges towards environmental education and practice. Environmental education is a continuous lifelong process, starts at the preschool level and continues up to adulthood via all levels of education. In this context, to know…

How carbon-friendly is nuclear energy? A hybrid MRIO-LCA model of a Spanish facility.

PubMed

Zafrilla, Jorge E; Cadarso, María-Ángeles; Monsalve, Fabio; de la Rúa, Cristina

2014-12-16

Spain faces the challenge of 80-95% greenhouse gas emissions reduction by 2050 (European Energy Roadmap). As a possible first step to fulfill this objective, this paper presents a two-level analysis. First, we estimate the carbon footprint of a hypothetical nuclear facility in Spain. Using a hybrid multiregional input-output model, to avoid truncation while diminishing sector aggregation problems and to improve environmental leakages estimations, we calculate the CO2 equivalent emissions associated with the different phases of the nuclear life-cycle--construction, fuel processing and operation and maintenance--taking into account the countries or regions where the emissions have been generated. Our results estimate a nuclear carbon footprint of 21.30 gCO2e/kWh, of which 89% comes from regions outside Spain. In some regions, the highest impacts are mostly direct (92%, 95%, and 92% of total carbon emissions in the U.S., France, and UK, respectively), meaning that these emissions are linked to the inputs directly required for nuclear energy production; in other regions, indirect emissions are higher (83% in China), which becomes relevant for policy measures. Second, through the analyses of different scenarios, we unravel and quantify how different assumptions that are often taken in the literature result in different carbon emissions.

Layered lithium manganese(0.4) nickel(0.4) cobalt(0.2) oxide(2) as cathode for lithium batteries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ma, Miaomiao

The lithium ion battery occupies a dominant position in the portable battery market today. Intensive research has been carried out on every part of the battery to reduce cost, avoid environmental hazards, and improve battery performance. The commercial cathode material LiCoO2 has been partially replaced by LiNiyCo1- yO2 in the last two years, and mixed metal oxides have been introduced in the last quarter. From a resources point of view, only about 10 million tons of cobalt deposits are available from the world's minerals. However, there is about 500 times more manganese available than cobalt. Moreover, cobalt itself is not environmentally friendly. The purpose of this work is to find a promising alternative cathode material that can maintain good cycling performance, while at the same time reducing the cost and toxicity. When the cost is lowered, it is then possible to consider the larger scale use of lithium ion batteries in application such as hybrid electric vehicles (HEV). The research work presented in this thesis has focused on a specific composition of a layered lithium transition metal oxide, LiMn0.4Ni 0.4Co0.2O2 with the R3¯m structure. The presence of cobalt plays a critical role in minimizing transition metal migration to the lithium layer, and perhaps also in enhancing the electronic conductivity; however, cobalt is in limited supply and it is therefore more costly than nickel or manganese. The performance of LiMn0.4Ni0.4Co 0.2O2 was investigated and characterized utilizing various techniques an its performance compared with cobalt free LiMn0.5N i0.5O2, as well as with LiMn1/3Ni1/3Co 1/3O2, which is the most extensively studied replacement candidate for LiNiyCo1- yO2, and may be in SONY'S new hybrid cells. First, the structure and cation distribution in LiMn0.4Ni 0.4Co0.2O2 was studied by a combination of X-ray and neutron diffraction experiments. This combination study shows that about 3--5% nickel is present in the lithium layer, while manganese and cobalt are not observed in the lithium layer. In addition, the study did not reveal any ordering of the manganese, nickel, and cobalt, in the transition metal layer at room temperature. The structure changes during the first charge were also investigated both by ex situ and in situ X-ray diffractions. The same cell parameter trends are observed using both techniques. The hexagonal structure is maintained up to 4.6V, which is above the limit for normal cycling. Excess lithium addition reduces the cation disorder just as cobalt addition does. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

State selectivity and dynamics in dissociative electron attachment to CF₃I revealed through velocity slice imaging.

PubMed

Ómarsson, Frímann H; Mason, Nigel J; Krishnakumar, E; Ingólfsson, Oddur

2014-11-03

In light of its substantially more environmentally friendly nature, CF3I is currently being considered as a replacement for the highly potent global-warming gas CF4, which is used extensively in plasma processing. In this context, we have studied the electron-driven dissociation of CF3I to form CF3(-) and I, and we compare this process to the corresponding photolysis channel. By using the velocity slice imaging (VSI) technique we can visualize the complete dynamics of this process and show that electron-driven dissociation proceeds from the same initial parent state as the corresponding photolysis process. However, in contrast to photolysis, which leads nearly exclusively to the (2)P(1/2) excited state of iodine, electron-induced dissociation leads predominantly to the (2)P(3/2) ground state. We believe that the changed spin state of the negative ion allows an adiabatic dissociation through a conical intersection, whereas this path is efficiently repressed by a required spin flip in the photolysis process. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

How light, temperature, and measurement and growth [CO2] interactively control isoprene emission in hybrid aspen.

PubMed

Niinemets, Ülo; Sun, Zhihong

2015-02-01

Plant isoprene emissions have been modelled assuming independent controls by light, temperature and atmospheric [CO2]. However, the isoprene emission rate is ultimately controlled by the pool size of its immediate substrate, dimethylallyl diphosphate (DMADP), and isoprene synthase activity, implying that the environmental controls might interact. In addition, acclimation to growth [CO2] can shift the share of the control by DMADP pool size and isoprene synthase activity, and thereby alter the environmental sensitivity. Environmental controls of isoprene emission were studied in hybrid aspen (Populus tremula × Populus tremuloides) saplings acclimated either to ambient [CO2] of 380 μmol mol(-1) or elevated [CO2] of 780 μmol mol(-1). The data demonstrated strong interactive effects of environmental drivers and growth [CO2] on isoprene emissions. Light enhancement of isoprene emission was the greatest at intermediate temperatures and was greater in elevated-[CO2]-grown plants, indicating greater enhancement of the DMADP supply. The optimum temperature for isoprene emission was higher at lower light, suggesting activation of alternative DMADP sinks at higher light. In addition, [CO2] inhibition of isoprene emission was lost at a higher temperature with particularly strong effects in elevated-[CO2]-grown plants. Nevertheless, DMADP pool size was still predicted to more strongly control isoprene emission at higher temperatures in elevated-[CO2]-grown plants. We argue that interactive environmental controls and acclimation to growth [CO2] should be incorporated in future isoprene emission models at the level of DMADP pool size. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Experimental Biology.

The Environmental footprint of morphine: a life cycle assessment from opium poppy farming to the packaged drug

PubMed Central

McAlister, Scott; Ou, Yanjun; Neff, Elise; Hapgood, Karen; Story, David; Mealey, Philip; McGain, Forbes

2016-01-01

Objective To examine the environmental life cycle from poppy farming through to production of 100 mg in 100 mL of intravenous morphine (standard infusion bag). Design ‘Cradle-to-grave’ process-based life cycle assessment (observational). Settings Australian opium poppy farms, and facilities for pelletising, manufacturing morphine, and sterilising and packaging bags of morphine. Main outcome measures The environmental effects (eg, CO2 equivalent (‘CO2 e’) emissions and water use) of producing 100 mg of morphine. All aspects of morphine production from poppy farming, pelletising, bulk morphine manufacture through to final formulation. Industry-sourced and inventory-sourced databases were used for most inputs. Results Morphine sulfate (100 mg in 100 mL) had a climate change effect of 204 g CO2 e (95% CI 189 to 280 g CO2 e), approximating the CO2 e emissions of driving an average car 1 km. Water use was 7.8 L (95% CI 6.7– to 9.0 L), primarily stemming from farming (6.7 L). All other environmental effects were minor and several orders of magnitude less than CO2 e emissions and water use. Almost 90% of CO2 e emissions occurred during the final stages of 100 mg of morphine manufacture. Morphine's packaging contributed 95 g CO2 e, which accounted for 46% of the total CO2 e (95% CI 82 to 155 g CO2 e). Mixing, filling and sterilisation of 100 mg morphine bags added a further 86 g CO2 e, which accounted for 42% (95% CI 80 to 92 g CO2 e). Poppy farming (6 g CO2 e, 3%), pelletising and manufacturing (18 g CO2 e, 9%) made smaller contributions to CO2 emissions. Conclusions The environmental effects of growing opium poppies and manufacturing bulk morphine were small. The final stages of morphine production, particularly sterilisation and packaging, contributed to almost 90% of morphine's carbon footprint. Focused measures to improve the energy efficiency and sources for drug sterilisation and packaging could be explored as these are relevant to all drugs. Comparisons of the environmental effects of the production of other drugs and between oral and intravenous preparations are required. PMID:27798031

Investigating effect of environmental controls on dynamics of CO2 budget in a subtropical estuarial marsh wetland ecosystem

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Sung-Ching; Fan, Chao-Jung; Wu, Zih-Yi; Juang, Jehn-Yih

2015-02-01

In this study, we quantified the ecosystem-scale CO2 exchange of two different but typical low-latitude vegetation types, para grass and reed, in a subtropical wetland ecosystem by integrating flux observation with the parameterization of environmental variables. In addition, we explored how seasonal dynamics of environmental factors affected variations in CO2 budget. The results suggest that gross primary production (GPP, in the order of 1700 gC m-2 yr-1) of CO2 was higher in this site than in previous studies of northern peatlands and estuarial wetlands because of the direct effect of environmental factors. Temperature and radiation had a larger effect than water status (soil moisture content and vapor pressure deficit) on GPP for the two low-latitude ecosystems, which differ from the results for high-latitude regions. Environmental variables had a strong but different impact on the CO2 budget for para grass and reed areas. This diversity led to different potential shifts and trends of biomass accumulation and distribution of these two typical low-latitude vegetation types under different scenarios of environmental change. The findings from this study can sufficiently provide quantitative understanding of CO2 budgets in low-latitude wetlands.

29 CFR 791.2 - Joint employment.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... the employee by the other joint employer or employers. 4 Walling v. Friend, et al., 156 F. 2d 429 (C.... Hargrave, 129 F. 2d 655 (C.A. 10); Slover v. Wathen, 140 F. 2d 258 (C.A. 4); Mitchell v. Bowman, 131 F. Supp., 520 (M.D. Ala. 1954); Mitchell v. Thompson Materials & Construction Co., et al., 27 Labor Cases...

29 CFR 791.2 - Joint employment.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... the employee by the other joint employer or employers. 4 Walling v. Friend, et al., 156 F. 2d 429 (C.... Hargrave, 129 F. 2d 655 (C.A. 10); Slover v. Wathen, 140 F. 2d 258 (C.A. 4); Mitchell v. Bowman, 131 F. Supp., 520 (M.D. Ala. 1954); Mitchell v. Thompson Materials & Construction Co., et al., 27 Labor Cases...

29 CFR 791.2 - Joint employment.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... the employee by the other joint employer or employers. 4 Walling v. Friend, et al., 156 F. 2d 429 (C.... Hargrave, 129 F. 2d 655 (C.A. 10); Slover v. Wathen, 140 F. 2d 258 (C.A. 4); Mitchell v. Bowman, 131 F. Supp., 520 (M.D. Ala. 1954); Mitchell v. Thompson Materials & Construction Co., et al., 27 Labor Cases...

29 CFR 791.2 - Joint employment.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... the employee by the other joint employer or employers. 4 Walling v. Friend, et al., 156 F. 2d 429 (C.... Hargrave, 129 F. 2d 655 (C.A. 10); Slover v. Wathen, 140 F. 2d 258 (C.A. 4); Mitchell v. Bowman, 131 F. Supp., 520 (M.D. Ala. 1954); Mitchell v. Thompson Materials & Construction Co., et al., 27 Labor Cases...

The use of nipah leaves (Nypa fruticans) as an environmentally friendly roofing material

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Umar, Muhammad Zakaria; Faslih, Arman; Arsyad, Muhammad; Ikhsan, Ainussalbi Al; Umar, Mazhfia

2017-09-01

An environmentally friendly building is a building that cares for the environment. The use of building materials from plants are very beneficial to maintain the climatic conditions of space and one proper example is the roof made from palm leaves. Petoaha Village, located in the District of Abeli, Kendari Municipality has craftsmen specified in creating roof from palm leaves. The purpose of this study to analyze and identify the instruments of labor, materials, and how to create a roof of palm leaves in the Petoaha Village. This research applies a qualitative case study approach. The result shows that the roof of palm leaves is categorized as an environmentally friendly roofing material due to simple working tools, vegetative based material, man power use and preservation process through immersion in sea water.

The Effect of Environmentally Friendly Wallpaper and Flooring Material on Indoor Air Quality and Atopic Dermatitis: A Pilot Study

PubMed Central

Na, Jung Im; Byun, Sang Young; Jeong, Mi Young; Park, Kyoung Chan

2014-01-01

Background Formaldehyde (FA) and other volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are considered among the main causes of atopic aggravation. Their main sources include wallpapers, paints, adhesives, and flooring materials. Objective To assess the effects of environmentally friendly wallpaper and flooring material on indoor air quality and atopic dermatitis severity. Methods Thirty patients with atopic dermatitis were enrolled in this study. To improve air quality, the wallpaper and flooring in the homes of the subjects were replaced with plant- or silica-based materials. The indoor air concentration of FA and the total VOCs (TVOCs) were measured before remodeling and 2, 6, and 10 weeks thereafter. Pruritus and the severity of atopic eczema were evaluated by using a questionnaire and the eczema area and severity index (EASI) score before and at 4, 8, and 12 weeks after remodeling. The subjects were instructed to continue their therapy for atopic dermatitis. Results The houses of 24 subjects were remodeled; all subjects completed the study. The concentration of FA in ambient air significantly decreased within 2 weeks after remodeling. The TVOC level showed a decrease at week 2 but increased again at weeks 6 and 10. The reduction of pruritus and EASI score was statistically significant in patients whose baseline EASI score was >3. Conclusion Replacing the wallpaper and flooring of houses with environmentally friendly material reduced FA in ambient air and improved pruritus and the severity of atopic eczema. The improvement of pruritus and eczema was statistically significant in patients whose baseline EASI score was >3. PMID:25473219

Elevated-CO2 Response of Stomata and Its Dependence on Environmental Factors

PubMed Central

Xu, Zhenzhu; Jiang, Yanling; Jia, Bingrui; Zhou, Guangsheng

2016-01-01

Stomata control the flow of gases between plants and the atmosphere. This review is centered on stomatal responses to elevated CO2 concentration and considers other key environmental factors and underlying mechanisms at multiple levels. First, an outline of general responses in stomatal conductance under elevated CO2 is presented. Second, stomatal density response, its development, and the trade-off with leaf growth under elevated CO2 conditions are depicted. Third, the molecular mechanism regulating guard cell movement at elevated CO2 is suggested. Finally, the interactive effects of elevated CO2 with other factors critical to stomatal behavior are reviewed. It may be useful to better understand how stomata respond to elevated CO2 levels while considering other key environmental factors and mechanisms, including molecular mechanism, biochemical processes, and ecophysiological regulation. This understanding may provide profound new insights into how plants cope with climate change. PMID:27242858

Sustainable treatment of different high-strength cheese whey wastewaters: an innovative approach for atmospheric CO2 mitigation and fertilizer production.

PubMed

Prazeres, Ana R; Rivas, Javier; Paulo, Úrsula; Ruas, Filipa; Carvalho, Fátima

2016-07-01

Raw cheese whey wastewater (CWW) has been treated by means of FeCl3 coagulation-flocculation, NaOH precipitation, and Ca(OH)2 precipitation. Three different types of CWW were considered: without cheese whey recovery (CWW0), 60 % cheese whey recovery (CWW60), and 80 % cheese whey recovery (CWW80). Cheese whey recovery significantly influenced the characteristics of the wastewater to be treated: organic matter, solids, turbidity, conductivity, sodium, chloride, calcium, nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus. Initial organic load was reduced to values in the interval of 60-70 %. Application of FeCl3, NaOH, or Ca(OH)2 involved additional chemical oxygen demand (COD) depletions regardless of the CWW used. Under optimum conditions, the combination of 80 % cheese whey recovery and lime application led to 90 % reduction in COD. Turbidity (99.8%), total suspended solids (TSS) (98-99 %), oils and fats (82-96 %), phosphorus (98-99 %), potassium (96-97 %), and total coliforms (100 %) were also reduced. Sludge generated in the latter process showed excellent settling properties. This solid after filtration and natural evaporation can be used as fertilizer with limitations due to its saline nature. In an innovative, low-cost, and environmentally friendly technology, supernatant coming from the Ca(OH)2 addition was naturally neutralized in 4-6 days by atmospheric CO2 absorption without reagent addition. Consequently, a final aerobic biodegradation step can be applied for effluent polishing. This technology also allows for some atmospheric CO2 mitigation. Time requirement for the natural carbonation depends on the effluent characteristics. A precipitate rich in organic matter and nutrients and depletions of solids, sodium, phosphorus, magnesium, Kjeldahl, and ammoniacal nitrogen were also achieved during the natural carbonation.

[Emissions of greenhouse gas and ammonia from the full process of sewage sludge composting and land application of compost].

PubMed

Zhong, Jia; Wei, Yuan-Song; Zhao, Zhen-Feng; Ying, Mei-Juan; Zhou, Guo-Sheng; Xiong, Jian-Jun; Liu, Pei-Cai; Ge, Zhen; Ding, Gang-Qiang

2013-11-01

There is a great uncertainty of greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction and nitrogen conservation from the full process of sludge composting and land application of compost in China due to the lack of emission data of GHG such as N2O and CH4 and ammonia (NH3). The purpose of this study is to get emission characteristics of GHGs and NH3 from the full process with on-site observation. Results showed that the total GHG emission factor from full process of the turning windrow (TW) system (eCO2/dry sludge, 196.21 kg x t(-1)) was 1.61 times higher of that from the ATP system. Among the full process, N2O was mostly from the land application of compost, whereas CH4 mainly resulted from the sludge composting. In the sludge composting of ATP, the GHG emission equivalence of the ATP (eCO2/dry sludge, 12.47 kg x t(-1) was much lower than that of the TW (eCO2/dry sludge, 86.84 kg x t(-1)). The total NH3 emission factor of the TW (NH3/dry sludge, 6.86 kg x t(-1)) was slightly higher than that of the ATP (NH3/dry sludge, 6.63 kg x t(-1)). NH3 was the major contributor of nitrogen loss in the full process. During the composting, the nitrogen loss as NH3 from both TW and ATP was nearly the same as 30% of TN loss from raw materials, and the N and C loss caused by N2O and CH4 were negligible. These results clearly showed that the ATP was a kind of environmentally friendly composting technology.

Load-Direction-Derived Support Structures for Wind Turbines: A Lattice Tower Concept and Preparations for Future Certifications: Preprint

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

Jonkman, Jason; Damiani, Rick R; Struve, Achim

The call for more cost-effective and environmentally friendly tower concepts is motivated by tower costs [1] and tower CO2-emission contributions [2], which are high relative to the whole wind turbine system. The proposed rotatable tower concept with yaw bearing at the bottom instead of the top of the tower will provide beneficial economic and environmental impacts to the turbine system. This wind alignment capability indicates a load-direction-derived tower design. By combining this approach with a lattice concept, large material and cost savings for the tower can be achieved. This paper presents a way to analyze and verify the proposed designmore » through aero-servo-elastic simulations, which make future certifications of rotatable tower concepts viable. For this reason, the state-of-the-art, open-source lattice-tower finite-element-method (FEM) module SubDyn [10], developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, has been modified to account for arbitrary member cross-sections. Required changes in the beam element stiffness and mass matrix formulation took place according to an energy method [13]. All validated adaptions will be usable within the aero-servo-elastic simulation framework FAST and are also beneficial for other nonrotatable lattice structures.« less

A novel process for recovering valuable metals from waste nickel-cadmium batteries.

PubMed

Huang, Kui; Li, Jia; Xu, Zhenming

2009-12-01

The environment is seriously polluted due to improper and inefficient recycling of waste nickel-cadmium (Ni-Cd) batteries in China. The aim of this work is aimed to seek an environmentally friendly recycling process for resolving the negative impacts on environmental and human health resulting from waste Ni-Cd batteries. This work investigates the fundamentals of waste Ni-Cd batteries recycling through vacuum metallurgy separation (VMS) and magnetic separation (MS). The results obtained demonstrate that the optimal temperature, the addition of carbon powder, and heating time in VMS are 1023 K, 1 wt %, 1.5 h, respectively. More than 99.2 wt % Cd is recovered under the optimal experimental condition, and the Cd purity is 99.98%. Around 98.0 wt % ferromagnetic materials are recovered through MS under 60 rpm rotational speed and the recovery ratios of Fe, Ni and Co are 99.2 wt %, 96.1 wt %, and 86.4 wt %, respectively. The composition of ferromagnetic fractions in the residue after VMS increases from 82.3 to 99.6%. Based on these results, a process (including dismantling and crushing, VMS and MS) for recycling of waste Ni-Cd batteries is proposed. This novel process provides a possibility for recycling waste Ni-Cd batteries in a large industrial scale.

An efficient and environment-friendly method of removing graphene oxide in wastewater and its degradation mechanisms.

PubMed

Zhang, Chao-Zhi; Li, Ting; Yuan, Yang; Xu, Jianqiang

2016-06-01

Graphene and graphene oxide (GO) have already existed in air, water and soil due to their popular application in functional materials. However, degradation of graphene and GO in wastewater has not been reported. Degradation of GO plays a key role in the elimination of graphene and GO in wastewater due to graphene being easily oxidized to GO. In this paper, GO was completely degraded to give CO2 by Photo-Fenton. The degradation intermediates were determined by UV-vis absorption spectra, elemental analysis (EA), fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). Experimental results showed that graphene oxide was completely degraded to give CO2 after 28 days. Based on UV, FT-IR, LC-MS spectra and EA data of these degradation intermediates, the degradation mechanisms of GO were supposed. This paper suggests an efficient and environment-friendly method to degrade GO and graphene. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Biodegradable Pectin/clay Aerogels

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Biodegradable, foamlike materials based on renewable pectin and sodium montmorillonite clay were fabricated through a simple, environmentally friendly freeze-drying process. Addition of multivalent cations (Ca2+ and Al3+) resulted in apparent crosslinking of the polymer, and enhancement of aerogel p...

Proposal of Environmental Impact Assessment Method for Concrete in South Korea: An Application in LCA (Life Cycle Assessment)

PubMed Central

Kim, Tae Hyoung; Tae, Sung Ho

2016-01-01

This study aims to develop a system for assessing the impact of the substances discharged from concrete production process on six environmental impact categories, i.e., global warming (GWP), acidification (AP), eutrophication (EP), abiotic depletion (ADP), ozone depletion (ODP), and photochemical oxidant creation (POCP), using the life a cycle assessment (LCA) method. To achieve this, this study proposed an LCA method specifically applicable to the Korean concrete industry by adapting the ISO standards to suit the Korean situations. The proposed LCA method involves a system that performs environmental impact assessment on the basis of input information on concrete mix design, transport distance, and energy consumption in a batch plant. The Concrete Lifecycle Assessment System (CLAS) thus developed provides user-friendly support for environmental impact assessment with specialized database for concrete mix materials and energy sources. In the case analysis using the CLAS, among the substances discharged from the production of 24 MPa concrete, those contributing to GWP, AP, EP, ADP, ODP, and POCP were assessed to amount to 309 kg-CO2 eq/m3, 28.7 kg-SO2 eq/m3, 5.21 kg-PO43− eq/m3, 0.000049 kg-CFC11 eq/m3, 34 kg/m3, and 21 kg-Ethylene eq/m3, respectively. Of these six environmental impact categories selected for the LCA in this study, ordinary Portland cement (OPC) was found to contribute most intensely to GWP and POCP, and aggregates, to AP, EP, ODP, and ADP. It was also found that the mix design with increased prop proportion of recycled aggregate was found to contribute to reducing the impact in all other categories. PMID:27827843

Environmentally Friendly Cleaners for Removing Tar from Metal Surfaces

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-04-01

treatment plants that handle phosphate type solu- tions. The terms used by commercial vendors such as environmentally friendly, all natural, green, and...solvents used in relation to diesel fuel, and the procedure can also rank solvents quantitatively. Sacco (2004) has studied the blending of two plant ...other bituminous materials from industrial equipment surfaces. The composition is a mixture of a carrier monocyclic monoterpene and a nonionic

Alcohol Peer Influence of Participating in Organized School Activities: A Network Approach

PubMed Central

Valente, Thomas W.

2014-01-01

Objective This study compares the network influences on adolescent substance use from peers who co-participated in school-sponsored organized activities (affiliation-based peer influence) with the influence both from their “nominated” friends (i.e., the adolescent named the alter as a friend), and only “reciprocated” friends (i.e., both adolescents mutually named each other as friends). The study also attempts to parse affiliation-based peer influence into the influence of both activity members who are also friends, and those who are not, to address the potential confounding of these sources of peer influence. Methods The study data consisted of a nationally representative sample of 12,551 adolescents in Grades 7–12 within 106 schools from the Add Health data. Ordinal logistic regression was conducted to estimate the effects of affiliation-based and friends influence on alcohol use and drinking frequency. Results Peer influence via organized activities (sports or clubs) with drinkers and the influence of friends who drink had significant effects on adolescent drinking. Peer influence through club activities with drinkers had a stronger effect on any drinking behavior than through sports activities with drinkers. After decomposing peer influence through activities by friendship status, influence through sport activities had a significant effect on drinking only when co-participant drinkers were also “reciprocated” friends (but not “nominated” friends), whereas influence through club activities had a significant effect on drinking, regardless of friendship reciprocation. Conclusions The design and implementation of school based substance use prevention and treatment programs should consider the contextual effects of school-sponsored activities. PMID:22924449

Peer Network Drinking Predicts Increased Alcohol Use From Adolescence to Early Adulthood After Controlling for Genetic and Shared Environmental Selection

PubMed Central

Cruz, Jennifer E.; Emery, Robert E.; Turkheimer, Eric

2013-01-01

Research consistently links adolescents' and young adults' drinking with their peers' alcohol intake. In interpreting this correlation, 2 essential questions are often overlooked. First, which peers are more important, best friends or broader social networks? Second, do peers cause increased drinking, or do young people select friends whose drinking habits match their own? The present study combines social network analyses with family (twin and sibling) designs to answer these questions via data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. Analysis of peer nomination data from 134 schools (n = 82,629) and 1,846 twin and sibling pairs shows that peer network substance use predicts changes in drinking from adolescence into young adult life even after controlling for genetic and shared environmental selection, as well as best friend substance use. This effect was particularly strong for high-intensity friendships. Although the peer-adolescent drinking correlation is partially explained by selection, the present finding offers powerful evidence that peers also cause increased drinking. PMID:22390657

Characterizing and Exploring the Formation Mechanism of Salt Deposition by Reusing Advanced-softened, Silica-rich, Oilfield-produced Water (ASOW) in Superheated Steam Pipeline

PubMed Central

Dong, Bin; Xu, Ying; Lin, Senmin; Dai, Xiaohu

2015-01-01

To dispose of large volumes of oilfield-produced water, an environmentally friendly method that reuses advanced-softened, silica-rich, oilfield-produced water (ASOW) as feedwater was implemented via a 10-month pilot-scale test in oilfield. However, salt deposition detrimental to the efficiency and security of steam injection system was generated in superheated steam pipeline. To evaluate the method, the characteristics and formation mechanism of the deposition were explored. The silicon content and total hardness of the ASOW were 272.20 mg/L and 0.018 mg/L, respectively. Morphology and composition of the deposition were determined by scanning electron microscope–energy dispersive spectrometry (SEM-EDS), inductively coupled plasma–mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), laser Raman spectroscopy (LRS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Na2Si2O5, Na2CO3 and trace silanes were identified in the deposition. In addition, the solubility of the deposition was about 99%, suggesting that it is very different from traditional scaling. The results of a simulation experiment and thermal analysis system (TGA and TG-FTIR) proved that Na2CO3 and Si(OH)4 (gas) are involved in the formation of Na2Si2O5, which is ascribed mainly to the temperature difference between the superheated steam and the pipe wall. These findings provide an important reference for improving the reuse of ASOW and reducing its deposition. PMID:26608736

Stimuli Responsive/Rheoreversible Hydraulic Fracturing Fluids for Enhanced Geothermal Energy Production (Part II)

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

Bonneville, Alain; Jung, Hun Bok; Shao, Hongbo

We have used an environmentally friendly and recyclable hydraulic fracturing fluid - diluted aqueous solutions of polyallylamine or PAA – for reservoir stimulation in Enhanced Geothermal System (EGS). This fluid undergoes a controlled and large volume expansion with a simultaneous increase in viscosity triggered by CO2 at EGS temperatures. We are presenting here the results of laboratory-scale hydraulic fracturing experiment using the fluid on small cylindrical rock cores (1.59 cm in diameter and 5.08 cm in length) from the Coso geothermal field in California. Rock samples consisted of Mesozoic diorite metamorphosed to greenschist facies. The experiments were conducted on 5more » samples for realistic ranges of pressures (up to 275 bar) and temperatures (up to 210 °C) for both the rock samples and the injected fluid. After fracturing, cores were subjected to a CO2 leakage test, injection of KI solution, and X-ray microtomography (XMT) scanning to examine the formation and distribution of fractures. The design and conduct of these experiments will be presented and discussed in details. Based on the obtained XMT images, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations were then performed to visualize hydraulic fractures and compute the bulk permeability. OpenFOAM (OpenCFD Ltd., Reading, UK), was used to solve the steady state simulation. The flow predictions, based upon the laminar, 3-D, incompressible Navier-Stokes equations for fluid mass and momentum, show the remarkable stimulation of the permeability in the core samples and demonstrate the efficiency of such a CO2 triggered fluid in EGS.« less

Profiles of African American College Students' Alcohol Use and Sexual Behaviors: Associations With Stress, Racial Discrimination, and Social Support.

PubMed

Metzger, Isha W; Cooper, Shauna M; Ritchwood, Tiarney D; Onyeuku, Chisom; Griffin, Charity Brown

2017-01-01

Though studies show that alcohol use and sexual activity increase during emerging adulthood, few studies examine within-ethnic group differences, particularly among African American college students. This investigation utilized a latent class analytic methodology to identify risk behavior profiles of alcohol use (frequency and amount of alcohol consumed), sexual activity (number of intimate partners), and co-occurring risk behaviors (drinking before sexual intercourse) among 228 African American college students. This investigation also examined whether identified risk behavior profiles were associated with stress (interpersonal, intrapersonal, academic, and environmental), experiences of racial discrimination, and social support (from family, friends, and the college community). Results identified five distinct profiles within this sample: (a) High Sexual Risk-above-average sexual activity; (b) Abstainers-below-average alcohol use and sexual activity; (c) Low Risk-average alcohol use and sexual activity; (d) Alcohol Risk-above-average alcohol use and below-average sexual activity; and (e) Co-Occurring Risk-above-average alcohol use and sexual activity. Identified profiles differed across interpersonal and environmental stress, and self-reported frequency of experiences with racial discrimination. Implications for prevention programs and interventions aimed at reducing alcohol and sexual activity for African American college students are discussed.

Effects of high CO2 levels on dynamic photosynthesis: carbon gain, mechanisms, and environmental interactions.

PubMed

Tomimatsu, Hajime; Tang, Yanhong

2016-05-01

Understanding the photosynthetic responses of terrestrial plants to environments with high levels of CO2 is essential to address the ecological effects of elevated atmospheric CO2. Most photosynthetic models used for global carbon issues are based on steady-state photosynthesis, whereby photosynthesis is measured under constant environmental conditions; however, terrestrial plant photosynthesis under natural conditions is highly dynamic, and photosynthetic rates change in response to rapid changes in environmental factors. To predict future contributions of photosynthesis to the global carbon cycle, it is necessary to understand the dynamic nature of photosynthesis in relation to high CO2 levels. In this review, we summarize the current body of knowledge on the photosynthetic response to changes in light intensity under experimentally elevated CO2 conditions. We found that short-term exposure to high CO2 enhances photosynthetic rate, reduces photosynthetic induction time, and reduces post-illumination CO2 burst, resulting in increased leaf carbon gain during dynamic photosynthesis. However, long-term exposure to high CO2 during plant growth has varying effects on dynamic photosynthesis. High levels of CO2 increase the carbon gain in photosynthetic induction in some species, but have no significant effects in other species. Some studies have shown that high CO2 levels reduce the biochemical limitation on RuBP regeneration and Rubisco activation during photosynthetic induction, whereas the effects of high levels of CO2 on stomatal conductance differ among species. Few studies have examined the influence of environmental factors on effects of high levels of CO2 on dynamic photosynthesis. We identified several knowledge gaps that should be addressed to aid future predictions of photosynthesis in high-CO2 environments.

Microalgae as sustainable renewable energy feedstock for biofuel production.

PubMed

Medipally, Srikanth Reddy; Yusoff, Fatimah Md; Banerjee, Sanjoy; Shariff, M

2015-01-01

The world energy crisis and increased greenhouse gas emissions have driven the search for alternative and environmentally friendly renewable energy sources. According to life cycle analysis, microalgae biofuel is identified as one of the major renewable energy sources for sustainable development, with potential to replace the fossil-based fuels. Microalgae biofuel was devoid of the major drawbacks associated with oil crops and lignocelluloses-based biofuels. Algae-based biofuels are technically and economically viable and cost competitive, require no additional lands, require minimal water use, and mitigate atmospheric CO2. However, commercial production of microalgae biodiesel is still not feasible due to the low biomass concentration and costly downstream processes. The viability of microalgae biodiesel production can be achieved by designing advanced photobioreactors, developing low cost technologies for biomass harvesting, drying, and oil extraction. Commercial production can also be accomplished by improving the genetic engineering strategies to control environmental stress conditions and by engineering metabolic pathways for high lipid production. In addition, new emerging technologies such as algal-bacterial interactions for enhancement of microalgae growth and lipid production are also explored. This review focuses mainly on the problems encountered in the commercial production of microalgae biofuels and the possible techniques to overcome these difficulties.

Microalgae as Sustainable Renewable Energy Feedstock for Biofuel Production

PubMed Central

Yusoff, Fatimah Md.; Shariff, M.

2015-01-01

The world energy crisis and increased greenhouse gas emissions have driven the search for alternative and environmentally friendly renewable energy sources. According to life cycle analysis, microalgae biofuel is identified as one of the major renewable energy sources for sustainable development, with potential to replace the fossil-based fuels. Microalgae biofuel was devoid of the major drawbacks associated with oil crops and lignocelluloses-based biofuels. Algae-based biofuels are technically and economically viable and cost competitive, require no additional lands, require minimal water use, and mitigate atmospheric CO2. However, commercial production of microalgae biodiesel is still not feasible due to the low biomass concentration and costly downstream processes. The viability of microalgae biodiesel production can be achieved by designing advanced photobioreactors, developing low cost technologies for biomass harvesting, drying, and oil extraction. Commercial production can also be accomplished by improving the genetic engineering strategies to control environmental stress conditions and by engineering metabolic pathways for high lipid production. In addition, new emerging technologies such as algal-bacterial interactions for enhancement of microalgae growth and lipid production are also explored. This review focuses mainly on the problems encountered in the commercial production of microalgae biofuels and the possible techniques to overcome these difficulties. PMID:25874216

Channeling Identity: A Study of Storytelling in Conversations Between Introverted and Extraverted Friends

PubMed Central

Thorne, Avril; Korobov, Neill; Morgan, Elizabeth M.

2009-01-01

This narrative study examined the process of personal storytelling between college-age friends who were similarly introverted or extraverted. Participants were 19 introverted and 20 extraverted same-sex pairs (49 percent female) who had been friends for an average of 18 months. Stories emerged spontaneously during 10-minute catch-up conversations. Extraverted friends more often told stories that changed the topic, and more often co-constructed story plots. Introverted friends more often told stories that were embedded in a developing theme, and constructed story plots solo. With regard to content, extraverted friends told stories about romance more so than introverted friends, whose stories more often concerned family/hometown, and older events. The findings suggest that the traits of extraversion and introversion channel the identity-making process. PMID:19325709

Hierarchical Bi2Te3 Nanostrings: Green Synthesis and Their Thermoelectric Properties.

PubMed

Song, Shuyan; Liu, Yu; Wang, Qishun; Pan, Jing; Sun, Yabin; Zhang, Lingling

2018-05-20

Bi2Te3 hierarchical nanostrings have been synthesized through a solvothermal approach with the assistance of sucrose. The hierarchical Bi2Te3 was supposed to be fabricated through a self-assembly process. Te nanorods first emerge with the reduction of TeO32- followed by heterogeneous nucleation of Bi2Te3 nanoplates on the surface and tips of Te nanorods. Te nanorods further transform into Bi2Te3 nanorods simultaneously with the nanoplates' growth leading to a hierarchical structure. Through controlling the reaction kinetics by adding different amount of ethylene glycol, the length of nanorods and the number of nanoplates could be tailored. The use of sucrose is vital to the formation of hierarchical structure because it not only serves as a template for the well-defined growth of Te nanorods but also promotes the heterogeneous nucleation of Bi2Te3 in the self-assembly process. The Bi2Te3 nanomaterial shows a moderate thermoelectric performance because of its hierarchical structure. This study shows a promising way to synthesize Bi2Te3-based nanostructures through environmental friendly approach. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Eco-friendly electron beam lithography using water-developable resist material derived from biomass

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Takei, Satoshi; Oshima, Akihiro; Wakabayashi, Takanori; Kozawa, Takahiro; Tagawa, Seiichi

2012-07-01

We investigated the eco-friendly electron beam (EB) lithography using a high-sensitive negative type of water-developable resist material derived from biomass on hardmask layer for tri-layer processes. A water developable, non-chemically amplified, high sensitive, and negative tone resist material in EB lithography was developed for environmental affair, safety, easiness of handling, and health of the working people, instead of the common developable process of trimethylphenylammonium hydroxide. The images of 200 nm line and 800 nm space pattern with exposure dose of 7.0 μC/cm2 and CF4 etching selectivity of 2.2 with hardmask layer were provided by specific process conditions.

Synthesis of Renewable Triketones, Diketones, and Jet-Fuel Range Cycloalkanes with 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural and Ketones.

PubMed

Li, Shanshan; Chen, Fang; Li, Ning; Wang, Wentao; Sheng, Xueru; Wang, Aiqin; Cong, Yu; Wang, Xiaodong; Zhang, Tao

2017-02-22

A series of renewable C 9 -C 12 triketones with repeating [COCH 2 CH 2 ] units were synthesized in high carbon yields (ca. 90 %) by the aqueous-phase hydrogenation of the aldol-condensation products of 5-hydroxylmethylfurfural (HMF) and ketones over an Au/TiO 2 catalyst. Compared with the reported routes, this new route has many advantages such as being environmentally friendly, having fewer steps, using a cheaper and reusable catalyst, etc. The triketones as obtained can be used as feedstocks in the production of conducting or semi-conducting polymers. Through a solvent-free intramolecular aldol condensation over solid-base catalysts, the triketones were selectively converted to diketones, which can be used as intermediates in the synthesis of useful chemicals or polymers. As another application, the tri- and diketones can also be utilized as precursors for the synthesis of jet-fuel range branched cycloalkanes with low freezing points (224-248 K) and high densities (ca. 0.81 g mL -1 ). © 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Characterization of Encapsulated Corrosion Inhibitors for Environmentally Friendly Smart Coatings

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pearman, Benjamin Pieter; Li, Wenyan; Buhrow, Jerry; Zhang, Xuejun; Surma, Jan; Fitzpatrick, Lilly; Montgomery, Eliza; Calle, Luz Marina

2014-01-01

Research efforts are under way to replace current corrosion inhibitors with more environmentally friendly alternatives. However, problems with corrosion inhibition efficiency, coating compatibility and solubility have hindered the use of many of these materials as simple pigment additives.This paper will present technical details on how the Corrosion Technology Lab at NASAs Kennedy Space Center (KSC) has addressed these issues by encapsulating environmentally friendly inhibitors into organic and inorganic microparticles and microcapsules. The synthetic process for polymer particles was characterized and post-synthesis analysis was performed to determine the interactions between the inhibitors and the encapsulation material. The pH-controlled release of inhibitors from various particle formulations in aqueous base was monitored and compared to both electrochemical and salt immersion accelerated corrosion experiment. Furthermore, synergistic corrosion inhibition effects observed during the corrosion testing of several inhibitor combinations will be presented.

Printed environmentally friendly supercapacitors with ionic liquid electrolytes on paper

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pettersson, F.; Keskinen, J.; Remonen, T.; von Hertzen, L.; Jansson, E.; Tappura, K.; Zhang, Y.; Wilén, C.-E.; Österbacka, R.

2014-12-01

Environmentally friendly supercapacitors are fabricated using commercial grade aluminum coated paper as a substrate and symmetrical activated carbon electrodes as large area electrodes. Different choline chloride-based eutectic solvents are used as electrolyte. These are inexpensive, environmentally friendly and have a larger operating window compared to that of water electrolytes. As the entire device is printed and the materials used are inexpensive, both small- and large-area power sources can be fabricated to be used in cheap, disposable and recyclable devices. Supercapacitors with different eutectic solvents are measured using cyclic charge-discharge and impedance spectroscopy measurements and compared to one widely used and one "green" imidazolium ionic liquid; EMIM:TFSI and EcoEng 212™, respectively. A mixture of ethylene glycol and choline chloride, Glyceline™, show the highest capacitance and power densities of the electrolytes being tested, including the imidazolium alternatives.

The Environmental footprint of morphine: a life cycle assessment from opium poppy farming to the packaged drug.

PubMed

McAlister, Scott; Ou, Yanjun; Neff, Elise; Hapgood, Karen; Story, David; Mealey, Philip; McGain, Forbes

2016-10-21

To examine the environmental life cycle from poppy farming through to production of 100 mg in 100 mL of intravenous morphine (standard infusion bag). 'Cradle-to-grave' process-based life cycle assessment (observational). Australian opium poppy farms, and facilities for pelletising, manufacturing morphine, and sterilising and packaging bags of morphine. The environmental effects (eg, CO 2 equivalent ('CO 2 e') emissions and water use) of producing 100 mg of morphine. All aspects of morphine production from poppy farming, pelletising, bulk morphine manufacture through to final formulation. Industry-sourced and inventory-sourced databases were used for most inputs. Morphine sulfate (100 mg in 100 mL) had a climate change effect of 204 g CO 2 e (95% CI 189 to 280 g CO 2 e), approximating the CO 2 e emissions of driving an average car 1 km. Water use was 7.8 L (95% CI 6.7- to 9.0 L), primarily stemming from farming (6.7 L). All other environmental effects were minor and several orders of magnitude less than CO 2 e emissions and water use. Almost 90% of CO 2 e emissions occurred during the final stages of 100 mg of morphine manufacture. Morphine's packaging contributed 95 g CO 2 e, which accounted for 46% of the total CO 2 e (95% CI 82 to 155 g CO 2 e). Mixing, filling and sterilisation of 100 mg morphine bags added a further 86 g CO 2 e, which accounted for 42% (95% CI 80 to 92 g CO 2 e). Poppy farming (6 g CO 2 e, 3%), pelletising and manufacturing (18 g CO 2 e, 9%) made smaller contributions to CO 2 emissions. The environmental effects of growing opium poppies and manufacturing bulk morphine were small. The final stages of morphine production, particularly sterilisation and packaging, contributed to almost 90% of morphine's carbon footprint. Focused measures to improve the energy efficiency and sources for drug sterilisation and packaging could be explored as these are relevant to all drugs. Comparisons of the environmental effects of the production of other drugs and between oral and intravenous preparations are required. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

Development and validation of an ultra-performance convergence chromatography method for the quality control of Angelica gigas Nakai.

PubMed

Kim, Hyo Seon; Chun, Jin Mi; Kwon, Bo-In; Lee, A-Reum; Kim, Ho Kyoung; Lee, A Yeong

2016-10-01

Ultra-performance convergence chromatography, which integrates the advantages of supercritical fluid chromatography and ultra high performance liquid chromatography technologies, is an environmentally friendly analytical method that uses dramatically reduced amounts of organic solvents. An ultra-performance convergence chromatography method was developed and validated for the quantification of decursinol angelate and decursin in Angelica gigas using a CSH Fluoro-Phenyl column (2.1 mm × 150 mm, 1.7 μm) with a run time of 4 min. The method had an improved resolution and a shorter analysis time in comparison to the conventional high-performance liquid chromatography method. This method was validated in terms of linearity, precision, and accuracy. The limits of detection were 0.005 and 0.004 μg/mL for decursinol angelate and decursin, respectively, while the limits of quantitation were 0.014 and 0.012 μg/mL, respectively. The two components showed good regression (correlation coefficient (r 2 ) > 0.999), excellent precision (RSD < 2.28%), and acceptable recoveries (99.75-102.62%). The proposed method can be used to efficiently separate, characterize, and quantify decursinol angelate and decursin in Angelica gigas and its related medicinal materials or preparations, with the advantages of a shorter analysis time, greater sensitivity, and better environmental compatibility. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

A study of photosynthetic biogas upgrading based on a high rate algal pond under alkaline conditions: Influence of the illumination regime.

PubMed

Franco-Morgado, Mariana; Alcántara, Cynthia; Noyola, Adalberto; Muñoz, Raúl; González-Sánchez, Armando

2017-08-15

Microalgal-bacterial processes have emerged as environmental friendly systems for the cost-effective treatment of anaerobic effluents such as biogas and nutrients-laden digestates. Environmental parameters such as temperature, irradiation, nutrient concentration and pH effect the performance of the systems. In this paper, the potential of a microalgal-bacterial photobioreactor operated under high pH (≈9.5) and high alkalinity to convert biogas into biomethane was evaluated. The influence of the illumination regime (continuous light supply vs 12h/12h light/dark cycles) on the synthetic biogas upgrading efficiency, biomass productivity and nutrient removal efficiency was assessed in a High-Rate Algal Pond interconnected to a biogas absorption bubble column. No significant differences in the removal efficiency of CO 2 and H 2 S (91.5±2% and 99.5%±0.5, respectively) were recorded regardless of the illumination regime. The high fluctuations of the dissolved oxygen concentration during operation under light/dark cycles allowed to evaluate the specific growth rate and the specific partial degradation rate of the microalgae biomass by photosynthesis and respiration, respectively. The respiration reduced the net microalgae biomass productivity under light/dark cycles compared with process operation under the continuous light supply. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Purchase of a Raman and Photoluminescence Imaging System for Characterization of Advanced Electrochemical and Electronic Materials

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-01-05

2015, Abstract #1092. The Role of Chromium (III) in the Corrosion Inhibition of AA2024-T3 By Trivalent Chromium Process Coatings by Greg Swain...to replace chromate conversion coatings and primers with more environmentally-friendly, non-chromated coatings. The Trivalent Chromium Process (TCP...coatings and primers with more environmentally-friendly, non-chromated coatings. The Trivalent Chromium Process (TCP) coating, originally developed

Reproductive allocation in plants as affected by elevated carbon dioxide and other environmental changes: a synthesis using meta-analysis and graphical vector analysis.

PubMed

Wang, Xianzhong; Taub, Daniel R; Jablonski, Leanne M

2015-04-01

Reproduction is an important life history trait that strongly affects dynamics of plant populations. Although it has been well documented that elevated carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere greatly enhances biomass production in plants, the overall effect of elevated CO2 on reproductive allocation (RA), i.e., the proportion of biomass allocated to reproductive structures, is little understood. We combined meta-analysis with graphical vector analysis to examine the overall effect of elevated CO2 on RA and how other environmental factors, such as low nutrients, drought and elevated atmospheric ozone (O3), interacted with elevated CO2 in affecting RA in herbaceous plants. Averaged across all species of different functional groups and environmental conditions, elevated CO2 had little effect on RA (-0.9%). RA in plants of different reproductive strategies and functional groups, however, differed in response to elevated CO2. For example, RA in iteroparous wild species decreased by 8%, while RA in iteroparous crops increased significantly (+14%) at elevated CO2. RA was unaffected by CO2 in plants grown with no stress or in low-nutrient soils. RA decreased at elevated CO2 and elevated O3, but increased in response to elevated CO2 in drought-stressed plants, suggesting that elevated CO2 could ameliorate the adverse effect of drought on crop production to some extent. Our results demonstrate that elevated CO2 and other global environmental changes have the potential to greatly alter plant community composition through differential effects on RA of different plant species and thus affect the dynamics of natural and agricultural ecosystems in the future.

Profitability Implications of Sustainable Contracting

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-08-01

in a way that minimizes its impact on the environment. The environmental and social impacts of becoming green are at best positive and at worst...environmental, economic and social impacts of business [3-4]. The triple bottom line asserts that there is value created from being good stewards of the...reputation. Factor Services offered Sales volume Marketing efforts Friendly and helpful staff Past performance Rankings Most impact (1) (2) (3) (4) Least

Tungsten-catalyzed asymmetric epoxidation of allylic and homoallylic alcohols with hydrogen peroxide.

PubMed

Wang, Chuan; Yamamoto, Hisashi

2014-01-29

A simple, efficient, and environmentally friendly asymmetric epoxidation of primary, secondary, tertiary allylic, and homoallylic alcohols has been accomplished. This process was promoted by a tungsten-bishydroxamic acid complex at room temperature with the use of aqueous 30% H2O2 as oxidant, yielding the products in 84-98% ee.

Synthesis of an Albendazole Metabolite: Characterization and HPLC Determination

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mahler, Graciela; Davyt, Danilo; Gordon, Sandra; Incerti, Marcelo; Nunez, Ivana; Pezaroglo, Horacio; Scarone, Laura; Serra, Gloria; Silvera, Mauricio; Manta, Eduardo

2008-01-01

In this laboratory activity, students are introduced to the synthesis of an albendazole metabolite obtained by a sulfide oxidation reaction. Albendazole as well as its metabolite, albendazole sulfoxide, are used as anthelmintic drugs. The oxidation reagent is H[subscript 2]O[subscript 2] in acetic acid. The reaction is environmental friendly,…

An Exploration on Greenhouse Gas and Ammonia Production by Insect Species Suitable for Animal or Human Consumption

PubMed Central

Oonincx, Dennis G. A. B.; van Itterbeeck, Joost; Heetkamp, Marcel J. W.; van den Brand, Henry; van Loon, Joop J. A.; van Huis, Arnold

2010-01-01

Background Greenhouse gas (GHG) production, as a cause of climate change, is considered as one of the biggest problems society is currently facing. The livestock sector is one of the large contributors of anthropogenic GHG emissions. Also, large amounts of ammonia (NH3), leading to soil nitrification and acidification, are produced by livestock. Therefore other sources of animal protein, like edible insects, are currently being considered. Methodology/Principal Findings An experiment was conducted to quantify production of carbon dioxide (CO2) and average daily gain (ADG) as a measure of feed conversion efficiency, and to quantify the production of the greenhouse gases methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) as well as NH3 by five insect species of which the first three are considered edible: Tenebrio molitor, Acheta domesticus, Locusta migratoria, Pachnoda marginata, and Blaptica dubia. Large differences were found among the species regarding their production of CO2 and GHGs. The insects in this study had a higher relative growth rate and emitted comparable or lower amounts of GHG than described in literature for pigs and much lower amounts of GHG than cattle. The same was true for CO2 production per kg of metabolic weight and per kg of mass gain. Furthermore, also the production of NH3 by insects was lower than for conventional livestock. Conclusions/Significance This study therefore indicates that insects could serve as a more environmentally friendly alternative for the production of animal protein with respect to GHG and NH3 emissions. The results of this study can be used as basic information to compare the production of insects with conventional livestock by means of a life cycle analysis. PMID:21206900

Stability of user-friendly blood typing kits stored under typical military field conditions.

PubMed

Bienek, Diane R; Chang, Cheow K; Charlton, David G

2009-10-01

To help preserve in-theater strength within deployed military units, commercially available, rapid, user-friendly ABO-Rh blood typing kits were evaluated to determine their stability in storage conditions commonly encountered by the warfighter. Methods for environmental exposure testing were based on MIL-STD-810F. When Eldon Home Kits 2511 were exposed to various temperature/relative humidity conditions, the results were comparable to those obtained with the control group and those obtained with industry-standard methods. For the ABO-Rh Combination Blood Typing Experiment Kits, 2 of the exposure treatments rendered them unusable. In addition, a third set of exposure treatments adversely affected the kits, resulting in approximately 30% blood type misclassifications. Collectively, this evaluation of commercial blood typing kits revealed that diagnostic performance can vary between products, lots, and environmental storage conditions.

Interpersonal identity formation in conversations with close friends about dating relationships.

PubMed

Morgan, Elizabeth M; Korobov, Neill

2012-12-01

The present study explores how close same-sex friendship groups participate in the co-construction of identities in the interpersonal domain during young adulthood. Participants included 24 same-sex college student friendship triads (12 male and 12 female; 72 total participants) who took part in semi-structured group interviews that elicited stories about conversations with their friends about dating relationship problems. Qualitative thematic analysis revealed five common responses to dating problems evidencing identity work in the context of friends' conversations. These responses included relating the issue to one's own experiences, providing validation and encouragement, joking about the problem, offering advice, and providing concrete instrumental support. Results are interpreted with regard to gender differences and similarities as well as the social context of college and developmental context of emerging adulthood. The findings identify ways in which young adults are actively co-constructing and re-evaluating their interpersonal identities within conversations with close same-sex friends. Copyright © 2011 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

CO2 Emissions Generated by a Fall AGU Meeting

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

osborn, G.; Malowany, K. S.; Samolczyk, M. A.

2011-12-01

The process of reporting on and discussing geophysical phenomena, including emissions of greenhouse gases, generates more greenhouse gases. At the 2010 fall meeting of the AGU, 19,175 delegates from 81 countries, including, for example, Eritrea, Nepal, and Tanzania, traveled a total of 156,000,000 km to congregate in San Francisco for five days. With data on home bases of participants provided by AGU, we estimated the CO2 emissions generated by travel and hotel stays of those participants. The majority of the emissions from the meeting resulted from air travel . In order to estimate the footprint of such travel, (a) distances from the largest airport in each country and American state (except Canada and California) to San Francisco were tabulated , (b) basic distances were converted to emissions using the TerraPass (TRX Travel Analytics) carbon calculator, (c) it was assumed that half the California participants would fly and half would drive, (d) it was assumed that half of Canadians would fly out of Toronto and half out of Vancouver, and (e) a fudge factor of 10% was added to air travel emissions to account for connecting flights made by some participants to the main airports in the respective countries (connecting flights are disproportionately significant because of high output during takeoff acceleration). Driving impacts were estimated with a Transport Direct/RAC Motoring Services calculator using a 2006 Toyota Corolla as a standard car. An average driving distance of 50 km to the departure airport, and from the airport upon return, was assumed. Train impacts were estimated using the assumption that all flying participants would take BART from SFO. Accomodation impacts were estimated using an Environmental Protection Agency calculator, an assumed average stay of 3 nights, and the assumption that 500 participants commuted from local residences or stayed with friends. The above assumptions lead to an estimate, which we consider conservative, of 19 million kg of CO2 for the fall 2010 meeting. For comparison, 19 million kg is roughly equivalent to the annual CO2 emissions of the smallest Pacific island nations and to 1/1000 of the annual CO2 emissions of Tunisia; it is 5000 times greater than average annual global per capita CO2 emissions. Additional contributions to greenhouse warming arising from air travel to/from a meeting are made by the effects of water-vapor contrails, considered by Burkhardt and Karcher (2011) to be conceivably more significant than direct CO2 emissions. We make no value judgement regarding the balance between scientific progress and environmental costs consequent to AGU and other large scientific meetings that deal with greenhouse warming. We do perceive a hint of irony, however, in the pride that AGU takes in the ever-increasing numbers of meeting participants. Burkhardt, U. and Karcher, B., 2011, Nature Climate Change 1:54-58.

The development of environmental assessment tools to support the creation of dementia friendly care environments: Innovative practice.

PubMed

Waller, Sarah; Masterson, Abigail; Evans, Simon C

2017-02-01

The need for more dementia friendly design in hospitals and other care settings is now widely acknowledged. Working with 26 NHS Trusts in England as part of a Department of Health commissioned programme, The King's Fund developed a set of overarching design principles and an environmental assessment tool for hospital wards in 2012. Following requests from other sectors, additional tools were developed for hospitals, care homes, health centres and housing with care. The tools have proven to be effective in both disseminating the principles of dementia friendly design and in enabling the case to be made for improvements that have a positive effect on patient outcomes and staff morale. This paper reports on the development, use and review of the environmental assessment tools, including further work that is now being taken forward by The Association for Dementia Studies, University of Worcester.

Environment-friendly drilling operation technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luo, Huaidong; Jing, Ning; Zhang, Yanna; Huang, Hongjun; Wei, Jun

2017-01-01

Under the circumstance that international safety and environmental standards being more and more stringent, drilling engineering is facing unprecedented challenges, the extensive traditional process flow is no longer accepted, the new safe and environment-friendly process is more suitable to the healthy development of the industry. In 2015, CNPCIC adopted environment-friendly drilling technology for the first time in the Chad region, ensured the safety of well control, at the same time increased the environmental protection measure, reduced the risk of environmental pollution what obtain the ratification from local government. This technology carries out recovery and disposal of crude oil, cuttings and mud without falling on the ground. The final products are used in road and well site construction, which realizes the reutilization of drilling waste, reduces the operating cost, and provides a strong technical support for cost-cutting and performance-increase of drilling engineering under low oil price.

Construction of Bimetallic ZIF-Derived Co-Ni LDHs on the Surfaces of GO or CNTs with a Recyclable Method: Toward Reduced Toxicity of Gaseous Thermal Decomposition Products of Unsaturated Polyester Resin.

PubMed

Hou, Yanbei; Qiu, Shuilai; Hu, Yuan; Kundu, Chanchal Kumar; Gui, Zhou; Hu, Weizhao

2018-05-30

This work proposed an idea of recycling in preparing Co-Ni layered double hydroxide (LDH)-derived flame retardants. A novel and feasible method was developed to synthesize CO-Ni LDH-decorated graphene oxide (GO) and carbon nanotubes (CNTs), by sacrificing bimetal zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZIFs). Organic ligands that departed from ZIFs were recyclable and can be reused to synthesize ZIFs. ZIFs, as transitional objects, in situ synthesized on the surfaces of GO or CNTs directly suppressed the re-stacking of the carbides and facilitated the preparation of GO@LDHs and CNTs@LDHs. As-prepared hybrids catalytically reduced toxic CO yield during the thermal decomposition of unsaturated polyester resin (UPR). What is more, the release behaviors of aromatic compounds were also suppressed during the pyrolysis process of UPR composites. The addition of GO@LDHs and CNTs@LDHs obviously inhibited the heat release and smoke emission behaviors of the UPR matrix during combustion. Mechanical properties of the UPR matrix also improved by inclusion of the carbides derivatives. This work paved a feasible method to prepare well-dispersed carbides@Co-Ni LDH nanocomposites with a more environmentally friendly method.

Estimating Environmental Co-benefits of U.S. CO2 Reduction Pathways Using the GCAM-USA Integrated Assessment Model

EPA Science Inventory

Various technological pathways can lead to reduced CO2 emissions. However, different pathways can have substantially different impacts on other environmental endpoints, such as air quality and energy-related water demand. The Global Change Assessment Model (GCAM) is a high resolu...

An easy and environmentally-friendly approach to superamphiphobicity of aluminum surfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deng, R.; Hu, Y. M.; Wang, L.; Li, Zh. H.; Shen, T.; Zhu, Y.; Xiang, J. Zh.

2017-04-01

Superamphiphobic Al surfaces were achieved via an easy and environmentally-friendly approach. Aqueous mixed solution of 0.7 M CuSO4 and 1 M NaCl was used to etch polished Al surfaces to fabricate a rough morphology distributed with microscale step-like pits. The uniformly distributed nanoscale petals covered on the microscale pits were obtained by subsequent 96 °C hot deionized water bathing for 13 min. Thus, the hierarchical micro/nanometer scale roughness was formed which provided the structural basic of superamphiphobic Al surfaces. By 1H, 1H, 2H, 2H-Perfluorodecyl-triethoxysilane (PFDTS) derivatization, desirable superamphiphobic Al surfaces were achieved with the highest static contact angles of 162° for water, 156° for peanut oil, respectively. Meanwhile, the sliding angles were lower than 10° for both water and peanut oil droplets. The as-prepared Al surfaces were investigated by field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and optical contact angle measurements. The FE-SEM images of as-prepared Al surfaces showed a hierarchical micro/nanometer scale morphology. XPS analyses demonstrated the PFDTS derivitization on Al surfaces. The superamphiphobic Al surfaces presented good mechanical durability and chemical stability which have a wide range of applications in fields such as self-cleaning, anti-icing, anti-corrosion, oil transportation, energy harvesting, microfluidics, and so forth. The approach reported in this paper may easily realize the industrial production of superamphiphobic Al surfaces owing to the advantage of facile, low cost and environmentally-friendly.

Fabrication and characterization of environmental-friendly Ni1-xRxTiO3 nanopigments with high NIR reflectance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tong, Yu-Ping; Chen, Zheng; Wang, Hui-Xian; Zhang, Xu-Fang; Ma, Jun-Tao; Chen, Xi

2015-04-01

A series of novel high dispersed environmental-friendly nanopigments based on NiTiO3 doped with rare earth ion such as Y, La, Eu, Sm have been developed. The products were characterized by X-ray diffractometer (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), commission internationale de l'Eclairage (CIE) 1976 L*α*b* color scales and UV-Vis-near-infrared radiation (NIR) reflectance spectroscopy. The substitution of R3+ for Ni2+ in NiTiO3 can improve the yellowness of pigments, especially for Eu3+ substitution. The sample with the substitution of Eu3+ for Ni2+ processes the highest NIR reflectance and enhances the NIR reflectance to 89.0%. SEM results revealed that the obtained pigments were composed of well-dispersed spherical-like particles with the range of 40-60 nm. EDS results indicated that the distribution of Ni, Ti, R, O element was considerably uniform with no chemical segregation phenomenon.

Prospective Associations of Co-Rumination with Friendship and Emotional Adjustment: Considering the Socioemotional Trade-Offs of Co-Rumination

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rose, Amanda J.; Carlson, Wendy; Waller, Erika M.

2007-01-01

Co-ruminating, or excessively discussing problems, with friends is proposed to have adjustment tradeoffs. Co-rumination is hypothesized to contribute both to positive friendship adjustment and to problematic emotional adjustment. Previous single-assessment research was consistent with this hypothesis, but whether co-rumination is an antecedent…

Sustainability evaluation of pasteurized milk production with a life cycle assessment approach: An Iranian case study.

PubMed

Rafiee, Shahin; Khoshnevisan, Benyamin; Mohammadi, Issa; Aghbashlo, Mortaza; Mousazadeh, Hossein; Clark, Sean

2016-08-15

Agro-food systems play a significant role in the economies of all nations due to energy use and the resulting environmental consequences. The sustainability of these systems is determined by a multitude of interacting economic, social and environmental factors. Dairy production presents a relevant example of the sustainability trade-offs that occur within such systems. On the one hand, dairy production constitutes an important part of the human diet, but it is also responsible for significant emissions of potent greenhouse gases and other pollutants. In this study, the environmental aspects of pasteurized milk production in Iran were investigated using a life-cycle approach. Three sub-systems, namely feed production, dairy farm and dairy factory, were taken into account to determine how and where Iranian pasteurized milk production might be made more environmentally friendly and energy efficient. The results clearly demonstrate that the feed production stage was the hot spot in pasteurized milk production in terms of energy consumption, environmental burdens and economic costs. The largest share of the total production costs belonged to animal feeds (43%), which were part of the feed production stage. The largest consumers of energy in the production of raw milk were alfalfa (30.3%), concentrate (24%), straw (17.8%) and maize (10.9%) for cows, followed by diesel fuel (6.6%) and electricity (5.6%). The global warming potential for the production of 1000kg of raw milk at the dairy-farm gate was estimated at 457kg CO2,eq. Thus, more than 69% of the total impact at the milk-processing gate resulted from the previous two sub-systems (feed production and dairy farm), with the feed-production stage accounting for the largest fractions of the environmental burdens. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Novel bipyridinyl oxadiazole-based metal coordination complexes: High efficient and green synthesis of 3,4-dihydropyrimidin-2(1H)-ones through the Biginelli reactions

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

Wang, Jin-Hua; Zhang, E.; Tang, Gui-Mei, E-mail: meiguit@163.com

2016-09-15

Three new metal coordination complexes, namely, [Co(BPO){sub 2}(H{sub 2}O){sub 4}](BS){sub 2}(H{sub 2}O){sub 2} (1), [Co(BPO){sub 2}(H{sub 2}O){sub 4}](ABS){sub 2}(H{sub 2}O){sub 2} (2), [Co(BPO){sub 2}(H{sub 2}O){sub 4}](MBS){sub 2}(H{sub 2}O){sub 2} (3) [BPO=2,5-di(pyridin-4-yl)-1,3,4-oxadiazole, BS=benzenesulphonate, ABS=4-aminobenzenesulphonate, MBS=4-methylbenzenesulphonate] were obtained under hydrothermal conditions. Complexes 1–3 were structurally characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction, powder X-ray diffraction, IR and thermogravimetric analyses (TGA). All of them display a zero-dimensional motif, in which strong intermolecular hydrogen bonding interactions (O–H···O/N) and packing interactions (C–H···π and π···π) make them achieve a three-dimensional supramolecular architecture. The primary catalytic results of these three complexes show that high efficiency for the green synthesismore » of a variety of 3,4-dihydropyrimidin-2(1H)-ones was observed under solvent free conditions through Biginelli reactions. The present catalytic protocols exhibit advantages such as excellent yield, easy isolation, eco-friendly conditions, and short reaction time. - Graphical abstract: Three new metal coordination complexes with bipyridinyl-oxadiazole were obtained under hydrothermal conditions, which display a zero-dimensional motif, and show high efficiency for the green synthesis of a variety of 3,4-dihydropyrimidin-2(1H)-ones under solvent free conditions through Biginelli reactions. The present catalytic protocols exhibit advantages such as excellent yield, easy isolation, eco-friendly conditions, and short reaction time. Display Omitted.« less

Alternative solvent-based methyl benzoate vortex-assisted dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction for the high-performance liquid chromatographic determination of benzimidazole fungicides in environmental water samples.

PubMed

Santaladchaiyakit, Yanawath; Srijaranai, Supalax

2014-11-01

Vortex-assisted dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction using methyl benzoate as an alternative extraction solvent for extracting and preconcentrating three benzimidazole fungicides (i.e., carbendazim, thiabendazole, and fluberidazole) in environmental water samples before high-performance liquid chromatographic analysis has been developed. The selected microextraction conditions were 250 μL of methyl benzoate containing 300 μL of ethanol, 1.0% w/v sodium acetate, and vortex agitation speed of 2100 rpm for 30 s. Under optimum conditions, preconcentration factors were 14.5-39.0 for the target fungicides. Limits of detection were obtained in the range of 0.01-0.05 μg/L. The proposed method was then applied to surface water samples and the recovery evaluations at three spiked concentration levels of 5, 30, and 50 μg/L were obtained in the range of 77.4-110.9% with the relative standard deviation <7.4%. The present method was simple, rapid, low cost, sensitive, environmentally friendly, and suitable for the trace analysis of the studied fungicides in environmental water samples. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

A predictive analysis of CO2 emissions, environmental policy stringency, and economic growth in China.

PubMed

Ahmed, Khalid; Ahmed, Sidrah

2018-03-28

This study takes environmental policy stringency and economic activity as the controlling variables and forecasts the CO 2 emissions in China up to 2022. In doing so, an application of corrected grey model with convolution is used over the annual time series data between 1990 and 2012. The simulation results show that (1) between 2012 and 2022, CO 2 emissions in China is expected to increase at an average rate of 17.46% annually, raising the emissions intensity from 7.04 in 2012 to 25.461 metric tons per capita by 2022; (2) stringent environmental policies reduce CO 2 emissions-whereas, GDP tends to increase the emissions intensity in China; (3) stringent environmental policies are found to have a negative impact on GDP in China. Based on the empirical findings, the study also provides some policy suggestions to reduce emissions intensity in China.

LCA-Based Product Claims

EPA Science Inventory

Product environmental claims include a wide range of marketing claims, labels, declarations, statements and reports that are generally intended to distinguish a product as environmentally friendly or ‘green’. They differ from organizational environmental claims in the...

Carbon dioxide-assisted fabrication of highly uniform submicron-sized colloidal carbon spheres via hydrothermal carbonization using soft drink

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

Moon, Gun-Hee; Shin, Yongsoon; Arey, Bruce W.

An eco-friendly and economical method for the formation of uniform-sized carbon spheres by hydrothermal dehydration/condensation of a commercial carbonated beverage at 200 oC is reported. CO2 dissolved in the beverage accelerates the dehydration kinetics of the dissolved sugar molecules leading to production of homogeneous carbon spheres having a diameter less than 850 nm. In the presence of CO2, the rough surface of these carbon spheres likely results from continuous Ostwald ripening of constituent microscopic carbon-containing spheres that are formed by subsequent polymerization of intermediate HMF molecules.

Soil management practice in Croatian vineyard affect CO2 fluxes and soil degradation in trafficking zones. First results

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bogunovic, Igor; Bilandzija, Darija; Andabaka, Zeljko; Stupic, Domagoj; Cacic, Marija; Brezinscak, Luka; Maletic, Edi; Pereira, Paulo; Kisic, Ivica

2017-04-01

Vineyards represent one of the most degradation prone types of intensively managed land on Earth. Steep slopes encourage grape producers to adopt environmental friendly soil management like mulching or continuous no-tillage. In this context, producers have concerns about efficient fertilisation practices and water competitions between vine and grasses in continuous no-tillage inter rows. Vineyards in semi-humid areas like Continental Croatia mostly not suffer from water deficit during growth. Nevertheless, lack of research of different soil management practices open dilemma about soil compaction concerns in intensively trafficked soils in vineyard of semi-humid areas. Soil compaction, determined by bulk density (BD), soil water content (SWC) and CO2 fluxes from trafficked inter row positions were recorded in 2016 in an experiment in which four different soil management systems were compared in a vineyard raised on a silty clay loam soil, near Zagreb, Croatia: No-tillage (NT) system, continuous tillage (CT) and yearly inversed grass covered (INV-GC) and tillage managed (INV-T) inter rows are subjected to intensive traffic. Grape yield and must quality of grape variety Chardonnay was also monitored. Tractor traffic increased the soil BD at 0-10 and 10-20 cm, but especially at the 0-10 cm depth. CT treatment record lowest compaction at 0-10 cm because of tillage. Soil water content showed better conservation possibilities of INV-GC in drier period. In wet period SWC possibilities are similar between treatments. The results of soil compaction under different management indicate that vineyard soil differently response to traffic intensity and impact on microfauna activity and CO2 emissions. INV-GC and NT managed soils record lower CO2 fluxes from vineyard soil compared to CT and INV-T treatments. Management treatments did not statistically influenced on grape yields. Several years of investigation is needed to confirm the overall impact of different management treatments on the proportion of degradation process and their response to proportion of tractor circulation impacts.

The German collaborative project SUGAR Utilization of a natural treasure - Developing innovative techniques for the exploration and production of natural gas from hydrate-bearing sediments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haeckel, M.; Bialas, J.; Wallmann, K. J.

2009-12-01

Gas hydrates occur in nature at all active and passive continental margins as well as in permafrost regions, and vast amounts of natural gas are bound in those deposits. Geologists estimate that twice as much carbon is bound in gas hydrates than in any other fossil fuel reservoir, such as gas, oil and coal. Hence, natural gas hydrates represent a huge potential energy resource that, in addition, could be utilized in a CO2-neutral and therefore environmentally friendly manner. However, the utilization of this natural treasure is not as easy as the conventional production of oil or natural gas and calls for new and innovative techniques. In the framework of the large-scale collaborative research project SUGAR (Submarine Deposits of Gas Hydrates - Exploration, Production and Transportation), we aim to produce gas from methane hydrates and to sequester carbon dioxide from power plants and other industrial sources as CO2 hydrates in the same host sediments. Thus, the SUGAR project addresses two of the most pressing and challenging topics of our time: development of alternative energy strategies and greenhouse gas mitigation techniques. The SUGAR project is funded by two federal German ministries and the German industry for an initial period of three years. In the framework of this project new technologies starting from gas hydrate exploration techniques over drilling technologies and innovative gas production methods to CO2 storage in gas hydrates and gas transportation technologies will be developed and tested. Beside the performance of experiments, numerical simulation studies will generate data regarding the methane production and CO2 sequestration in the natural environment. Reservoir modelling with respect to gas hydrate formation and development of migration pathways complete the project. This contribution will give detailed information about the planned project parts and first results with focus on the production methods.

Effect of cooled EGR on performance and exhaust gas emissions in EFI spark ignition engine fueled by gasoline and wet methanol blends

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rohadi, Heru; Syaiful, Bae, Myung-Whan

2016-06-01

Fuel needs, especially the transport sector is still dominated by fossil fuels which are non-renewable. However, oil reserves are very limited. Furthermore, the hazardous components produced by internal combustion engine forces many researchers to consider with alternative fuel which is environmental friendly and renewable sources. Therefore, this study intends to investigate the impact of cooled EGR on the performance and exhaust gas emissions in the gasoline engine fueled by gasoline and wet methanol blends. The percentage of wet methanol blended with gasoline is in the range of 5 to 15% in a volume base. The experiment was performed at the variation of engine speeds from 2500 to 4000 rpm with 500 intervals. The re-circulated exhaust gasses into combustion chamber was 5%. The experiment was performed at the constant engine speed. The results show that the use of cooled EGR with wet methanol of 10% increases the brake torque up to 21.3%. The brake thermal efficiency increases approximately 39.6% using cooled EGR in the case of the engine fueled by 15% wet methanol. Brake specific fuel consumption for the engine using EGR fueled by 10% wet methanol decreases up to 23% at the engine speed of 2500 rpm. The reduction of CO, O2 and HC emissions was found, while CO2 increases.

ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY DISTRIBUTED ENERGY STORAGE BATTERY

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

LANDI, J.T.; PLIVELICH, R.F.

2006-04-30

Electro Energy, Inc. conducted a research project to develop an energy efficient and environmentally friendly bipolar Ni-MH battery for distributed energy storage applications. Rechargeable batteries with long life and low cost potentially play a significant role by reducing electricity cost and pollution. A rechargeable battery functions as a reservoir for storage for electrical energy, carries energy for portable applications, or can provide peaking energy when a demand for electrical power exceeds primary generating capabilities.

Revisiting the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis in a tourism development context.

PubMed

de Vita, Glauco; Katircioglu, Salih; Altinay, Levent; Fethi, Sami; Mercan, Mehmet

2015-11-01

This study investigates empirically an extended version of the Environmental Kuznets Curve model that controls for tourism development. We find that international tourist arrivals into Turkey alongside income, squared income and energy consumption, cointegrate with CO2 emissions. Tourist arrivals, growth, and energy consumption exert a positive and significant impact on CO2 emissions in the long-run. Our results provide empirical support to EKC hypothesis showing that at exponential levels of growth, CO2 emissions decline. The findings suggest that despite the environmental degradation stemming from tourism development, policies aimed at environmental protection should not be pursued at the expense of tourism-led growth.

Feasible Interventions: Bridging the Gap between Co-Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jarvis, Michael A.

2014-01-01

The purpose of this case study was to gain a deeper understanding of the perceptions of the feasibility of employing the five models of co-teaching (Friend & Cook, 1995) through the co-teachers' experience and how this affected both the relationship between co-teachers and student outcomes. This research addressed a literature gap not…

A New Way to Produce Cellobiose Carbonates Using Green Chemistry.

PubMed

Khiari, R; Brochier-Salon, M-C; Mhenni, M F; Mauret, E; Belgacem, M N

2016-08-23

The preparation of cellulose derivatives using green (i.e., environmentally friendly) reagents would improve sustainability and reduce concerns arising from the use of non-green reagents. The objective of this work was to prepare cellobiose carbonate using a green reagent, dimethyl carbonate. The carbonation reaction was carried out in the presence of ethanolic potassium hydroxide solution and dimethyl carbonate for 6 h at a range of temperatures (25-70 °C). A cellobiose derivative was successfully prepared with a recovered yield of more than 70 % and characterized by FTIR and NMR spectroscopy techniques. The presence of a grafted disaccharide with a degree of substitution higher than 2 was determined by (13) C NMR analysis. The spectra of the prepared cellobiose carbonate exhibited peaks that were associated with cellulose molecules (C1 -C6 ) and corresponded to carbonate functions at around 159.4 ppm. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Improvement in the properties of plasma-sprayed metallic, alloy and ceramic coatings using dry-ice blasting

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dong, Shujuan; Song, Bo; Hansz, Bernard; Liao, Hanlin; Coddet, Christian

2011-10-01

Dry-ice blasting, as an environmental-friendly method, was introduced into atmospheric plasma spraying for improving properties of metallic, alloy and ceramic coatings. The deposited coatings were then compared with coatings plasma-sprayed using conventional air cooling in terms of microstructure, temperature, oxidation, porosity, residual stress and adhesion. It was found that a denser steel or CoNiCrAlY alloy coating with a lower content of oxide can be achieved with the application of dry-ice blasting during the plasma spraying. In addition, the adhesive strength of Al 2O 3 coating deposited with dry-ice blasting exceeded 60 MPa, which was nearly increased by 30% compared with that of the coating deposited with conventional air cooling. The improvement in properties of plasma-sprayed metallic, alloy and ceramic coatings caused by dry-ice blasting was attributed to the decrease of annulus-ringed disk like splats, the better cooling efficiency of dry-ice pellets and even the mechanical effect of dry-ice impact.

DEMETERRES project: development of innovative technologies for removing radionuclides from contaminated solid and liquid matrices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chagvardieff, Pierre; Barré, Yves; Blin, Virginie; Faure, Sylvain; Fornier, Anne; Grange, Didier; Grandjean, Agnès; Guiderdoni, Emmanuel; Henner, Pascale; Siroux, Brice; Leybros, Antoine; Messalier, Marc; Paillard, Hervé; Prévost, Thierry; Rennesson, Malvina; Sarrobert, Catherine; Vavasseur, Alain; Véry, Anne-Aliénor

2017-09-01

As part of the « post-accidental » management, the DEMETERRES project (RSNR PIA) proposes to develop innovative and environmentally friendly methods for removal of cesium and strontium from soils and liquid matrices in order to rehabilitate them for an agricultural use while minimizing the volume of generated wastes in accordance with the nuclear waste existing processes. Complementary approaches are used: they are based on physico-chemical technologies (such as foams flotation, supercritical CO2 extraction, extractants in fluidized bed reactor …) and biological ones (bioextractants, phytoextraction) which concepts are described. These researches aim to design innovative and performing extractants in term of selectivity and to achieve the pilot reactor phase for each of them. These pilots will group in a network to provide a technological platform lasting the project, to which will be attached an available network of experts. The respective advances of these researches are presented, completed of tests initiated in Japan on contaminated soils through partnerships.

Hollow-fiber liquid-phase microextraction coupled with miniature capillary electrophoresis for the trace analysis of four aliphatic aldehydes in water samples.

PubMed

Li, Ying; Yi, Fan; Zheng, Yiliang; Wang, Yu; Ye, Jiannong; Chu, Qingcui

2015-08-01

An environmentally friendly method for the trace analysis of four aliphatic aldehydes as water disinfection byproducts has been developed based on hollow-fiber liquid-phase microextraction followed by miniature capillary electrophoresis with amperometric detection. After derivatization with 2-thiobarbituric acid, four aliphatic aldehydes (formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, propylaldehyde, and butyraldehyde) became detectable by the amperometric detector. Under the optimum conditions, four aliphatic aldehydes can be well separated from the coexisting interferents as well as their homologs (pentanal, glyoxal, and methyl-glyoxal), and the limits of detection (S/N = 3) could reach sub-nanogram-per-milliliter level based on hollow-fiber liquid-phase microextraction. The proposed method has been applied for the analyses of above four aliphatic aldehydes in different water samples such as drinking water, tap water, and river water, and the average recoveries were in the range of 90-113%, providing an alternative to conventional and microchip capillary electrophoresis approaches. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

A Bio-Inspired, Heavy-Metal-Free, Dual-Electrolyte Liquid Battery towards Sustainable Energy Storage.

PubMed

Ding, Yu; Yu, Guihua

2016-04-04

Wide-scale exploitation of renewable energy requires low-cost efficient energy storage devices. The use of metal-free, inexpensive redox-active organic materials represents a promising direction for environmental-friendly, cost-effective sustainable energy storage. To this end, a liquid battery is designed using hydroquinone (H2BQ) aqueous solution as catholyte and graphite in aprotic electrolyte as anode. The working potential can reach 3.4 V, with specific capacity of 395 mA h g(-1) and stable capacity retention about 99.7% per cycle. Such high potential and capacity is achieved using only C, H and O atoms as building blocks for redox species, and the replacement of Li metal with graphite anode can circumvent potential safety issues. As H2BQ can be extracted from biomass directly and its redox reaction mimics the bio-electrochemical process of quinones in nature, using such a bio-inspired organic compound in batteries enables access to greener and more sustainable energy-storage technology. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Ionic liquids in lithium battery electrolytes: Composition versus safety and physical properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wilken, Susanne; Xiong, Shizhao; Scheers, Johan; Jacobsson, Per; Johansson, Patrik

2015-02-01

Ionic liquids have been highlighted as non-flammable, environmentally friendly, and suggested as possible solvents in lithium ion battery electrolytes. Here, the application of two ionic liquids from the EMIm-family in a state-of-the-art carbonate solvent based electrolyte is studied with a focus on safety improvement. The impact of the composition on physical and safety related properties is investigated for IL concentrations of additive (∼5 wt%) up to co-solvent concentrations (∼60 wt%). Furthermore, the role of the lithium salt concentration is separately addressed by studying a set of electrolytes at 0.5 M, 1 M, and 2 M LiPF6 concentrations. A large impact on the electrolyte properties is found for the electrolytes containing EMImTFSI and high salt concentrations. The composition 2 M LiPF6 EC:DEC:IL (1:1:3 wt%) is found non-flammable for both choices of ILs added. The macroscopic observations are complemented by a Raman spectroscopy analysis whereby a change in the Li+ solvation is detected for IL concentrations >4.5 mol%.

Synthesis and characterization of a novel phosphorus-nitrogen containing flame retardant and its application for textile

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The economic and environmentally friendly flame retardant compound, tetramethyl (6-chloro-1,3,5-triazine-2,4-diyl)bis(oxy)bis (methylene)diphosphonate (FR-1) was synthesized by a simple 2 step procedure from dimethyl phosphate, and its chemical structure was characterized by 1H, 13C, and 31P nuclea...

Deep catalytic oxidative desulfurization (ODS) of dibenzothiophene (DBT) with oxalate-based deep eutectic solvents (DESs).

PubMed

Lü, Hongying; Li, Pengcheng; Deng, Changliang; Ren, Wanzhong; Wang, Shunan; Liu, Pan; Zhang, Han

2015-07-07

An oxalate-based DES with a tetrabutyl ammonium chloride and oxalate acid molar ratio of 1/2 (TBO1 : 2) exhibited high activity in oxidative desulfurization (ODS) of dibenzothiophene (DBT) under mild reaction conditions. It is potentially a promising and highly environmentally friendly approach for desulfurization of fuels.

IMPROVING PHOTOCATALYTIC PROPERTIES OF TIO2 THROUGH THIN FILM COATING AND METAL DOPING VIA FLAME AEROSOL COATING METHOD

EPA Science Inventory

There has been an increasing demand for efficient, economical and environmentally friendly methods for partial oxidation of hydrocarbons by molecular oxygen, to desirable industrial feedstock oxygenates. Current processes are energy intensive, have low conversion efficiencies and...

Gender sensitive education in watershed management to support environmental friendly city

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Asteria, D.; Budidarmono; Herdiansyah, H.; Ni’mah, N. L.

2018-03-01

This study is about gender-sensitive perspective in watershed management education program as one of capacity building for citizens in watershed management with community-based strategy to support environmental friendly cities and security for women from flood disasters. Involving women and increasing women’s active participation in sustainable watershed management is essential in urban area. In global warming and climate change situations, city management should be integrated between social aspect and environmental planning. This study used mix method (concurrent embedded type, with quantitative as primary method) with research type is descriptive-explanatory. The result of this study is education strategies with gender approaches and affirmative action through emancipation approach and local knowledge from women’s experiences can increase women’s participation. Women’s empowerment efforts need integrated intervention and collaboration from government, NGO, and other stakeholders to optimize women’s role in watershed management for support environmental friendly city. The implication of this study is an educational strategy on watershed conservation with gender perspective to offer social engineering alternatives for decision makers to policy of sustainable watershed management in urban area related to flood mitigation efforts.

Aqueous hybrid ion batteries - An environmentally friendly alternative for stationary energy storage?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peters, Jens F.; Weil, Marcel

2017-10-01

Aqueous hybrid ion batteries (AHIB) are being promoted as an environmentally friendly alternative to existing stationary battery technologies. However, no quantification of their potential environmental impacts has yet been done. This paper presents a prospective life cycle assessment of an AHIB module and compares its performance with lithium-ion and sodium-ion batteries in two different stationary energy storage applications. The findings show that the claim of being an environmentally friendly technology can only be supported with some major limitations. While the AHIB uses abundant and non-toxic materials, it has a very low energy density and requires increased amounts of material for providing a given storage capacity. Per kWh of battery, results comparable to those of the alternative lithium- or sodium-ion batteries are obtained, but significantly higher impacts under global warming and ozone depletion aspects. The comparable high cycle life of the AHIB compensates this partially, requiring less battery replacements over the lifetime of the application. On the other hand, its internal inefficiencies are higher, what becomes the dominating factor when charging majorly fossil based electricity, making AHIB unattractive for this type of applications.

Candidate eco-friendly gas mixtures for MPGDs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Benussi, L.; Bianco, S.; Saviano, G.; Muhammad, S.; Piccolo, D.; Ferrini, M.; Parvis, M.; Grassini, S.; Colafranceschi, S.; Kjølbro, J.; Sharma, A.; Yang, D.; Chen, G.; Ban, Y.; Li, Q.

2018-02-01

Modern gas detectors for detection of particles require F-based gases for optimal performance. Recent regulations demand the use of environmentally unfriendly F-based gases to be limited or banned. This review studies properties of potential eco-friendly gas candidate replacements.

Life-cycle assessment of a Waste-to-Energy plant in central Norway: Current situation and effects of changes in waste fraction composition.

PubMed

Lausselet, Carine; Cherubini, Francesco; Del Alamo Serrano, Gonzalo; Becidan, Michael; Strømman, Anders Hammer

2016-12-01

Waste-to-Energy (WtE) plants constitute one of the most common waste management options to deal with municipal solid waste. WtE plants have the dual objective to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfills and simultaneously to produce useful energy (heat and/or power). Energy from WtE is gaining steadily increasing importance in the energy mix of several countries. Norway is no exception, as energy recovered from waste currently represents the main energy source of the Norwegian district heating system. Life-cycle assessments (LCA) of WtE systems in a Norwegian context are quasi-nonexistent, and this study assesses the environmental performance of a WtE plant located in central Norway by combining detailed LCA methodology with primary data from plant operations. Mass transfer coefficients and leaching coefficients are used to trace emissions over the various life-cycle stages from waste logistics to final disposal of the ashes. We consider different fractions of input waste (current waste mix, insertion of 10% car fluff, 5% clinical waste and 10% and 50% wood waste), and find a total contribution to Climate Change Impact Potential ranging from 265 to 637gCO 2 eq/kg of waste and 25 to 61gCO 2 eq/MJ of heat. The key drivers of the environmental performances of the WtE system being assessed are the carbon biogenic fraction and the lower heating value of the incoming waste, the direct emissions at the WtE plant, the leaching of the heavy metals at the landfill sites and to a lesser extent the use of consumables. We benchmark the environmental performances of our WtE systems against those of fossil energy systems, and we find better performance for the majority of environmental impact categories, including Climate Change Impact Potential, although some trade-offs exist (e.g. higher impacts on Human Toxicity Potential than natural gas, but lower than coal). Also, the insertion of challenging new waste fractions is demonstrated to be an option both to cope with the excess capacity of the Norwegian WtE sector and to reach Norway's ambitious political goals for environmentally friendly energy systems. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Molecular Gibbs Surface Excess and CO2-Hydrate Density Determine the Strong Temperature- and Pressure-Dependent Supercritical CO2-Brine Interfacial Tension.

PubMed

Ji, Jiayuan; Zhao, Lingling; Tao, Lu; Lin, Shangchao

2017-06-29

In CO 2 geological storage, the interfacial tension (IFT) between supercritical CO 2 and brine is critical for the storage capacitance design to prevent CO 2 leakage. IFT relies not only on the interfacial molecule properties but also on the environmental conditions at different storage sites. In this paper, supercritical CO 2 -NaCl solution systems are modeled at 343-373 K and 6-35 MPa under the salinity of 1.89 mol/L using molecular dynamics simulations. After computing and comparing the molecular density profile across the interface, the atomic radial distribution function, the molecular orientation distribution, the molecular Gibbs surface excess (derived from the molecular density profile), and the CO 2 -hydrate number density under the above environmental conditions, we confirm that only the molecular Gibbs surface excess of CO 2 molecules and the CO 2 -hydrate number density correlate strongly with the temperature- and pressure-dependent IFTs. We also compute the populations of two distinct CO 2 -hydrate structures (T-type and H-type) and attribute the observed dependence of IFTs to the dominance of the more stable, surfactant-like T-type CO 2 -hydrates at the interface. On the basis of these new molecular mechanisms behind IFT variations, this study could guide the rational design of suitable injecting environmental pressure and temperature conditions. We believe that the above two molecular-level metrics (Gibbs surface excess and hydrate number density) are of great fundamental importance for understanding the supercritical CO 2 -water interface and engineering applications in geological CO 2 storage.

Intensification of marrubiin concentration by optimization of microwave-assisted (low CO2 yielding) extraction process for Marrubium vulgare using central composite design and antioxidant evaluation.

PubMed

Mittal, Vineet; Nanda, Arun

2017-12-01

Marrubium vulgare Linn (Lamiaceae) was generally extracted by conventional methods with low yield of marrubiin; these processes were not considered environment friendly. This study extracts the whole plant of M. vulgare by microwave assisted extraction (MAE) and optimizes the effect of various extraction parameters on the marrubiin yield by using Central Composite Design (CCD). The selected medicinal plant was extracted using ethanol: water (1:1) as solvent by MAE. The plant material was also extracted using a Soxhlet and the various extracts were analyzed by HPTLC to quantify the marrubiin concentration. The optimized conditions for the microwave-assisted extraction of selected medicinal plant was microwave power of 539 W, irradiation time of 373 s and solvent to drug ratio, 32 mL per g of the drug. The marrubiin concentration in MAE almost doubled relative to the traditional method (0.69 ± 0.08 to 1.35 ± 0.04%). The IC 50 for DPPH was reduced to 66.28 ± 0.6 μg/mL as compared to conventional extract (84.14 ± 0.7 μg/mL). The scanning electron micrographs of the treated and untreated drug samples further support the results. The CCD can be successfully applied to optimize the extraction parameters (MAE) for M. vulgare. Moreover, in terms of environmental impact, the MAE technique could be assumed as a 'Green approach' because the MAE approach for extraction of plant released only 92.3 g of CO 2 as compared to 3207.6 g CO 2 using the Soxhlet method of extraction.

Magnetically retrievable nickel hydroxide functionalised AFe2O4 (A = Mn, Ni) spinel nanocatalyst for alcohol oxidation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bhat, Pooja B.; Bhat, Badekai Ramachandra

2016-03-01

Ultrasmall nickel hydroxide functionalised AFe2O4 (A = Mn, Ni) nanocatalyst was synthesized by traditional co-precipitation method and was examined for oxidation of aromatic alcohols to carbonyls using hydrogen peroxide as terminal oxidant. A very high surface area of 104.55 m2 g-1 was achieved for ferromagnetic MnFe2O4 and 100.50 m2 g-1 for superparamagnetic NiFe2O4, respectively. Efficient oxidation was observed due to the synergized effect of nickel hydroxide (bronsted base) on Lewis center (Fe) of the nanocatalyst. Catalyst recycling experiments revealed that the ultrasmall nanocatalyst can be easily recovered by external magnet and applied for nearly complete oxidation of alcohols for at least five successive cycles. Furthermore, the nickel hydroxide functionalised ultrasmall nanocatalyst exhibited higher efficiency for benzyl alcohol oxidation compared to Ni(OH)2, bare MnFe2O4 and NiFe2O4. Higher conversion rate was observed for nickel hydroxide functionalised NiFe2O4 compared to MnFe2O4. Ultrasmall magnetic nickel hydroxide functionalised nanocatalyst showed environmental friendly, greener route for the oxidation of alcohols without significant loss in activity and selectivity within successive runs.

Development of a carbon-nanoparticle-coated stirrer for stir bar sorptive extraction by a simple carbon deposition in flame.

PubMed

Feng, Juanjuan; Sun, Min; Bu, Yanan; Luo, Chuannan

2016-03-01

Stir bar sorptive extraction is an environmentally friendly microextraction technique based on a stir bar with various sorbents. A commercial stirrer is a good support, but it has not been used in stir bar sorptive extraction due to difficult modification. A stirrer was modified with carbon nanoparticles by a simple carbon deposition process in flame and characterized by scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry. A three-dimensional porous coating was formed with carbon nanoparticles. In combination with high-performance liquid chromatography, the stir bar was evaluated using five polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons as model analytes. Conditions including extraction time and temperature, ionic strength, and desorption solvent were investigated by a factor-by-factor optimization method. The established method exhibited good linearity (0.01-10 μg/L) and low limits of quantification (0.01 μg/L). It was applied to detect model analytes in environmental water samples. No analyte was detected in river water, and five analytes were quantified in rain water. The recoveries of five analytes in two samples with spiked at 2 μg/L were in the range of 92.2-106% and 93.4-108%, respectively. The results indicated that the carbon nanoparticle-coated stirrer was an efficient stir bar for extraction analysis of some polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Life cycle assessment of energy from waste via anaerobic digestion: a UK case study.

PubMed

Evangelisti, Sara; Lettieri, Paola; Borello, Domenico; Clift, Roland

2014-01-01

Particularly in the UK, there is potential for use of large-scale anaerobic digestion (AD) plants to treat food waste, possibly along with other organic wastes, to produce biogas. This paper presents the results of a life cycle assessment to compare the environmental impacts of AD with energy and organic fertiliser production against two alternative approaches: incineration with energy production by CHP and landfill with electricity production. In particular the paper investigates the dependency of the results on some specific assumptions and key process parameters. The input Life Cycle Inventory data are specific to the Greater London area, UK. Anaerobic digestion emerges as the best treatment option in terms of total CO2 and total SO2 saved, when energy and organic fertiliser substitute non-renewable electricity, heat and inorganic fertiliser. For photochemical ozone and nutrient enrichment potentials, AD is the second option while incineration is shown to be the most environmentally friendly solution. The robustness of the model is investigated with a sensitivity analysis. The most critical assumption concerns the quantity and quality of the energy substituted by the biogas production. Two key issues affect the development and deployment of future anaerobic digestion plants: maximising the electricity produced by the CHP unit fuelled by biogas and to defining the future energy scenario in which the plant will be embedded. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Recyclable organic solar cells on cellulose nanocrystal substrates

PubMed Central

Zhou, Yinhua; Fuentes-Hernandez, Canek; Khan, Talha M.; Liu, Jen-Chieh; Hsu, James; Shim, Jae Won; Dindar, Amir; Youngblood, Jeffrey P.; Moon, Robert J.; Kippelen, Bernard

2013-01-01

Solar energy is potentially the largest source of renewable energy at our disposal, but significant advances are required to make photovoltaic technologies economically viable and, from a life-cycle perspective, environmentally friendly, and consequently scalable. Cellulose nanomaterials are emerging high-value nanoparticles extracted from plants that are abundant, renewable, and sustainable. Here, we report on the first demonstration of efficient polymer solar cells fabricated on optically transparent cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) substrates. The solar cells fabricated on the CNC substrates display good rectification in the dark and reach a power conversion efficiency of 2.7%. In addition, we demonstrate that these solar cells can be easily separated and recycled into their major components using low-energy processes at room temperature, opening the door for a truly recyclable solar cell technology. Efficient and easily recyclable organic solar cells on CNC substrates are expected to be an attractive technology for sustainable, scalable, and environmentally-friendly energy production. PMID:23524333

The effect of environmentally friendly hot-dipping auxiliary on the morphology of alloy coatings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Suhong; Guo, Kai; Zhu, Yi; Gao, Feng; Han, Zhijun

2017-10-01

Zn-Al-Mg-RE hot-dip alloy coatings which prepared by the environmentally friendly plating auxiliary were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), SEM analysis and salt spray measurement. Significant variation in coating surface morphology and element content are observed with increasing content of Al and Mg in this paper. A reinforced ternary eutectic Zn-Al-MgZn2 is confirmed which attribute to improvement metallographic structure derived from certain ternary eutectic reaction in alloy solidification. For Mg-containing coatings, the enhanced corrosion resistance is observed by corrosion resistance test in salt spray at 35°C with 5% NaCl in terms of corrosion weight changes. It is found that the incorporation of 3 wt.% Mg and 0.1 wt.% rare earth element in to Zn-Al-Mg-RE bath caused structural refinement of the crystal and also helped to achieve excellent surface morphology.

Recyclable organic solar cells on cellulose nanocrystal substrates.

PubMed

Zhou, Yinhua; Fuentes-Hernandez, Canek; Khan, Talha M; Liu, Jen-Chieh; Hsu, James; Shim, Jae Won; Dindar, Amir; Youngblood, Jeffrey P; Moon, Robert J; Kippelen, Bernard

2013-01-01

Solar energy is potentially the largest source of renewable energy at our disposal, but significant advances are required to make photovoltaic technologies economically viable and, from a life-cycle perspective, environmentally friendly, and consequently scalable. Cellulose nanomaterials are emerging high-value nanoparticles extracted from plants that are abundant, renewable, and sustainable. Here, we report on the first demonstration of efficient polymer solar cells fabricated on optically transparent cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) substrates. The solar cells fabricated on the CNC substrates display good rectification in the dark and reach a power conversion efficiency of 2.7%. In addition, we demonstrate that these solar cells can be easily separated and recycled into their major components using low-energy processes at room temperature, opening the door for a truly recyclable solar cell technology. Efficient and easily recyclable organic solar cells on CNC substrates are expected to be an attractive technology for sustainable, scalable, and environmentally-friendly energy production.

High-performance thin-film transistors with solution-processed ScInO channel layer based on environmental friendly precursor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Song, Wei; Lan, Linfeng; Li, Meiling; Wang, Lei; Lin, Zhenguo; Sun, Sheng; Li, Yuzhi; Song, Erlong; Gao, Peixiong; Li, Yan; Peng, Junbiao

2017-09-01

Thin-film transistors (TFTs) with solution-processed scandium (Sc) substituted indium oxide (Sc x In1-x O3, ScInO) thin films based on environmental friendly water-induced precursor were fabricated. As the Sc concentration increases from 0% to 10%, the mobility decreases from 23.7 cm2 V-1 s-1 to 6.4 cm2 V-1 s-1, which is attributed to the non-overlapping of the Sc3+ electron orbit. However, the off current decreases and the turn-ON voltage (V ON) shifts towards the positive direction as the Sc content increases, which indicates lower carrier density after incorporation of Sc into In2O3. More interestingly, the incorporation of Sc into In2O3 can effectively improve the electrical stability of the TFT devices under gate bias stress, which is attributed to the reduction of the number of oxygen vacancies due to the relatively low standard electrode potential (-2.36) of Sc and strong bonding strength of Sc-O (680 kJ mol-1). The reduction of oxygen vacancies is confirmed by the x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) experiments.

Dynamics of CO2 fluxes and environmental responses in the rain-fed winter wheat ecosystem of the Loess Plateau, China.

PubMed

Wang, Wen; Liao, Yuncheng; Wen, Xiaoxia; Guo, Qiang

2013-09-01

Chinese Loess Plateau plays an important role in carbon balance of terrestrial ecosystems. Continuous measurement of CO2 fluxes in cropland ecosystem is of great significance to accurately evaluate the carbon sequestration potential and to better explain the carbon cycle process in this region. By using the eddy covariance system we conducted a long-term (from Sep 2009 to Jun 2010) CO2 fluxes measurement in the rain-fed winter wheat field of the Chinese Loess Plateau and elaborated the responses of CO2 fluxes to environmental factors. The results show that the winter wheat ecosystem has distinct seasonal dynamics of CO2 fluxes. The total net ecosystem CO2 exchange (NEE) of -218.9±11.5 gC m(-2) in the growing season, however, after considering the harvested grain, the agro-ecosystem turned into a weak carbon sink (-36.2 gC m(-2)). On the other hand, the responses of CO2 fluxes to environmental factors depended on different growth stages of winter wheat and different ranges of environmental variables, suggesting that the variations in CO2 exchange were sensitive to the changes in controlling factors. Particularly, we found the pulse response of ecosystem respiration (Reco) to a large rainfall event, and the strong fluctuations of CO2 fluxes usually appeared after effective rainfall events (daily precipitation > 5 mm) during middle growing season. Such phenomenon also occurred in the case of the drastic changes in air temperature and within 5 days after field management (e.g. tillage and plough). Copyright © 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Carbon isotopes in biological carbonates: Respiration and photosynthesis

USGS Publications Warehouse

McConnaughey, T.A.; Burdett, J.; Whelan, J.F.; Paull, C.K.

1997-01-01

Respired carbon dioxide is an important constituent in the carbonates of most air breathing animals but is much less important in the carbonates of most aquatic animals. This difference is illustrated using carbon isotope data from freshwater and terrestrial snails, ahermatypic corals, and chemoautotrophic and methanotrophic pelecypods. Literature data from fish otoliths and bird and mammal shell and bone carbonates are also considered. Environmental CO2/O2 ratios appear to be the major controlling variable. Atmospheric CO2/O2 ratios are about thirty times lower than in most natural waters, hence air breathing animals absorb less environmental CO2 in the course of obtaining O2. Tissue CO2 therefore, does not isotopically equilibrate with environmental CO2 as thoroughly in air breathers as in aquatic animals, and this is reflected in skeletal carbonates. Animals having efficient oxygen transport systems, such as vertebrates, also accumulate more respired CO2 in their tissues. Photosynthetic corals calcify mainly during the daytime when photosynthetic CO2 uptake is several times faster than respiratory CO2 release. Photosynthesis, therefore, affects skeletal ??13C more strongly than does respiration. Corals also illustrate how "metabolic" effects on skeletal isotopic composition can be estimated, despite the presence of much larger "kinetic" isotope effects. Copyright ?? 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.

Carbon isotopes in biological carbonates: Respiration and photosynthesis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McConnaughey, Ted A.; Burdett, Jim; Whelan, Joseph F.; Paull, Charles K.

1997-02-01

Respired carbon dioxide is an important constituent in the carbonates of most air breathing animals but is much less important in the carbonates of most aquatic animals. This difference is illustrated using carbon isotope data from freshwater and terrestrial snails, ahermatypic corals, and chemoautotrophic and methanotrophic pelecypods. Literature data from fish otoliths and bird and mammal shell and bone carbonates are also considered. Environmental CO 2/O 2 ratios appear to be the major controlling variable. Atmospheric CO 2/O 2 ratios are about thirty times lower than in most natural waters, hence air breathing animals absorb less environmental CO 2 in the course of obtaining 0 2. Tissue CO 2 therefore, does not isotopically equilibrate with environmental CO 2 as thoroughly in air breathers as in aquatic animals, and this is reflected in skeletal carbonates. Animals having efficient oxygen transport systems, such as vertebrates, also accumulate more respired CO 2 in their tissues. Photosynthetic corals calcify mainly during the daytime when photosynthetic CO 2 uptake is several times faster than respiratory CO 2 release. Photosynthesis, therefore, affects skeletal δ13C more strongly than does respiration. Corals also illustrate how "metabolic" effects on skeletal isotopic composition can be estimated, despite the presence of much larger "kinetic" isotope effects.

La0.8Sr0.2Co0.8Ni0.2O3-δ impregnated oxygen electrode for H2O/CO2 co-electrolysis in solid oxide electrolysis cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zheng, Haoyu; Tian, Yunfeng; Zhang, Lingling; Chi, Bo; Pu, Jian; Jian, Li

2018-04-01

High-temperature H2O/CO2 co-electrolysis through reversible solid oxide electrolysis cell (SOEC) provides potentially a feasible and eco-friendly way to convert electrical energy into chemicals stored in syngas. In this work, La0.8Sr0.2Co0.8Ni0.2O3-δ (LSCN) impregnated Gd0.1Ce0.9O1.95 (GDC)-(La0.8Sr0.2)0.95MnO3-δ (LSM) composite oxygen electrode is studied as high-performance electrode for H2O/CO2 co-electrolysis. The LSCN impregnated cell exhibits competitive performance with the peak power density of 1057 mW cm-2 at 800 °C in solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) mode; in co-electrolysis mode, the current density can reach 1.60 A cm-2 at 1.5 V at 800 °C with H2O/CO2 ratio of 2/1. With LSCN nanoparticles dispersed on the surface of GDC-LSM to maximize the reaction active sites, the LSCN impregnated cell shows significant enhanced electrochemical performance at both SOEC and SOFC modes. The influence of feed gas composition (H2O-H2-CO2) and operating voltages on the performance of co-electrolysis are discussed in detail. The cell shows a very stable performance without obvious degradation for more than 100 h. Post-test characterization is analyzed in detail by multiple measurements.

Oxygen Reduction Reaction on Graphene in an Electro-Fenton System: In Situ Generation of H2 O2 for the Oxidation of Organic Compounds.

PubMed

Chen, Chen-Yu; Tang, Cheng; Wang, Hao-Fan; Chen, Cheng-Meng; Zhang, Xiaoyuan; Huang, Xia; Zhang, Qiang

2016-05-23

Fenton oxidation using an aqueous mixture of Fe(2+) and H2 O2 is a promising environmental remediation strategy. However, the difficulty of storage and shipment of concentrated H2 O2 and the generation of iron sludge limit its broad application. Therefore, highly efficient and cost-effective electrocatalysts are in great need. Herein, a graphene catalyst is proposed for the electro-Fenton process, in which H2 O2 is generated in situ by the two-electron reduction of the dissolved O2 on the cathode and then decomposes to generate (.) OH in acidic solution with Fe(2+) . The π bond of the oxygen is broken whereas the σ bond is generally preserved on the metal-free reduced graphene oxide owing to the high free energy change. Consequently, the oxygen is reduced to H2 O2 through a two-electron pathway. The thermally reduced graphene with a high specific surface area (308.8 m(2)  g(-1) ) and a large oxygen content (10.3 at %) exhibits excellent reactivity for the two-electron oxygen reduction reaction to H2 O2 . A highly efficient peroxide yield (64.2 %) and a remarkable decolorization of methylene blue (12 mg L(-1) ) of over 97 % in 160 min are obtained. The degradation of methylene blue with hydroxyl radicals generated in situ is described by a pseudo first-order kinetics model. This provides a proof-of-concept of an environmentally friendly electro-Fenton process using graphene for the oxygen reduction reaction in an acidic solution to generate H2 O2 . © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Exploring social influences on the joint Simon task: empathy and friendship

PubMed Central

Ford, Ruth M.; Aberdein, Bradley

2015-01-01

Tasks for which people must act together to achieve a goal are a feature of daily life. The present study explored social influences on joint action using a Simon procedure for which participants (n = 44) were confronted with a series of images of hands and asked to respond via button press whenever the index finger wore a ring of a certain color (red or green) regardless of pointing direction (left or right). In an initial joint condition they performed the task while sitting next to another person (friend or stranger) who responded to the other color. In a subsequent individual condition they repeated the task on their own; additionally, they completed self-report tests of empathy. Consistent with past research, participants reacted more quickly when the finger pointed toward them rather than their co-actor (the Simon Effect or SE). The effect remained robust when the co-actor was no longer present and was unaffected by degree of acquaintance; however, its magnitude was correlated positively with empathy only among friends. For friends, the SE was predicted by cognitive perspective taking when the co-actor was present and by propensity for fantasizing when the co-actor was absent. We discuss these findings in relation to social accounts (e.g., task co-representation) and non-social accounts (e.g., referential coding) of joint action. PMID:26217281

Hydroprocessing of Jatropha Oil for Production of Green Diesel over Non-sulfided Ni-PTA/Al2O3 Catalyst

PubMed Central

Liu, Jing; Lei, Jiandu; He, Jing; Deng, Lihong; Wang, Luying; Fan, Kai; Rong, Long

2015-01-01

The non-sulfided Ni-PTA/Al2O3 catalyst was developed to produce green diesel from the hydroprocessing of Jatropha oil. The Ni-PTA/Al2O3 catalyst was prepared by one-pot synthesis of Ni/Al2O3 with the co-precipitation method and then impregnanting Ni/Al2O3 with PTA solution. The catalysts were characterized with BET, SEM-EDX, TEM, XRD, XPS, TGA and NH3-TPD. The Ni and W species of the Ni-PTA/Al2O3 catalyst were much more homogeneously distributed on the surface than that of commercial Al2O3. Catalytic performance in the hydroprocessing of Jatropha oil was evaluated by GC. The maximum conversion of Jatropha oil (98.5 wt%) and selectivity of the C15-C18 alkanes fraction (84.5 wt %) occurred at 360 °C, 3.0 MPa, 0.8 h−1. The non-sulfided Ni-PTA/Al2O3 catalyst is more environmentally friendly than the conventional sulfided hydroprocessing catalyst, and it exhibited the highest catalytic activity than the Ni-PTA catalyst supported with commercial Al2O3 grain and Al2O3 powder. PMID:26162092

Green biosynthesis of biocompatible CdSe quantum dots in living Escherichia coli cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yan, Zhengyu; Qian, Jing; Gu, Yueqing; Su, Yilong; Ai, Xiaoxia; Wu, Shengmei

2014-03-01

A green and efficient biosynthesis method to prepare fluorescence-tunable biocompatible cadmium selenide quantum dots using Escherichia coli cells as biological matrix was proposed. Decisive factors in biosynthesis of cadmium selenide quantum dots in a designed route in Escherichia coli cells were elaborately investigated, including the influence of the biological matrix growth stage, the working concentration of inorganic reactants, and the co-incubation duration of inorganic metals to biomatrix. Ultraviolet-visible, photoluminescence, and inverted fluorescence microscope analysis confirmed the unique optical properties of the biosynthesized cadmium selenide quantum dots. The size distribution of the nanocrystals extracted from cells and the location of nanocrystals foci in vivo were also detected seriously by transmission electron microscopy. A surface protein capping layer outside the nanocrystals was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy measurements, which were supposed to contribute to reducing cytotoxicity and maintain a high viability of cells when incubating with quantum dots at concentrations as high as 2 μM. Cell morphology observation indicated an effective labeling of living cells by the biosynthesized quantum dots after a 48 h co-incubation. The present work demonstrated an economical and environmentally friendly approach to fabricating highly fluorescent quantum dots which were expected to be an excellent fluorescent dye for broad bio-imaging and labeling.

Eco-Friendly Magnetic Iron Oxide Pillared Montmorillonite for Advanced Catalytic Degradation of Dichlorophenol

EPA Science Inventory

Eco-friendly pillared montmorillonites, in which the pillars consist of iron oxide are expected to have interesting and unusual magnetic properties that are applicable for environmental decontamination. Completely “green” and effective composite was synthesized using mild reactio...

Environmental Remediation and Conversion of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) into Useful Green Products by Accelerated Carbonation Technology

PubMed Central

Lim, Mihee; Han, Gi-Chun; Ahn, Ji-Whan; You, Kwang-Suk

2010-01-01

This paper reviews the application of carbonation technology to the environmental industry as a way of reducing carbon dioxide (CO2), a green house gas, including the presentation of related projects of our research group. An alternative technology to very slow natural carbonation is the co-called ‘accelerated carbonation’, which completes its fast reaction within few hours by using pure CO2. Carbonation technology is widely applied to solidify or stabilize solid combustion residues from municipal solid wastes, paper mill wastes, etc. and contaminated soils, and to manufacture precipitated calcium carbonate (PCC). Carbonated products can be utilized as aggregates in the concrete industry and as alkaline fillers in the paper (or recycled paper) making industry. The quantity of captured CO2 in carbonated products can be evaluated by measuring mass loss of heated samples by thermo-gravimetric (TG) analysis. The industrial carbonation technology could contribute to both reduction of CO2 emissions and environmental remediation. PMID:20195442

Profiles of African American College Students’ Alcohol Use and Sexual Behaviors: Associations With Stress, Racial Discrimination, and Social Support

PubMed Central

Metzger, Isha W.; Cooper, Shauna M.; Ritchwood, Tiarney D.; Onyeuku, Chisom; Griffin, Charity Brown

2017-01-01

Though studies show that alcohol use and sexual activity increase during emerging adulthood, few studies examine within–ethnic group differences, particularly among African American college students. This investigation utilized a latent class analytic methodology to identify risk behavior profiles of alcohol use (frequency and amount of alcohol consumed), sexual activity (number of intimate partners), and co-occurring risk behaviors (drinking before sexual intercourse) among 228 African American college students. This investigation also examined whether identified risk behavior profiles were associated with stress (interpersonal, intraperso-nal, academic, and environmental), experiences of racial discrimination, and social support (from family, friends, and the college community). Results identified five distinct profiles within this sample: (a) High Sexual Risk—above-average sexual activity; (b) Abstainers—below-average alcohol use and sexual activity; (c) Low Risk—average alcohol use and sexual activity; (d) Alcohol Risk—above-average alcohol use and below-average sexual activity; and (e) Co-Occurring Risk—above-average alcohol use and sexual activity. Identified profiles differed across interpersonal and environmental stress, and self-reported frequency of experiences with racial discrimination. Implications for prevention programs and interventions aimed at reducing alcohol and sexual activity for African American college students are discussed. PMID:27215314

Transmission electron microscopy of polyhydroxybutyrate-co-valerate (PHBV)/nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC) bio-nanocomposite prepared using cryo-ultramicrotomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ismarul, N. I.; Engku, A. H. E. U.; Siti, N. K.; Tay, K. Y.

2017-12-01

Environmental issues on disposal and end-of-life for product made from synthetic petroleum-derived polymers have gained increasing attention from materials scientist to search for new materials with similar physical and mechanical properties but environmental friendly in a way that they are renewable and biodegradable as well. This work is to study the effect of nanocrystalline cellulose in improving the thermal stability of polyhydroxybutyrate-co-valerate biopolymer for high temperature processing of packaging material. 10 % w/w PHBV-NCC bio-nanocomposite feedstock pellet prepared using RONDOL minilab compounder was used as the sample for the preparation of Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) sample. RMC Cryo-Ultramicrotomy equipment was used to prepare the ultra-thin slice of the bio-nanocomposite pellet under liquid nitrogen at - 60 °C. Diamond knife was used to slice off about 80-100 nm ultra-thin bio-nanocomposite films and was transferred into the lacey carbon film coated grid using cooled sugar solution. A few drops of phosphotungstic acid was used as negative stain to improve the contrast during the TEM analysis. HITACHI TEM systems was used to obtain the TEM micrograph of PHBV-NCC bio-nanocomposite using 80kV accelerating voltage. A well dispersed NCC in PHBV matrix, ranging from 5 to 25 nm in width was observed.

Bio-inspired hydrophobic modification of cellulose nanocrystals with castor oil.

PubMed

Shang, Qianqian; Liu, Chengguo; Hu, Yun; Jia, Puyou; Hu, Lihong; Zhou, Yonghong

2018-07-01

This work presents an efficient and environmentally friendly approach to generate hydrophobic cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) using thiol-containing castor oil (CO-SH) as a renewable hydrophobe with the assist of bio-inspired dopamine at room temperature. The modification process included the formation of the polydopamine (PDA) buffer layer on CNC surfaces and the Michael addition reaction between the catechol moieties of PDA coating and thiol groups of CO-SH. The morphology, crystalline structure, surface chemistry, thermal stability and hydrophobicity of the modified CNC were charactered by TEM, XRD, FT-IR, solid-state 13 C NMR, XPS, TGA and contact angle analysis. The modified CNC preserved cellulose crystallinity, displayed higher thermal stability than unmodified CNC, and was highly hydrophobic with a water contact angle of 95.6°. The simplicity and versatility of the surface modification strategy inspired by adhesive protein of mussel may promote rapid development of hydrophobic bio-based nanomaterials for various applications. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Bicarbonate-based cultivation of Dunaliella salina for enhancing carbon utilization efficiency.

PubMed

Kim, Ga-Yeong; Heo, Jina; Kim, Hee-Sik; Han, Jong-In

2017-08-01

In this study, bicarbonate was proposed as an alternative carbon source to overcome exceedingly low CO 2 fixation efficiency of conventional microalgae cultivation system. 5gL -1 of sodium bicarbonate was found to well support the growth of Dunaliella salina, showing 2.84-fold higher specific growth rate than a bicarbonate-free control. This bicarbonate-fed cultivation also could yield biomass productivity similar to that of CO 2 -based system as long as pH was controlled. While the supplied CO 2 , because of its being a gas, was mostly lost and only 3.59% of it was used for biomass synthesis, bicarbonate was effectively incorporated into the biomass with 91.40% of carbon utilization efficiency. This study showed that the bicarbonate-based microalgae cultivation is indeed possible, and can even become a truly environment-friendly and workable approach, provided that a CO 2 mineralization technology is concomitantly established. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Mechanistically Informed User-Friendly Model to Predict Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Fluxes and Carbon Storage from Coastal Wetlands

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abdul-Aziz, O. I.; Ishtiaq, K. S.

2015-12-01

We present a user-friendly modeling tool on MS Excel to predict the greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes and estimate potential carbon sequestration from the coastal wetlands. The dominant controls of wetland GHG fluxes and their relative mechanistic linkages with various hydro-climatic, sea level, biogeochemical and ecological drivers were first determined by employing a systematic data-analytics method, including Pearson correlation matrix, principal component and factor analyses, and exploratory partial least squares regressions. The mechanistic knowledge and understanding was then utilized to develop parsimonious non-linear (power-law) models to predict wetland carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) fluxes based on a sub-set of climatic, hydrologic and environmental drivers such as the photosynthetically active radiation, soil temperature, water depth, and soil salinity. The models were tested with field data for multiple sites and seasons (2012-13) collected from the Waquoit Bay, MA. The model estimated the annual wetland carbon storage by up-scaling the instantaneous predicted fluxes to an extended growing season (e.g., May-October) and by accounting for the net annual lateral carbon fluxes between the wetlands and estuary. The Excel Spreadsheet model is a simple ecological engineering tool for coastal carbon management and their incorporation into a potential carbon market under a changing climate, sea level and environment. Specifically, the model can help to determine appropriate GHG offset protocols and monitoring plans for projects that focus on tidal wetland restoration and maintenance.

Production of colourful pigments consisting of amorphous arrays of silica particles.

PubMed

Yoshioka, Shinya; Takeoka, Yukikazu

2014-08-04

It is desirable to produce colourful pigments that have anti-fading properties and are environmentally friendly. In this Concept, we describe recently developed pigments that exhibit such characteristics. The pigments consist of amorphous arrays of submicron silica particles, and they exhibit saturated and angle-independent structural colours. Variously coloured pigments can be produced by changing the size of the particles, and the saturation of the colour can be controlled by incorporating small amounts of black particles. We review a simple analysis that is useful for interpreting the angular independence of the structural colours and discuss the remaining tasks that must be accomplished for the realistic application of these pigments. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Preface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Makabe, Toshiaki; Samukawa, Seiji

2007-06-01

Twenty-first century will be the era of the design technology on a firm basis of physics and chemistry under circumstances of a prospective high-speed computing along the line of environmentally friendly and economically saving society. The 4th International Workshop on Basic Aspects of Nonequilibrium Plasmas Interacting with Surfaces (BANPIS); Negative ions, their function & designability, and the 4th EU-Japan Joint Symposium on Plasma Processes (JSPP) were held at Hotel Highland Resort close to Mt. Fuji in Japan on January 30 - February 1, 2006. The joint conference was organized by the 21st century Center of Excellence (COE) for ;Optical & Electronic Device Technology for Access Networks; in Keio University, and co-operated by the Center for ;Atomic and Molecular Engineering,; in Open University, and by The Japan Society of Applied Physics.

Agriculture waste and rising CO2

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Currently, there are many uncertainties concerning agriculture’s role in global environmental change including the effects of rising atmospheric CO2 concentration. A viable and stable world food supply depends on productive agricultural systems, but environmental concerns within agriculture have to...

Nonlinear Associations Between Co-Rumination and Both Social Support and Depression Symptoms.

PubMed

Ames-Sikora, Alyssa M; Donohue, Meghan Rose; Tully, Erin C

2017-08-18

Co-ruminating about one's problems appears to involve both beneficial self-disclosure and harmful rumination, suggesting that moderate levels may be the most adaptive. This study used nonlinear regression to determine whether moderate levels of self-reported co-rumination in relationships with a sibling, parent, friend, and romantic partner are linked to the highest levels of self-perceived social support and lowest levels of self-reported depression symptoms in 175 emerging adults (77% female; M = 19.66 years). As expected, moderate co-rumination was associated with high social support across all four relationship types, but, somewhat unexpectedly, high levels of co-rumination were also associated with high social support. As predicted, moderate levels of co-rumination with friends and siblings were associated with low levels of depression. Contrary to hypotheses, high levels of co-rumination were associated with high depression within romantic relationships. Co-rumination with a parent did not have a linear or quadratic association with depression. These findings suggest that high co-ruminating in supportive relationships and to a lesser extent low co-ruminating in unsupportive relationships are maladaptive interpersonal processes but that co-rumination's relation to depression depends on the co-ruminating partner. Psychotherapies for depression may target these maladaptive processes by supporting clients' development of balanced self-focused negative talk.

Formulation of lubricating grease using Beeswax thickener

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Suhaila, N.; Japar, A.; Aizudin, M.; Aziz, A.; Najib Razali, Mohd

2018-04-01

The issues on environmental pollution has brought the industries to seek the alternative green solutions for lubricating grease formulation. The significant challenges in producing modified grease are in which considering the chosen thickener as one of the environmental friendly material. The main purposes of the current research were to formulate lubricant grease using different types of base oils and to study the effect of thickener on the formulated lubricant grease. Used oil and motor oil were used as the base oils for the grease preparation. Beeswax and Damar were used as thickener and additive. The grease is tested based on its consistency, stability and oil bleeding. The prepared greases achieved grease consistency of grade 2 and 3 except for grease with unfiltered used oil. Grease formulated with used oil and synthetic oil tend to harden and loss its lubricating ability under high temperature compared to motor oil’ grease. Grease modification using environmental friendly thickener were successfully formulated but it is considered as a low temperature grease as the beeswax have low melting point of 62°C-65°C.

The Conversion of L-Phenylalanine to ("S")-2-Hydroxy-3-Phenylpropanoic Acid: A Simple, Visual Example of a Stereospecific S[subscript N]2 Reaction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Van Draanen, Nanine A.; Hengst, Stephanie

2010-01-01

We report a simple, inexpensive, visual, and environmentally friendly S[subscript N]2 reaction appropriate for the second-year organic chemistry laboratory that illustrates stereospecificity, dependence of water solubility on the state of ionization, optical activity, and effect of diastereotopic protons in [superscript 1]H NMR spectroscopy. The…

Precursor-Directed Combinatorial Biosynthesis of Cinnamoyl, Dihydrocinnamoyl, and Benzoyl Anthranilates in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

DOE PAGES

Eudes, Aymerick; Teixeira Benites, Veronica; Wang, George; ...

2015-10-02

Biological synthesis of pharmaceuticals and biochemicals offers an environmentally friendly alternative to conventional chemical synthesis. These alternative methods require the design of metabolic pathways and the identification of enzymes exhibiting adequate activities. Cinnamoyl, dihydrocinnamoyl, and benzoyl anthranilates are natural metabolites which possess beneficial activities for human health, and the search is expanding for novel derivatives that might have enhanced biological activity. For example, biosynthesis in Dianthus caryophyllus is catalyzed by hydroxycinnamoyl/benzoyl-CoA:anthranilate N-hydroxycinnamoyl/ benzoyltransferase (HCBT), which couples hydroxycinnamoyl-CoAs and benzoyl-CoAs to anthranilate. We recently demonstrated the potential of using yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) for the biological production of a few cinnamoyl anthranilatesmore » by heterologous co-expression of 4-coumaroyl:CoA ligase from Arabidopsis thaliana (4CL5) and HCBT. Here we report that, by exploiting the substrate flexibility of both 4CL5 and HCBT, we achieved rapid biosynthesis of more than 160 cinnamoyl, dihydrocinnamoyl, and benzoyl anthranilates in yeast upon feeding with both natural and non-natural cinnamates, dihydrocinnamates, benzoates, and anthranilates. Our results demonstrate the use of enzyme promiscuity in biological synthesis to achieve high chemical diversity within a defined class of molecules. Finally, this work also points to the potential for the combinatorial biosynthesis of diverse and valuable cinnamoylated, dihydrocinnamoylated, and benzoylated products by using the versatile biological enzyme 4CL5 along with characterized cinnamoyl-CoA- and benzoyl-CoA-utilizing transferases.« less

A portable molecular-sieve-based CO2 sampling system for radiocarbon measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Palonen, V.

2015-12-01

We have developed a field-capable sampling system for the collection of CO2 samples for radiocarbon-concentration measurements. Most target systems in environmental research are limited in volume and CO2 concentration, making conventional flask sampling hard or impossible for radiocarbon studies. The present system captures the CO2 selectively to cartridges containing 13X molecular sieve material. The sampling does not introduce significant under-pressures or significant losses of moisture to the target system, making it suitable for most environmental targets. The system also incorporates a significantly larger sieve container for the removal of CO2 from chambers prior to the CO2 build-up phase and sampling. In addition, both the CO2 and H2O content of the sample gas are measured continuously. This enables in situ estimation of the amount of collected CO2 and the determination of CO2 flux to a chamber. The portable sampling system is described in detail and tests for the reliability of the method are presented.

A portable molecular-sieve-based CO2 sampling system for radiocarbon measurements.

PubMed

Palonen, V

2015-12-01

We have developed a field-capable sampling system for the collection of CO2 samples for radiocarbon-concentration measurements. Most target systems in environmental research are limited in volume and CO2 concentration, making conventional flask sampling hard or impossible for radiocarbon studies. The present system captures the CO2 selectively to cartridges containing 13X molecular sieve material. The sampling does not introduce significant under-pressures or significant losses of moisture to the target system, making it suitable for most environmental targets. The system also incorporates a significantly larger sieve container for the removal of CO2 from chambers prior to the CO2 build-up phase and sampling. In addition, both the CO2 and H2O content of the sample gas are measured continuously. This enables in situ estimation of the amount of collected CO2 and the determination of CO2 flux to a chamber. The portable sampling system is described in detail and tests for the reliability of the method are presented.

Financial development and sectoral CO2 emissions in Malaysia.

PubMed

Maji, Ibrahim Kabiru; Habibullah, Muzafar Shah; Saari, Mohd Yusof

2017-03-01

The paper examines the impacts of financial development on sectoral carbon emissions (CO 2 ) for environmental quality in Malaysia. Since the financial sector is considered as one of the sectors that will contribute to Malaysian economy to become a developed country by 2020, we utilize a cointegration method to investigate how financial development affects sectoral CO 2 emissions. The long-run results reveal that financial development increases CO 2 emissions from the transportation and oil and gas sector and reduces CO 2 emissions from manufacturing and construction sectors. However, the elasticity of financial development is not significant in explaining CO 2 emissions from the agricultural sector. The results for short-run elasticities were also consistent with the long-run results. We conclude that generally, financial development increases CO 2 emissions and reduces environmental quality in Malaysia.

Economic growth and environmental pollution in Myanmar: an analysis of environmental Kuznets curve.

PubMed

Aung, Thiri Shwesin; Saboori, Behnaz; Rasoulinezhad, Ehsan

2017-09-01

This empirical study examines the short- and long-run relationship between GDP as an economic growth indicator and CO 2 emissions as an environmental pollution indicator in Myanmar by using annual time series data over the period of 1970-2014. It also carefully considered other proxies, such as trade openness, financial openness and urbanization, and structural breaks in the country. The fundamental objective of this study is to test the validity of environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) in the context of Myanmar. The dynamic estimates of the long- and short-term relationship among greenhouse gases (CO 2 , CH 4 , N 2 O), GDP, trade intensity, financial openness, and urbanization growth are built through an autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) model. The empirical findings indicate that there is positive short- and long-run relationship between CO 2 and GDP and thus, no evidence of EKC hypothesis is found for CO 2 in Myanmar. Nevertheless, the existence of the EKC is observed for CH 4 and N 2 O. On the other hand, trade and financial openness have inverse relationship with CO 2 emissions. These results demonstrate that trade liberalization and financial openness will improve the environment quality in Myanmar in the long run.

Geologic Storage of CO2: Leakage Pathways and Environmental Risks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Celia, M. A.; Peters, C. A.; Bachu, S.

2002-05-01

Geologic storage of CO2 appears to be an attractive option for carbon mitigation because it offers sufficient capacity to solve the problem, and it can be implemented with existing technology. Among the list of options for storage sites, depleted hydrocarbon reservoirs and deep saline aquifers are two major categories. While injection into hydrocarbon reservoirs offers immediate possibilities, especially in the context of enhanced oil recovery, it appears that deep saline aquifers provide the extensive capacity necessary to solve the problem over the decade to century time scale. Capacity and technology argue favorably for this option, but remaining obstacles to implementation include capture technologies, overall economic considerations, and potential environmental consequences of the injection. Of these, the environmental questions may be most difficult to solve. Experience from CO2 floods for enhanced oil recovery and from CO2 and acid gas disposal operations indicates that geological storage of CO2 is safe over the short term for comparatively small amounts of CO2. However, there is no experience to date regarding the long-term fate and safety of the large volumes of CO2 that must be injected to significantly reduce atmospheric emissions. In order to make proper evaluation of environmental risks, the full range of possible environmental consequences must be considered. Most of these environmental concerns involve migration and leakage of CO2 into shallow portions of the subsurface and eventually into the atmosphere. In shallow subsurface zones, elevated levels of carbon dioxide can cause pH changes, leading to possible mobilization of ground-water contaminants including metals. In the unsaturated zone, vegetation can be adversely affected, as can other ecosystem components. At the land surface, elevated levels of CO2 can lead to asphyxiation in humans and other animals. And finally, in the atmosphere, CO2 that leaks from underground diminishes the effectiveness of the overall storage scheme and contributes to possible climate change. To characterize these environmental consequences, reliable models of leakage characteristics and rates are needed. While leakage through natural flowpaths in the subsurface may occur, a more likely pathway is leakage through abandoned wells. This may be especially troublesome in mature sedimentary basins, which are often "punctured" by a very large number of exploration and production wells. For example, in the Alberta Basin there are more than 100,000 abandoned wells, the oldest from 1883. The cement used in the completion and abandonment of these wells, historically of variable quality and quantity, most probably has degraded with age and under the effect of formation brines. The cement may degrade even more rapidly when contacted by CO2 and possibly other components in the injection mixture (such as H2S). Cement properties and their modification through time must be understood in order to provide reliable estimates of leakage rates. Those leakage rates must then be linked to models of environmental consequences, and ultimately the entire analysis must be embedded in a probabilistic framework. Such an approach will allow leakage to be addressed rationally in terms of safety and long-term environmental impacts.

Quantitative determination of major alkaloids in Cinchona bark by Supercritical Fluid Chromatography.

PubMed

Murauer, Adele; Ganzera, Markus

2018-06-15

Chinoline alkaloids found in Cinchona bark still play an important role in medicine, for example as antimalarial and antiarrhythmic drugs. For the first time Supercritical Fluid Chromatography has been utilized for their separation. Six respective derivatives (dihydroquinidine, dihydroquinine, quinidine, quinine, cinchonine and cinchonidine) could be resolved in less than 7 min, and three of them quantified in crude plant extracts. The optimum stationary phase showed to be an Acquity UPC 2 Torus DEA 1.7 μm column, the mobile phase comprised of CO 2 , acetonitrile, methanol and diethylamine. Method validation confirmed that the procedure is selective, accurate (recovery rates from 97.2% to 103.7%), precise (intra-day ≤2.2%, inter-day ≤3.0%) and linear (R 2  ≥ 0.999); at 275 nm the observed detection limits were always below 2.5 μg/ml. In all of the samples analyzed cinchonine dominated (1.87%-2.30%), followed by quinine and cinchonidine. Their total content ranged from 4.75% to 5.20%. These values are in good agreement with published data, so that due to unmatched speed and environmental friendly character SFC is definitely an excellent alternative for the analysis of these important natural products. Copyright © 2018 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Mechanism of Na2SO4 Promoting Nickel Extraction from Sulfide Concentrates by Sulfation Roasting-Water Leaching

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Guangshi; Cheng, Hongwei; Chen, Sha; Lu, Xionggang; Xu, Qian; Lu, Changyuan

2018-04-01

As a more environmentally friendly and energy-efficient route, the sulfation roasting-water leaching technique has been developed for highly effective extraction of non-ferrous metals from nickel sulfide concentrate in the presence of a Na2SO4 additive. The effects of several important roasting parameters—the roasting temperature, the addition of Na2SO4, the holding time, and the heating rate in particular—have been investigated. The results suggest that about 90 pct Ni, 92 pct Co, 95 pct Cu, and < 1 pct Fe can be leached from the calcine roasted under the optimum conditions. Furthermore, the behavior and mechanism of the Na2SO4 additive in the roasting process have been well addressed by detailed characterization of the roasted product and leaching residue using quantitative phase analysis (QPA) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) mapping. The Na2SO4 additive was observed to play a noticeable role in promoting the sulfation degree of valuable metals by forming liquid phases [Na2Me(SO4)2] at the outermost layer, which can create a suitable dynamic environment for sulfation. Thus, addition of Na2SO4 might be conducive to an alternative metallurgical process involving complex sulfide ores.

Mechanism of Na2SO4 Promoting Nickel Extraction from Sulfide Concentrates by Sulfation Roasting-Water Leaching

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Guangshi; Cheng, Hongwei; Chen, Sha; Lu, Xionggang; Xu, Qian; Lu, Changyuan

2018-06-01

As a more environmentally friendly and energy-efficient route, the sulfation roasting-water leaching technique has been developed for highly effective extraction of non-ferrous metals from nickel sulfide concentrate in the presence of a Na2SO4 additive. The effects of several important roasting parameters—the roasting temperature, the addition of Na2SO4, the holding time, and the heating rate in particular—have been investigated. The results suggest that about 90 pct Ni, 92 pct Co, 95 pct Cu, and < 1 pct Fe can be leached from the calcine roasted under the optimum conditions. Furthermore, the behavior and mechanism of the Na2SO4 additive in the roasting process have been well addressed by detailed characterization of the roasted product and leaching residue using quantitative phase analysis (QPA) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) mapping. The Na2SO4 additive was observed to play a noticeable role in promoting the sulfation degree of valuable metals by forming liquid phases [Na2Me(SO4)2] at the outermost layer, which can create a suitable dynamic environment for sulfation. Thus, addition of Na2SO4 might be conducive to an alternative metallurgical process involving complex sulfide ores.

A novel, environmentally friendly sodium lauryl ether sulfate-, cocamidopropyl betaine-, cocamide monoethanolamine-containing buffer for MEKC on microfluidic devices.

PubMed

Hoeman, Kurt W; Culbertson, Christopher T

2008-12-01

A new buffer has been developed for fast, high-efficiency separations of amino acids by MEKC. This buffer was more environmentally friendly than the most commonly used surfactant-containing buffers for MEKC separations. It used a commercially available dishwashing soap by Seventh Generation (Burlington, VT, USA), which contained three micelle-forming agents. The mixed micelles were composed of sodium lauryl ether sulfate (anionic), cocamidopropyl betaine (zwitterionic), and cocamide monoethanolamine (non-ionic). The optimized buffer contained 5.0% w/w Seventh Generation Free & Clear dishwashing soap, 10 mM sodium borate, and was completely void of organics. The lack of organics and the biodegradability of the surfactant molecules made this buffer more environmentally friendly than typical SDS-containing buffers. This new buffer also had a different selectivity and provided faster separations with higher separation efficiencies than SDS-based buffers. Fast separations of BODIPY FL labeled amino acids yielded peaks with separation efficiencies greater than 100,000 in less than 20 s.

Environmental Co-Benefit Opportunities of Solar Energy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hernandez, R. R.; Armstrong, A.; Burney, J. A.; Easter, S. B.; Hoffacker, M. K.; Moore, K. A.

2015-12-01

Solar energy reduces greenhouse gas emissions by an order of magnitude when substituted for fossil fuels. Nonetheless, the strategic deployment of solar energy—from single, rooftop modules to utility-scale solar energy power plants—can confer additional environmental co-benefits beyond its immediate use as a low carbon energy source. In this study, we identify a diverse portfolio of environmental co-benefit opportunities of solar energy technologies resulting from synergistic innovations in land, food, energy, and water systems. For each opportunity, we provide a demonstrative, quantitative framework for environmental co-benefit valuation—including, equations, models, or case studies for estimating carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2-eq) and cost savings ($US) averted by environmental co-benefit opportunities of solar energy—and imminent research questions to improve certainty of valuations. As land-energy-food-water nexus issues are increasingly exigent in 21st century, we show that environmental co-benefit opportunities of solar energy are feasible in numerous environments and at a wide range of spatial scales thereby able to contribute to local and regional environmental goals and for the mitigation of climate change.

The assessment of air emissions increase due to the collection of municipal solid waste with old collection vehicles: A case study of Ludbreg (Croatia).

PubMed

Radetić, Luka; Vujević, Dinko; Premur, Vitomir; Melnjak, Ivana; Anić Vučinić, Aleksandra

2016-10-01

The usage of old equipment (over 10-year-old diesel-fuelled waste collection vehicles, WCVs) for municipal solid waste (MSW) collection in Ludbreg for longer than a decade has had a negative environmental impact, which has been reduced by replacing an old diesel WCV with a new diesel WCV. This study aims to assess the share of air emissions of two old WCVs (FAP 1990 and MAN 2003) and one new (MAN 2015), expressed in CO 2 emissions. In addition, these vehicles have been found easily to reach the limit of 100 dB, which can cause hearing damage in their surroundings. Furthermore, their average fuel consumption is more than 80 l per 100 km, which makes them ineffective in terms of fuel consumption. Generally, higher fuel consumption results in more emissions and for a more eco-friendly operation, the MAN 2003 from Ludbreg WCV fleet should be technically amended and adjusted, and the FAP 1990 should be retired. Although the MAN 2015 is diesel fuelled, the best solution for replacement, according to Maimoun et al. (Waste Management 33: 1079-1089, 2016), would be the use of hydraulic-hybrid vehicles, which provide the best environmental benefits over other alternatives. According to Maimoun et al., hybrid is better environmentally, diesel is the best environmental-economical option and landfill gas-sourced natural gas is the best alternative when accessible because it significantly (up to 80%) reduces emissions of hazardous gases as well as noise levels (50-98%). © The Author(s) 2016.

Synthesis of "trans"-4,5-Bis-dibenzylaminocyclopent-2-Enone from Furfural Catalyzed by ErCl[subscript 3]·6H[subscript 2]O

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Estevão, Mónica S.; Martins, Ricardo J. V.; Alfonso, Carlos A. M.

2017-01-01

An experiment exploring the chemistry of the carbonyl group for the one-step synthesis of "trans"-4,5- dibenzylaminocyclopent-2-enone is described. The reaction of furfural and dibenzylamine in the environmentally friendly solvent ethanol and catalyzed by the Lewis acid ErCl[subscript 3]·6H[subscript 2]O afforded the product in high…

Electrocoat Process for Non-Chromate Primers in DoD Manufacturing

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-02-01

requirements are uniquely  suited for aerospace  aluminum. ↑ O2 ↑ H2 Anode (+) Cathode (-) Deposited Film Alkaline  clean Rinse ElectrocoatSurface...Objectives ● Demonstration and validation of a novel, non‐chromated,  environmentally friendly,  electrodeposited  primer. ● The primers will be

Preparation and characterization of a novel graphene/biochar composite for aqueous phenanthrene and mercury removal.

PubMed

Tang, Jingchun; Lv, Honghong; Gong, Yanyan; Huang, Yao

2015-11-01

A graphene/biochar composite (G/BC) was synthesized via slow pyrolysis of graphene (G) pretreated wheat straw, and tested for the sorption characteristics and mechanisms of representative aqueous contaminants (phenanthrene and mercury). Structure and morphology analysis showed that G was coated on the surface of biochar (BC) mainly through π-π interactions, resulting in a larger surface area, more functional groups, greater thermal stability, and higher removal efficiency of phenanthrene and mercury compared to BC. Pseudo second-order model adequately simulated sorption kinetics, and sorption isotherms of phenanthrene and mercury were simulated well by dual-mode and BET models, respectively. FTIR and SEM analysis suggested that partitioning and surface sorption were dominant mechanisms for phenanthrene sorption, and that surface complexation between mercury and C-O, CC, -OH, and OC-O functional groups was responsible for mercury removal. The results suggested that the G/BC composite is an efficient, economic, and environmentally friendly multifunctional adsorbent for environmental remediation. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Catalytic potential of selected metal ions for bioleaching, and potential techno-economic and environmental issues: A critical review.

PubMed

Pathak, Ashish; Morrison, Liam; Healy, Mark Gerard

2017-04-01

Bioleaching is considered to be a low-cost, eco-friendly technique for leaching valuable metals from a variety of matrixes. However, the inherent slow dissolution kinetics and low metal leaching yields have restricted its wider commercial applicability. Recent advancements in bio-hydrometallurgy have suggested that these critical issues can be successfully alleviated through the addition of a catalyst. The catalyzing properties of a variety of metals ions (Ag + , Hg ++ , Bi +++ , Cu ++ , Co ++ etc.) during bioleaching have been successfully demonstrated. In this article, the role and mechanisms of these metal species in catalyzing bioleaching from different minerals (chalcopyrite, complex sulfides, etc.) and waste materials (spent batteries) are reviewed, techno-economic and environmental challenges associated with the use of metals ions as catalysts are identified, and future prospectives are discussed. Based on the analysis, it is suggested that metal ion-catalyzed bioleaching will play a key role in the development of future industrial bio-hydrometallurgical processes. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Resource Economics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Conrad, Jon M.

2000-01-01

Resource Economics is a text for students with a background in calculus, intermediate microeconomics, and a familiarity with the spreadsheet software Excel. The book covers basic concepts, shows how to set up spreadsheets to solve dynamic allocation problems, and presents economic models for fisheries, forestry, nonrenewable resources, stock pollutants, option value, and sustainable development. Within the text, numerical examples are posed and solved using Excel's Solver. These problems help make concepts operational, develop economic intuition, and serve as a bridge to the study of real-world problems of resource management. Through these examples and additional exercises at the end of Chapters 1 to 8, students can make dynamic models operational, develop their economic intuition, and learn how to set up spreadsheets for the simulation of optimization of resource and environmental systems. Book is unique in its use of spreadsheet software (Excel) to solve dynamic allocation problems Conrad is co-author of a previous book for the Press on the subject for graduate students Approach is extremely student-friendly; gives students the tools to apply research results to actual environmental issues

Sulfur and Its Role In Modern Materials Science.

PubMed

Boyd, Darryl A

2016-12-12

Although well-known and studied for centuries, sulfur continues to be at the center of an extensive array of scientific research topics. As one of the most abundant elements in the Universe, a major by-product of oil refinery processes, and as a common reaction site within biological systems, research involving sulfur is both broad in scope and incredibly important to our daily lives. Indeed, there has been renewed interest in sulfur-based reactions in just the past ten years. Sulfur research spans the spectrum of topics within the physical sciences including research on improving energy efficiency, environmentally friendly uses for oil refinery waste products, development of polymers with unique optical and mechanical properties, and materials produced for biological applications. This Review focuses on some of the latest exciting ways in which sulfur and sulfur-based reactions are being utilized to produce materials for application in energy, environmental, and other practical areas. © 2016 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Benefits and risks of adopting the global code of practice for recreational fisheries

USGS Publications Warehouse

Arlinghaus, Robert; Beard, T. Douglas; Cooke, Steven J.; Cowx, Ian G.

2012-01-01

Recreational fishing constitutes the dominant or sole use of many fish stocks, particularly in freshwater ecosystems in Western industrialized countries. However, despite their social and economic importance, recreational fisheries are generally guided by local or regional norms and standards, with few comprehensive policy and development frameworks existing across jurisdictions. We argue that adoption of a recently developed Global Code of Practice (CoP) for Recreational Fisheries can provide benefits for moving recreational fisheries toward sustainability on a global scale. The CoP is a voluntary document, specifically framed toward recreational fisheries practices and issues, thereby complementing and extending the United Nation's Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries by the Food and Agricultural Organization. The CoP for Recreational Fisheries describes the minimum standards of environmentally friendly, ethically appropriate, and—depending on local situations—socially acceptable recreational fishing and its management. Although many, if not all, of the provisions presented in the CoP are already addressed through national fisheries legislation and state-based fisheries management regulations in North America, adopting a common framework for best practices in recreational fisheries across multiple jurisdictions would further promote their long-term viability in the face of interjurisdictional angler movements and some expanding threats to the activity related to shifting sociopolitical norms.

An Empirical Test of Self-Determination Theory as a Guide to Fostering Environmental Motivation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Darner, Rebekka

2012-01-01

A goal of most environmental education is to motivate students toward environmentally friendly behaviour change. This article describes a study that elucidates how such motivation can be fostered in the classroom. It compared students' development of environmental motivation in a conventional post-secondary environmental biology course and a…

Towards an energy-friendly and cleaner solvent-extraction of vegetable oil.

PubMed

Kong, Weibin; Baeyens, Jan; Qin, Peiyong; Zhang, Huili; Tan, Tianwei

2018-07-01

The extraction of vegetable oils is an energy-intensive process. It has moreover a significant environmental impact through hexane emissions and through the production of organic-loaded wastewater. A rice bran oil process was selected as the basis, since full data were available. By using Aspen Plus v8.2 simulation, with additional scripts, several improvements were examined, such as using heat exchanger networks, integrating a Vapor Recompression Heat Pump after the evaporation and stripping, and examining a nitrogen stripping of hexane in the rice bran meal desolventizing unit followed by a gas membrane to recover hexane. Energy savings by the different individual and combined improvements are calculated, and result in a 94.2% gain in steam consumption and a 73.8% overall energy saving. The power consumption of the membrane unit reduces the overall energy savings by about 5%. Hexane separation and enrichment by gas membranes facilitates its condensation and re-use, while achieving a reduction of hexane emissions by over 50%. Through the considerable reduction of required steam flow rates, 61% of waste water is eliminated, mostly as organic-loaded steam condensate. Through overall energy savings, 52% of related CO 2 emissions are eliminated. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Membranes for Environmentally Friendly Energy Processes

PubMed Central

He, Xuezhong; Hägg, May-Britt

2012-01-01

Membrane separation systems require no or very little chemicals compared to standard unit operations. They are also easy to scale up, energy efficient, and already widely used in various gas and liquid separation processes. Different types of membranes such as common polymers, microporous organic polymers, fixed-site-carrier membranes, mixed matrix membranes, carbon membranes as well as inorganic membranes have been investigated for CO2 capture/removal and other energy processes in the last two decades. The aim of this work is to review the membrane systems applied in different energy processes, such as post-combustion, pre-combustion, oxyfuel combustion, natural gas sweetening, biogas upgrading, hydrogen production, volatile organic compounds (VOC) recovery and pressure retarded osmosis for power generation. Although different membranes could probably be used in a specific separation process, choosing a suitable membrane material will mainly depend on the membrane permeance and selectivity, process conditions (e.g., operating pressure, temperature) and the impurities in a gas stream (such as SO2, NOx, H2S, etc.). Moreover, process design and the challenges relevant to a membrane system are also being discussed to illustrate the membrane process feasibility for a specific application based on process simulation and economic cost estimation. PMID:24958426

Persistent Hydrogen Production by the Photo-Assisted Microbial Electrolysis Cell Using a p-Type Polyaniline Nanofiber Cathode.

PubMed

Jeon, Yongwon; Kim, Sunghyun

2016-12-08

A microbial electrolysis cell, though considered as a promising, environmentally friendly technology for hydrogen production, suffers from concomitant production of methane. The high hydrogen/methane ratio at the initial operation stage decreases with time. Here we report for the first time the photoassisted microbial electrolysis cell (MEC) for persistent hydrogen production using polyaniline nanofibers as a cathode. Under 0.8 V external bias and laboratory fluorescent light illumination in a single-chamber MEC, continuous hydrogen production from acetate at a rate of 1.78 mH2 3  m -3  d -1 with 79.2 % overall hydrogen recovery was achieved with negligible methane formation for six months. Energy efficiencies based on input electricity as well as input electricity plus substrate were 182 and 66.2 %, respectively. This was attributed to the p-type-semiconductor characteristics of polyaniline nanofibers in which photoexcited electrons are used to reduce protons at the surface and holes are reduced with electrons originating from acetate oxidation at the anode. This method can be extended to microbial wastewater treatment for hydrogen production. © 2016 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Particle and gaseous emissions from individual diesel and CNG buses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hallquist, Å. M.; Jerksjö, M.; Fallgren, H.; Westerlund, J.; Sjödin, Å.

2012-10-01

In this study size-resolved particle and gaseous emissions from 28 individual diesel-fuelled and 7 compressed natural gas (CNG)-fuelled buses, selected from an in-use bus fleet, were characterised for real-world dilution scenarios. The method used was based on using CO2 as a tracer of exhaust gas dilution. The particles were sampled by using an extractive sampling method and analysed with high time resolution instrumentation EEPS (10 Hz) and CO2 with non-dispersive infrared gas analyser (LI-840, LI-COR Inc. 1 Hz). The gaseous constituents (CO, HC and NO) were measured by using a remote sensing device (AccuScan RSD 3000, Environmental System Products Inc.). Nitrogen oxides, NOx, were estimated from NO by using default NO2/NOx ratios from the road vehicle emission model HBEFA 3.1. The buses studied were diesel-fuelled Euro II-V and CNG-fuelled Enhanced Environmental Friendly Vehicles (EEVs) with different after-treatment, including selective catalytic reduction (SCR), exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) and with and without diesel particulate filter (DPF). The primary driving mode applied in this study was accelerating mode. However, regarding the particle emissions also a constant speed mode was analysed. The investigated CNG buses emitted on average higher number of particles but less mass compared to the diesel-fuelled buses. Emission factors for number of particles (EFPN) were EFPN, DPF = 8.0 ± 3.1 × 1014, EFPN, no DPF =2.8 ± 1.6 × 1015 and EFPN, CNG = 7.8 ± 5.7 × 1015 (kg fuel-1). In the accelerating mode size-resolved EFs showed unimodal number size distributions with peak diameters of 70-90 nm and 10 nm for diesel and CNG buses, respectively. For the constant speed mode bimodal average number size distributions were obtained for the diesel buses with peak modes of ~10 nm and ~60 nm. Emission factors for NOx expressed as NO2 equivalents for the diesel buses were on average 27 ± 7 g (kg fuel)-1 and for the CNG buses 41 ± 26 g (kg fuel)-1. An anti-relationship between EFNOx and EFPM was observed especially for buses with no DPF and there was a positive relationship between EFPM and EFCO.

Particle and gaseous emissions from individual diesel and CNG buses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hallquist, Å. M.; Jerksjö, M.; Fallgren, H.; Westerlund, J.; Sjödin, Å.

2013-05-01

In this study size-resolved particle and gaseous emissions from 28 individual diesel-fuelled and 7 compressed natural gas (CNG)-fuelled buses, selected from an in-use bus fleet, were characterised for real-world dilution scenarios. The method used was based on using CO2 as a tracer of exhaust gas dilution. The particles were sampled by using an extractive sampling method and analysed with high time resolution instrumentation EEPS (10 Hz) and CO2 with a non-dispersive infrared gas analyser (LI-840, LI-COR Inc. 1 Hz). The gaseous constituents (CO, HC and NO) were measured by using a remote sensing device (AccuScan RSD 3000, Environmental System Products Inc.). Nitrogen oxides, NOx, were estimated from NO by using default NO2/NOx ratios from the road vehicle emission model HBEFA3.1. The buses studied were diesel-fuelled Euro III-V and CNG-fuelled Enhanced Environmentally Friendly Vehicles (EEVs) with different after-treatment, including selective catalytic reduction (SCR), exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) and with and without diesel particulate filter (DPF). The primary driving mode applied in this study was accelerating mode. However, regarding the particle emissions also a constant speed mode was analysed. The investigated CNG buses emitted on average a higher number of particles but less mass compared to the diesel-fuelled buses. Emission factors for number of particles (EFPN) were EFPN, DPF = 4.4 ± 3.5 × 1014, EFPN, no DPF = 2.1 ± 1.0 × 1015 and EFPN, CNG = 7.8 ± 5.7 ×1015 kg fuel-1. In the accelerating mode, size-resolved emission factors (EFs) showed unimodal number size distributions with peak diameters of 70-90 nm and 10 nm for diesel and CNG buses, respectively. For the constant speed mode, bimodal average number size distributions were obtained for the diesel buses with peak modes of ~10 nm and ~60 nm. Emission factors for NOx expressed as NO2 equivalents for the diesel buses were on average 27 ± 7 g (kg fuel)-1 and for the CNG buses 41 ± 26 g (kg fuel)-1. An anti-relationship between EFNOx and EFPM was observed especially for buses with no DPF, and there was a positive relationship between EFPM and EFCO.

Perceived barriers to exercise and healthy eating among women from disadvantaged neighborhoods: Results from a focus groups assessment

PubMed Central

Sharpe, Patricia A.; Parra-Medina, Deborah; Wilcox, Sara

2014-01-01

This study explored perceptions and experiences with barriers to exercise and healthy eating among women from predominately African American, disadvantaged neighborhoods. Four focus groups (n=28) were conducted between April and May 2008 with overweight or obese women (93% African American; 34.3±8.9 years; BMI 40.4±8.5). Individual, social, and environmental factors were frequently mentioned as barriers to exercise and healthy eating. Insults from strangers about their body size (e.g. from children, people at the gym), and feelings of intimidation and embarrassment about not being able to complete exercises due to their body size were described as barriers to exercise. Lack of support and pressure from family, friends, and co-workers were barriers to healthy eating; participants experienced pressure from family and friends to eat more and were told they did not need to lose weight. Participants discussed the importance of not losing their curves; this concern needs to be considered when developing weight control programs for African American women. The findings of this qualitative study guided the development of a weight loss intervention for women from disadvantaged neighborhoods. PMID:24617795

Perceived barriers to exercise and healthy eating among women from disadvantaged neighborhoods: results from a focus groups assessment.

PubMed

Baruth, Meghan; Sharpe, Patricia A; Parra-Medina, Deborah; Wilcox, Sara

2014-01-01

This study explored perceptions and experiences with barriers to exercise and healthy eating among women from predominately African American, disadvantaged neighborhoods. Four focus groups (n = 28) were conducted between April and May 2008 with overweight or obese women (93% African American; 34.3 ± 8.9 years; body mass index [BMI] 40.4 ± 8.5). Individual, social, and environmental factors were frequently mentioned as barriers to exercise and healthy eating. Insults from strangers about their body size (e.g., from children or people at the gym), and feelings of intimidation and embarrassment about not being able to complete exercises due to their body size were described as barriers to exercise. Lack of support and pressure from family, friends, and co-workers were barriers to healthy eating; participants experienced pressure from family and friends to eat more and were told they did not need to lose weight. Participants discussed the importance of not losing their curves; this concern needs to be considered when developing weight control programs for African American women. The findings of this qualitative study guided the development of a weight loss intervention for women from disadvantaged neighborhoods.

Quality Partners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clark, Bob

2006-01-01

Green cleaning is gaining momentum. It is a method of cleaning and maintaining facilities that is friendly to the environment and healthful for students and staff. The process uses environmentally friendly and nontoxic cleaning products and practices that must be third-party-certified. Using green cleaning practices and products can result in…

Disease disclosure in individuals with cystic fibrosis: Association with psychosocial and health outcomes.

PubMed

Borschuk, Adrienne P; Everhart, Robin S; Eakin, Michelle N; Rand-Giovannetti, Devin; Borrelli, Belinda; Riekert, Kristin A

2016-09-01

This study aimed to quantify cystic fibrosis (CF) disclosure and examine associations between disclosure and psychosocial and health outcomes. Participants completed measures assessing disease disclosure and psychosocial outcomes. Data from chart reviews and pharmacy records were obtained. Participants (N=128; ages 16-63) were more likely to disclose to romantic partners (97%) and close friends (94%) than to casual friends (79%), bosses (71%), or co-workers (53%). Participants reported more comfort discussing CF with and doing treatments in front of romantic partners and close friends than other groups. Disclosure was associated with higher social support, social functioning, and medication adherence self-efficacy. Lower lung-function was associated with disclosure to bosses and co-workers. Clinicians should consider discussing disclosure with patients, as limited disclosure may have a negative impact on psychosocial outcomes. Copyright © 2016 European Cystic Fibrosis Society. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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

McCollough, M. L.; Dunham, M. M.; Corrales, L., E-mail: mmccollough@cfa.harvard.edu

Chandra observations have revealed a feature within 16″ of Cygnus X-3 that varied in phase with Cygnus X-3. This feature was shown to be a Bok globule that is along the line of sight to Cygnus X-3. We report on observations made with the Submillimeter Array to search for molecular emission from this globule, also known as Cygnus X-3's “Little Friend.” We have found a counterpart in both {sup 12}CO (2-1) and {sup 13}CO (2-1) emission. From the velocity shift of the molecular lines we are able to find two probable distances based on the Bayesian model of Milky Waymore » kinematics of Reid et al. For the LF velocity of −47.5 km s{sup −1}, we find distances of 6.1 ± 0.6 kpc (62% probability) and 7.8 ± 0.6 kpc (38% probability). This yields distances to Cyg X-3 of 7.4 ± 1.1 kpc and 10.2 ± 1.2 kpc, respectively. Based on the probabilities entailed, we take 7.4 ± 1.1 kpc as the preferred distance to Cyg X-3. We also report the discovery of bipolar molecular outflow, suggesting that there is active star formation occurring within the Little Friend.« less

Characterization of iron carbonate scales developed under carbon dioxide corrosion conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

de Moraes, Flavio Dias

1999-11-01

Carbon steel CO2 corrosion is a common and very serious problem in the oil industry. It often results in severe damage to pipes and equipment. Besides controlling direct costs associated with loss of production and replacement or repair to the equipment damaged by corrosion, life and environmental safety must be protected with the thorough study of this type of corrosion. For a given type of steel, the CO2 corrosion rates are strongly influenced by many mechanical and environmental factors, such as flow velocity, temperature, gas-liquid ratio, oil-water ratio, CO2 partial pressure, and the chemical composition of the produced water. Under specific conditions, a corrosion product, the iron carbonate (FeCO3), can deposit over the corroding metal as a scale and dramatically reduce the CO2 corrosion rates on carbon steels. The ability to reliably predict the protective characteristics of such scales so that this knowledge may be used to mitigate the CO2 corrosion problem is the main objective of this research. CO2 corrosion tests performed under various CO2 corrosion flowing conditions in a flow loop were used to generate and study FeCO3 scales. In situ Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) techniques were successfully used to monitor the development of the scales throughout the duration of the tests. The EIS monitoring enabled the identification of the type of scales being formed and the quantification of the protection they give. A procedure using EIS, SEM and X-ray diffraction was developed to electrochemically and morphologically characterize the scales formed. In this work, morphology of the scales was proved to be the most important characteristic related to CO2 corrosion protection, and temperature was found to be the main environmental parameter controlling the morphology of the scales. For the environmental conditions tested, a correlation was developed to predict the type of iron carbonate scales that would be formed and the amount of CO2 corrosion protection these scales would provide to carbon steels.

Challenges of Implementing New Technologies for Sustainable Energy. Opening address at the Sixth Grove Fuel Cell Symposium, London, 13-16 September 1999

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jørgen Koch, Hans

To meet the commitments made in Kyoto, energy-related CO 2 emissions would have to fall to almost 30% below the level projected for a "Business-As-Usual" scenario. Meeting this goal will require a large-scale shift toward climate-friendly technologies such as fuel cells, which have a large long-term potential for both stationary generation and transportation. The deployment of a technology is the last major stage in the process of technological shift. Climate-friendly technologies are not being deployed at a sufficient rate or in sufficient amount to allow IEA countries to meet their targets. Hence, if technology is to play an important roll in reducing emissions within the Kyoto time frame (2008-2012) and beyond, immediate and sustained action to accelerate technology deployment will be required. Obstacles in the way of the deployment of technologies that are ready or near-ready for normal use have come to be referred to as market barriers. The simplest yet most significant form of market barrier to a new technology is the out-of-pocket cost to the user relative to the cost of technologies currently in use. Some market barriers also involve market failure, where the market fails to take account of all the costs and benefits involved, such as omitting external environmental costs, and therefore retard the deployment of more environmentally sustainable technologies. Other barriers include poor information dissemination, excessive and costly regulations, slow capital turnover rates, and inadequate financing. Efforts by governments to alleviate market barriers play an important role to complement private-sector activities, and there are many policies and measures each government could take. In addition, international technology collaboration can help promote the best use of available R&D resources and can contribute to more effective deployment of the result of research and development by sharing costs, pooling information and avoiding duplication of efforts.

USING GENETIC ALGORITHMS TO DESIGN ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY PROCESSES

EPA Science Inventory

Genetic algorithm calculations are applied to the design of chemical processes to achieve improvements in environmental and economic performance. By finding the set of Pareto (i.e., non-dominated) solutions one can see how different objectives, such as environmental and economic ...

[Impact of Phosphogypsum Wastes on the Wheat Growth and CO2 Emissions and Evaluation of Economic-environmental Benefit].

PubMed

Li, Ji; Wu, Hong-sheng; Gao, Zhi-qiu; Shang, Xiao-xia; Zheng, Pei-hui; Yin, Jin; Kakpa, Didier; Ren, Qian-qi; Faustin, Ogou Katchele; Chen, Su-yun; Xu, Ya; Yao, Tong-yan; Ji, Wei; Qian, Jing-shan; Ma, Shi-jie

2015-08-01

Phosphogypsum is a phosphorus chemical waste which has not been managed and reused well, resultantly, causing environmental pollution and land-occupation. Phosphogypsum wastes were used as a soil amendment to assess the effect on wheat growth, yield and CO2 emissions from winter wheat fields. Its economic and environmental benefits were analyzed at the same time. The results showed that wheat yield was increased by 37.71% in the treatment of phosphogypsum of 2 100 kg x hm(-2). Compared with the control treatment, throughout the wheat growing season, CO2 emission was accumulatively reduced by 3% in the treatment of phosphogypsum waste of 1050 kg x hm(-2), while reduced by 8% , 10% , and 6% during the jointing stage, heading date and filling period of wheat, respectively; while CO2 emission was accumulatively reduced by 7% in the treatment of phosphogypsum waste of 2 100 kg x hm(-2) throughout the wheat growing season, as reduced by 11% , 4% , and 12% during the reviving wintering stage, heading date and filling period of wheat, respectively. It was better for CO2 emission reduction in the treatment of a larger amount of phosphogypsum waste. In the case of application of phosphogypsum waste residue within a certain range, the emission intensity of CO2 ( CO2 emissions of per unit of fresh weight or CO2 emissions of per unit of yield) , spike length, fresh weight and yield showed a significantly negative correlation--the longer the ear length, the greater fresh weight and yield and the lower the CO2 emissions intensity. As to the carbon trading, phosphogypsum utilization was of high economic and environmental benefits. Compared with the control, the ratio of input to output changed from 1: 8.3 to 1: 10.7, which in the same situation of investment the output could be increased by 28.92% ; phosphogypsum as a greenhouse gas reducing agent in the wheat field, it could decrease the cost and increase the environmental benefit totally about 290 yuan per unit of ton. The results demonstrated phosphogypsum wastes could obviously decrease the CO2 emission from field soil and had a great potential to control agricultural greenhouse gases. Hopefully it has an important application perspective for the low-carbon, ecological and sustainable agricultural development.

Environment polluting conventional chemical control compared to an environmentally friendly IPM approach for control of diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella (L.), in China: a review.

PubMed

Shakeel, Muhammad; Farooq, Muhammad; Nasim, Wajid; Akram, Waseem; Khan, Fawad Zafar Ahmad; Jaleel, Waqar; Zhu, Xun; Yin, Haichen; Li, Shuzhong; Fahad, Shah; Hussain, Saddam; Chauhan, Bhagirath Singh; Jin, Fengliang

2017-06-01

The diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella, is recognized as a widely distributed destructive insect pest of Brassica worldwide. The management of this pest is a serious issue, and an estimated annual cost of its management has reached approximately US$4 billion. Despite the fact that chemicals are a serious threat to the environment, lots of chemicals are applied for controlling various insect pests especially P. xylostella. An overreliance on chemical control has not only led to the evolution of resistance to insecticides and to a reduction of natural enemies but also has polluted various components of water, air, and soil ecosystem. In the present scenario, there is a need to implement an environmentally friendly integrated pest management (IPM) approach with new management tactics (microbial control, biological control, cultural control, mating disruption, insecticide rotation strategies, and plant resistance) for an alternative to chemical control. The IPM approach is not only economically beneficial but also reduces the environmental and health risks. The present review synthesizes published information on the insecticide resistance against P. xylostella and emphasizes on adopting an alternative environmentally friendly IPM approach for controlling P. xylostella in China.

Using elastin protein to develop highly efficient air cathodes for lithium-O2 batteries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, Guilue; Yao, Xin; Ang, Huixiang; Tan, Huiteng; Zhang, Yu; Guo, Yuanyuan; Fong, Eileen; Yan, Qingyu

2016-01-01

Transition metal-nitrogen/carbon (M-N/C, M = Fe, Co) catalysts are synthesized using environmentally friendly histidine-tag-rich elastin protein beads, metal sulfate and water soluble carbon nanotubes followed by post-annealing and acid leaching processes. The obtained catalysts are used as cathode materials in lithium-O2 batteries. It has been discovered that during discharge, Li2O2 nanoparticles first nucleate and grow around the bead-decorated CNT regions (M-N/C centres) and coat on the catalysts at a high degree of discharge. The Fe-N/C catalyst-based cathodes deliver a capacity of 12 441 mAh g-1 at a current density of 100 mA g-1. When they were cycled at a limited capacity of 800 mAh g-1 at current densities of 200 or 400 mA g-1, these cathodes showed stable charge voltages of ˜3.65 or 3.90 V, corresponding to energy efficiencies of ˜71.2 or 65.1%, respectively. These results are considerably superior to those of the cathodes based on bare annealed CNTs, which prove that the Fe-N/C catalysts developed here are promising for use in non-aqueous lithium-O2 battery cathodes.

More than Talk: Co-Rumination among College Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Landphair, Juliette; Preddy, Teri

2012-01-01

Co-rumination, a social process between two friends, is defined as the frequent and excessive discussion of personal problems. Like body image and alcohol use, it is one of those complicated issues embedded in larger cultural realities, which makes it universally recognizable. On campus, co-rumination has deleterious side effects: it challenges…

Resistance: a threat to the insecticidal crystal proteins of Bacillus thuringiensis

Treesearch

Leah S. Bauer

1995-01-01

Insecticidal crystal proteins (also known as d-endotoxins) synthesized by the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis Berliner (Bt) are the active ingredient of various environmentally friendly insecticides that are 1) highly compatible with natural enemies and other nontarget organisms due to narrow host specificity, 2) harmless to vertebrates, 3) biodegradable in the...

Applications of Fluorescence Spectroscopy to Environmental Chemistry

DTIC Science & Technology

1992-06-01

more often than she knows. Floyd, my friend and lover, has sustained me, body and soul, from the beginning. 8 Table of Contents Abstract...7 Table of Contents ...the carboxylic acid (pK. < 3-5) 3- content of these materials. In addition, the HA data - .confirm the expectation that large humic molecules have 2

CORONA-INDUCED OZONATION COUPLED WITH PHOTOOXIDATION: AN ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY AND COST-EFFECTIVE METHOD

EPA Science Inventory

We have developed a process that uses surface corona for the production of ozone by passing air or oxygen through a high voltage electrical discharge and the emitted ultraviolet light is being used to activate a photocatalyst. A thin film of nanostructured TiO2 with primary part...

Fractionation of whey protein isolate with supercritical carbon dioxide to produce enriched alpha-lactalbumin and beta-lactoglobulin food ingredients

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

A potentially economical and environmentally friendly whey protein fractionation process was developed using supercritical carbon dioxide (SCO2) as an acid to produce enriched fractions of alpha-lactalbumin (a-LA) and beta-lactoglobulin (b-LG) from whey protein isolate. To prepare the fractions, so...

Is television viewing associated with social isolation? Roles of exposure time, viewing context, and violent content.

PubMed

Bickham, David S; Rich, Michael

2006-04-01

To estimate associations between children's peer integration and amount of time they spend (1) watching television, (2) watching violent television, and (3) co-viewing television with friends. Survey using nationally representative data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics-Child Development Supplement Wave 1. Nationwide survey of families with young children performed in 1997. Of 3562 children, 1356 had sufficient data for inclusion in analyses (563 children aged 6 to 8 years and 793 children aged 9 to 12 years). Total time viewing television, with and without friends present, and time viewing violent and nonviolent television content. Amount of time children spent with friends as reported in two 24-hour activity diaries. Viewing violent programs (but not nonviolent programs) was negatively related to time children spent with friends (aged 6-8 years, unstandardized regression coefficient [beta] = - 0.34, 95% confidence interval [CI], - 0.59 to - 0.08; aged 9-12 years, beta = - 0.41, 95% CI, - 0.65 to - 0.18). More time viewing television with friends was associated with more time engaging in other activities with friends (aged 6-8 years, beta = 0.98, 95% CI, 0.61 to 1.36; aged 9-12 years, beta = 1.03, 95% CI, 0.72 to 1.34). The more time that children spent viewing violent programs, the less time they spent with their friends. While this study cannot determine the direction of effects for this relationship, a cyclical process between violent media and peer integration best explains the findings. To optimize social development and mental health, children's access to violent media should be limited.

The impact of anaerobic microorganisms activities in ruminant waste and coal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harlia, Ellin; Hamdani, H.; Winantris, Kurnani, Tb. B. A.; Hidayati, Y. A.; Marlina, E. T.; Rahmah, K. N.; Arief, H.; Ridwan, R.; Joni, I. M.

2018-02-01

Ruminant (dairy cattle, beef cattle and buffalo) waste from intensive farming concentrated in highly populated areas when stacked and accumulated in certain heights and in anaerobic condition, may produce Green House Gases (GHGs) which lead to global warming. This condition is generated through fermentation by microorganism contained in livestock waste and biogenic activities on coal. The GHGs include CH4 (methane), CO2 (carbon dioxide) and N2O (nitrous oxide). The GHG emission should be early monitored to minimize greater problems. In the other hand, methane can be utilized as an environmental friendly energy after stored as biogas on digester. The aim of this research is to detect how much GHGs formed from ruminant waste and biogenic activities on coal, which can be utilized as an alternative energy. This research conducted as an explorative study utilizing dairy cattle feces, beef cattle feces, buffalo feces and three types of coal: lignite, bituminous and sub-bituminous, which is separately added into medium 98-5 made from mixture of agar medium and chemical components in powder and crystal form diluted with distilled water and rumen liquid, with six repetitions. Each sample was stored into 250 mL anaerobic digester, observed weekly for period of 4 weeks, analyzed by Gas Chromatography (GC-A14). The result showed that GHGs: CH4, CO2 and N2O were found in all samples. Anticipation of GHGs formation to avoid air pollution is by utilizing livestock waste and coal in aerobic condition or in anaerobic condition through digester.

Microbial Communities in Terrestrial CO2 Springs: Insights into the Long-Term Effects of Carbon Sequestration on Subsurface Microorganisms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Santillan, E. F. U.; Major, J. R.; Bennett, P.

2014-12-01

Over long timescales, microbial populations and communities living in environments where CO2 has been sequestered will adapt to this environmental stress. Their presence and activities can have implications for fluid flow, geochemistry, and the fate of the stored CO2. Because of the interplay between microorganisms and environment, many environmental factors beyond CO2 will also contribute to community structure, including groundwater composition and mineralogy. To determine the long-term effect of CO2 on microbial communities, we analyzed terrestrial CO2 springs as analogues to CO2 sequestration in 3 locations in the United States: the Little Grand Wash Fault (LGW), UT; Bravo Dome (BD), NM; and Klickitat Mineral Spring (KMS), WA. These sites differed in multiple aspects such as depth, salinity, Fe content, and mineralogy. LGW and BD were located in the Colorado Plateau in sedimentary locations while KMS was located within the Columbia River Basalt Group. Sites were compared to non-CO2 springs in similar sedimentary formations for comparison. Microbial communities from sedimentary formations were characterized by low diversity and the dominance of the phylotypes Acinetobacter or Burkholderia compared to non-CO2 springs, suggesting community stress and the selection of specific organisms most resilient to CO2. Communities in the basalt formation were more diverse, though diversity is lower than a non-CO2 community sampled from the same formation (Lavalleur and Colwell 2013). Organisms present at the basalt site contained novel lineages, such as the OP candidate phyla. KMS was also the only site containing Archaea, such as Methanoplanus, suggesting CH4 production at depth. Statistical analyses indicate other factors such as depth and nutrient availability may be other factors that can affect diversity in addition to CO2. Growth of a CO2-tolerant organism from LGW also shows organisms in these environments are viable. Results confirm the presence of microbial communities at high PCO2 and suggest that while CO2 is one environmental stress that can lower diversity, many other environmental factors can also influence survival. Lavalleur, H.J., Colwell, F.S., 2013. Microbial characterization of basalt formation waters targeted for geological carbon sequestration. FEMS Microbiology Ecology 85, 62-73.

Child-Friendly Schools: An Assessment of Secondary Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Çobanoglu, Fatma; Ayvaz-Tuncel, Zeynep; Ordu, Aydan

2018-01-01

As education has many variables, essential arrangements are required in different areas to enhance its quality. School buildings, environmental arrangements, teaching and learning process, sources and materials, teachers, principals, health and security are the variables of which come to mind first. The concept of 'child-friendly school' ('CFS')…

A Look at Person- and Family-Centered Care Among Older Adults: Results from a National Survey [corrected].

PubMed

Wolff, Jennifer L; Boyd, Cynthia M

2015-10-01

Person-centered and family-centered care represents the pinnacle of health care quality, but delivering it is challenging, as is assessing whether it has occurred. Prior studies portray older adults as passive in health decisions and burdened by care-but emphasize age-based differences or focus on vulnerable subgroups. We aimed to examine domains of person-centered and family-centered care among older adults and whether the social context in which older adults manage their health relates to preferences for participating in health decisions and experiences with care. This was an observational study of a nationally representative survey of adults aged 65+ years, conducted in concert with the 2012 National Health and Aging Trends Study (n = 2040). Approach to managing health (self-manage, co-manage, delegate); preferences for making health care decisions with: (1) doctors, (2) family/close friends; and experiences with care pertaining to treatment burden were measured. Approximately two-thirds of older adults self-manage (69.4 %) and one-third co-manage (19.6 %) or delegate (11.0 %) health care activities. The majority prefer an independent or shared role when making health decisions with doctors (84.7 %) and family/close friends (95.9 %). Nearly four in ten older adults (37.9 %) experience treatment burden-that managing health care activities are sometimes or often hard for either them or their family/close friends, that health care activities get delayed or don't get done, or that they are cumulatively too much to do. Relative to older adults who self-manage, those who delegate health care activities are more likely to prefer to share or leave health decisions to doctors (aOR = 1.79 (95 % CI, 1.37-2.33) and family/close friends (aOR = 3.12 (95 % CI, 2.23-4.36), and are more likely to experience treatment burden (aOR = 2.37 (95 % CI, 1.61-3.47). Attaining person-centered and family-centered care will require strategies that respect diverse decision-making preferences, minimize treatment burden, and support the broader social context in which older adults manage their health.

Over-expression of AtPAP2 in Camelina sativa leads to faster plant growth and higher seed yield

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Lipids extracted from seeds of Camelina sativa have been successfully used as a reliable source of aviation biofuels. This biofuel is environmentally friendly because the drought resistance, frost tolerance and low fertilizer requirement of Camelina sativa allow it to grow on marginal lands. Improving the species growth and seed yield by genetic engineering is therefore a target for the biofuels industry. In Arabidopsis, overexpression of purple acid phosphatase 2 encoded by Arabidopsis (AtPAP2) promotes plant growth by modulating carbon metabolism. Overexpression lines bolt earlier and produce 50% more seeds per plant than wild type. In this study, we explored the effects of overexpressing AtPAP2 in Camelina sativa. Results Under controlled environmental conditions, overexpression of AtPAP2 in Camelina sativa resulted in longer hypocotyls, earlier flowering, faster growth rate, higher photosynthetic rate and stomatal conductance, increased seed yield and seed size in comparison with the wild-type line and null-lines. Similar to transgenic Arabidopsis, activity of sucrose phosphate synthase in leaves of transgenic Camelina was also significantly up-regulated. Sucrose produced in photosynthetic tissues supplies the building blocks for cellulose, starch and lipids for growth and fuel for anabolic metabolism. Changes in carbon flow and sink/source activities in transgenic lines may affect floral, architectural, and reproductive traits of plants. Conclusions Lipids extracted from the seeds of Camelina sativa have been used as a major constituent of aviation biofuels. The improved growth rate and seed yield of transgenic Camelina under controlled environmental conditions have the potential to boost oil yield on an area basis in field conditions and thus make Camelina-based biofuels more environmentally friendly and economically attractive. PMID:22472516

Life cycle assessment of mobile phone housing.

PubMed

Yang, Jian-xin; Wang, Ru-song; Fu, Hao; Liu, Jing-ru

2004-01-01

The life cycle assessment of the mobile phone housing in Motorola(China) Electronics Ltd. was carried out, in which materials flows and environmental emissions based on a basic production scheme were analyzed and assessed. In the manufacturing stage, such primary processes as polycarbonate molding and surface painting are included, whereas different surface finishing technologies like normal painting, electroplate, IMD and VDM etc. were assessed. The results showed that housing decoration plays a significant role within the housing life cycle. The most significant environmental impact from housing production is the photochemical ozone formation potential. Environmental impacts of different decoration techniques varied widely, for example, the electroplating technique is more environmentally friendly than VDM. VDM consumes much more energy and raw material. In addition, the results of two alternative scenarios of dematerialization showed that material flow analysis and assessment is very important and valuable in selecting an environmentally friendly process.

CO2 emissions, real output, energy consumption, trade, urbanization and financial development: testing the EKC hypothesis for the USA.

PubMed

Dogan, Eyup; Turkekul, Berna

2016-01-01

This study aims to investigate the relationship between carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, energy consumption, real output (GDP), the square of real output (GDP(2)), trade openness, urbanization, and financial development in the USA for the period 1960-2010. The bounds testing for cointegration indicates that the analyzed variables are cointegrated. In the long run, energy consumption and urbanization increase environmental degradation while financial development has no effect on it, and trade leads to environmental improvements. In addition, this study does not support the validity of the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis for the USA because real output leads to environmental improvements while GDP(2) increases the levels of gas emissions. The results from the Granger causality test show that there is bidirectional causality between CO2 and GDP, CO2 and energy consumption, CO2 and urbanization, GDP and urbanization, and GDP and trade openness while no causality is determined between CO2 and trade openness, and gas emissions and financial development. In addition, we have enough evidence to support one-way causality running from GDP to energy consumption, from financial development to output, and from urbanization to financial development. In light of the long-run estimates and the Granger causality analysis, the US government should take into account the importance of trade openness, urbanization, and financial development in controlling for the levels of GDP and pollution. Moreover, it should be noted that the development of efficient energy policies likely contributes to lower CO2 emissions without harming real output.

It's Not Easy Building Green.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Higgins, Joseph

2003-01-01

Discusses green buildings, facilities designed, constructed, and operated in an environmentally friendly and resource-efficient way. Discusses reasons for campuses to "go green," the "shades of green" or variations in environmental-friendliness, certification through the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system, financial…

An environmental assessment of grass-finishing beef operations in Pennsylvania

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Concern for the environmental sustainability of traditional beef production has increased consumer interest in alternatively produced beef products perceived to be more environmentally friendly. This includes those marketed under “grassfed beef” labels. However, little information exists on the env...

DESIGNING ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY CHEMICAL PROCESSES WITH FUGITIVE AND OPEN EMISSIONS

EPA Science Inventory

Designing a chemical process normally includes aspects of economic and environmental disciplines. In this work we describe methods to quickly and easily evaluate the economics and potential environmental impacts of a process, with the hydrodealkylation of toluene as an example. ...

Field Testing of Environmentally Friendly Drilling System

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

David Burnett

2009-05-31

The Environmentally Friendly Drilling (EFD) program addresses new low-impact technology that reduces the footprint of drilling activities, integrates light weight drilling rigs with reduced emission engine packages, addresses on-site waste management, optimizes the systems to fit the needs of a specific development sites and provides stewardship of the environment. In addition, the program includes industry, the public, environmental organizations, and elected officials in a collaboration that addresses concerns on development of unconventional natural gas resources in environmentally sensitive areas. The EFD program provides the fundamentals to result in greater access, reasonable regulatory controls, lower development cost and reduction of themore » environmental footprint associated with operations for unconventional natural gas. Industry Sponsors have supported the program with significant financial and technical support. This final report compendium is organized into segments corresponding directly with the DOE approved scope of work for the term 2005-2009 (10 Sections). Each specific project is defined by (a) its goals, (b) its deliverable, and (c) its future direction. A web site has been established that contains all of these detailed engineering reports produced with their efforts. The goals of the project are to (1) identify critical enabling technologies for a prototype low-impact drilling system, (2) test the prototype systems in field laboratories, and (3) demonstrate the advanced technology to show how these practices would benefit the environment.« less

Terbium Ion Doping in Ca3Co4O9: A Step towards High-Performance Thermoelectric Materials

PubMed Central

Saini, Shrikant; Yaddanapudi, Haritha Sree; Tian, Kun; Yin, Yinong; Magginetti, David; Tiwari, Ashutosh

2017-01-01

The potential of thermoelectric materials to generate electricity from the waste heat can play a key role in achieving a global sustainable energy future. In order to proceed in this direction, it is essential to have thermoelectric materials that are environmentally friendly and exhibit high figure of merit, ZT. Oxide thermoelectric materials are considered ideal for such applications. High thermoelectric performance has been reported in single crystals of Ca3Co4O9. However, for large scale applications single crystals are not suitable and it is essential to develop high-performance polycrystalline thermoelectric materials. In polycrystalline form, Ca3Co4O9 is known to exhibit much weaker thermoelectric response than in single crystal form. Here, we report the observation of enhanced thermoelectric response in polycrystalline Ca3Co4O9 on doping Tb ions in the material. Polycrystalline Ca3−xTbxCo4O9 (x = 0.0–0.7) samples were prepared by a solid-state reaction technique. Samples were thoroughly characterized using several state of the art techniques including XRD, TEM, SEM and XPS. Temperature dependent Seebeck coefficient, electrical resistivity and thermal conductivity measurements were performed. A record ZT of 0.74 at 800 K was observed for Tb doped Ca3Co4O9 which is the highest value observed till date in any polycrystalline sample of this system. PMID:28317853

Is Formal Environmental Education Friendly to Nature? Environmental Ethics in Science Textbooks for Primary School Pupils in Poland

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gola, Beata

2017-01-01

Due to the increased interest in ecology, global warming and numerous environmental problems, ecological issues are becoming extremely important in education. Many researchers and thinkers believe that solutions to environmental problems are affected by the environmental ethics adopted. This article identifies which of the three branches of…

Environmentally friendly gamma-MnO2 hexagon-based nanoarchitectures: structural understanding and their energy-saving applications.

PubMed

Wu, Changzheng; Xie, Wei; Zhang, Miao; Bai, Liangfei; Yang, Jinlong; Xie, Yi

2009-01-01

Although about 200,000 metric tons of gamma-MnO(2) are used annually worldwide for industrial applications, the gamma-MnO(2) structure is still known to possess a highly ambiguous crystal lattice. To better understand the gamma-MnO(2) atomic structure, hexagon-based nanoarchitectures were successfully synthesized and used to elucidate its internal structure for the present work. The structural analysis results, obtained from the hexagon-based nanoarchitectures, clearly show the coexistence of akhtenskite (epsilon-MnO(2)), pyrolusite (beta-MnO(2)), and ramsdellite in the so-called gamma-MnO(2) phase and verified the heterogeneous phase assembly of the gamma-MnO(2) state, which violates the well-known "De Wolff" model and derivative models, but partially accords with Heuer's results. Furthermore, heterogeneous gamma-MnO(2) assembly was found to be a metastable structure under hydrothermal conditions, and the individual components of the heterogeneous gamma-MnO(2) system have structural similarities and a high lattice matches with pyrolusite (beta-MnO(2)). The as-obtained gamma-MnO(2) nanoarchitectures are nontoxic and environmentally friendly, and the application of such nanoarchitectures as support matrices successfully mitigates the common problems for phase-change materials of inorganic salts, such as phase separation and supercooling-effects, thereby showing prospect in energy-saving applications in future "smart-house" systems.

Chitosan-coated mesoporous microspheres of calcium silicate hydrate: environmentally friendly synthesis and application as a highly efficient adsorbent for heavy metal ions.

PubMed

Zhao, Jing; Zhu, Ying-Jie; Wu, Jin; Zheng, Jian-Qiang; Zhao, Xin-Yu; Lu, Bing-Qiang; Chen, Feng

2014-03-15

Chitosan-coated calcium silicate hydrate (CSH/chitosan) mesoporous microspheres formed by self-assembly of nanosheets have been synthesized in aqueous solution under ambient conditions without using any toxic surfactant or organic solvent. The method reported herein has advantages of simplicity, low cost and being environmentally friendly. The BET specific surface area of CSH/chitosan mesoporous microspheres is measured to be as high as ~356 m(2) g(-1), which is considerably high among calcium silicate materials. The as-prepared CSH/chitosan mesoporous microspheres are promising adsorbent and exhibit a quick and highly efficient adsorption behavior toward heavy metal ions of Ni(2+), Zn(2+), Cr(3+), Pb(2+) Cu(2+) and Cd(2+) in aqueous solution. The adsorption kinetics can be well fitted by the pseudo second-order model. The maximum adsorption amounts of Ni(2+), Zn(2+), Pb(2+), Cu(2+) and Cd(2+) on CSH/chitosan mesoporous microspheres are extremely high, which are 406.6, 400, 796, 425 and 578 mg/g, respectively. The CSH/chitosan adsorbent exhibits the highest affinity for Pb(2+) ions among five heavy metal ions. The adsorption capacities of the CSH/chitosan adsorbent toward heavy metal ions are relatively high compared with those reported in the literature. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A portable molecular-sieve-based CO{sub 2} sampling system for radiocarbon measurements

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

Palonen, V., E-mail: vesa.palonen@helsinki.fi

We have developed a field-capable sampling system for the collection of CO{sub 2} samples for radiocarbon-concentration measurements. Most target systems in environmental research are limited in volume and CO{sub 2} concentration, making conventional flask sampling hard or impossible for radiocarbon studies. The present system captures the CO{sub 2} selectively to cartridges containing 13X molecular sieve material. The sampling does not introduce significant under-pressures or significant losses of moisture to the target system, making it suitable for most environmental targets. The system also incorporates a significantly larger sieve container for the removal of CO{sub 2} from chambers prior to the CO{submore » 2} build-up phase and sampling. In addition, both the CO{sub 2} and H{sub 2}O content of the sample gas are measured continuously. This enables in situ estimation of the amount of collected CO{sub 2} and the determination of CO{sub 2} flux to a chamber. The portable sampling system is described in detail and tests for the reliability of the method are presented.« less

Degradation of Phytate Pentamagnesium Salt by Bacillus sp. T4 Phytase as a Potential Eco-friendly Feed Additive

PubMed Central

Park, Inkyung; Lee, Jaekoo; Cho, Jaiesoon

2012-01-01

A bacterial isolate derived from soil samples near a cattle farm was found to display extracellular phytase activity. Based on 16S rRNA sequence analysis, the strain was named Bacillus sp. T4. The optimum temperature for the phytase activity toward magnesium phytate (Mg-InsP6) was 40°C without 5 mM Ca2+ and 50°C with 5 mM Ca2+. T4 phytase had a characteristic bi-hump two pH optima of 6.0 to 6.5 and 7.4 for Mg-InsP6. The enzyme showed higher specificity for Mg-InsP6 than sodium phytate (Na-InsP6). Its activity was fairly inhibited by EDTA, Cu2+, Mn2+, Co2+, Ba2+ and Zn2+. T4 phytase may have great potential for use as an eco-friendly feed additive to enhance the nutritive quality of phytate and reduce phosphorus pollution. PMID:25049504

A Comparative Study on the Environmental Impact of CO2 Supermarket Refrigeration Systems

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

Beshr, Mohamed; Aute, Vikrant; Sharma, Vishaldeep

Supermarket refrigeration systems have high environmental impact due to their large refrigerant charge and high leak rates. Accordingly, the interest in using natural refrigerants, such as carbon dioxide (CO2), and new refrigerant blends with low GWP in such systems is increasing. In this paper, an open-source Life Cycle Climate Performance (LCCP) framework is presented and used to compare the environmental impact of three supermarket refrigeration systems. These systems include a transcritical CO2 booster system, a cascade CO2/N-40 system, and a baseline R-404A multiplex direct expansion system. The study is performed for cities representing different climates within the USA using EnergyPlusmore » to simulate the systems' hourly performance. Finally, a parametric analysis is performed to study the impact of annual leak rate on the systems' LCCP.« less

Control of damping-off of organic and conventional cucumber with extracts from a plant-associated bacterium rivals a seed treatment pesticide

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Environmentally friendly control measures are needed for soilborne diseases of crops grown in organic and conventional production systems. We tested ethanol extracts from cultures of Serratia marcescens N4-5 and N2-4, Burkholderia cepacia BC-1 and BC-2, and B. ambifaria BC-F for control of damping-o...

Catalytic Ignition of Ionic Liquid Fuels by Ionic Liquids

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-07-01

catalytically decompose hydrogen peroxide. Catalytic approach for H2O2 decomposition Distribution NOT APPROVED through STINFO process Distribution...Charts 3. DATES COVERED (From - To) July 2014- August 2014 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER In-House Catalytic Ignition of Ionic...are highly hazardous. To gain a true advantage, a more environmentally friendly oxidizer must be considered. Hydrogen peroxide might be an attractive

A decontamination system for chemical weapons agents using a liquid solution on a solid sorbent.

PubMed

Waysbort, Daniel; McGarvey, David J; Creasy, William R; Morrissey, Kevin M; Hendrickson, David M; Durst, H Dupont

2009-01-30

A decontamination system for chemical warfare agents was developed and tested that combines a liquid decontamination reagent solution with solid sorbent particles. The components have fewer safety and environmental concerns than traditional chlorine bleach-based products or highly caustic solutions. The liquid solution, based on Decon Greentrade mark, has hydrogen peroxide and a carbonate buffer as active ingredients. The best solid sorbents were found to be a copolymer of ethylene glycol dimethacrylate and n-lauryl methacrylate (Polytrap 6603 Adsorber); or an allyl methacrylate cross-linked polymer (Poly-Pore E200 Adsorber). These solids are human and environmentally friendly and are commonly used in cosmetics. The decontaminant system was tested for reactivity with pinacolyl methylphosphonofluoridate (Soman, GD), bis(2-chloroethyl)sulfide (Mustard, HD), and S-(2-diisopropylaminoethyl) O-ethyl methylphosphonothioate (VX) by using NMR Spectroscopy. Molybdate ion (MoO(4)(-2)) was added to the decontaminant to catalyze the oxidation of HD. The molybdate ion provided a color change from pink to white when the oxidizing capacity of the system was exhausted. The decontaminant was effective for ratios of agent to decontaminant of up to 1:50 for VX (t(1/2) < or = 4 min), 1:10 for HD (t(1/2) < 2 min with molybdate), and 1:10 for GD (t(1/2) < 2 min). The vapor concentrations of GD above the dry sorbent and the sorbent with decontamination solution were measured to show that the sorbent decreased the vapor concentration of GD. The E200 sorbent had the additional advantage of absorbing aqueous decontamination solution without the addition of an organic co-solvent such as isopropanol, but the rate depended strongly on mixing for HD.

Energy taxation as a policy instrument to reduce CO{sub 2} emissions: A net benefit analysis

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

Boyd, R.; Krutilla, K.; Viscusi, W.K.

1995-07-01

This study evaluates the costs and benefits of energy taxation as a policy instrument to conserve energy and reduce CO{sub 2} emissions. The study combines economic cost estimates generated with a CGE model and monetary estimates of environmental damages in a comprehensive cost/benefit framework. We find that optimal CO{sub 2} emissions reductions range from 5 to 38%, depending on different assumptions about energy substitution elasticities and environmental damages. CO{sub 2} emissions reductions of between 8 and 64% can be attained at no additional welfare cost relative to a policy of not undertaking any action to control CO{sub 2} emissions. 33more » refs., 7 figs., 8 tabs.« less

Conversion of an Aziridine to an Oxazolidinone Using a Salt and Carbon Dioxide in Water

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wallace, Justin R.; Lieberman, Deborah L.; Hancock, Matthew T.; Pinhas, Allan R.

2005-01-01

A convenient, inexpensive, environment friendly, and regioselective conversion of an aziridine to an oxazolidinone is developed by using iodide salt and CO[2] in water. A description is provided, on the way in which this series of experiments will show students how to change experimental conditions to obtain mainly one desired regiosomer of a…

Estimating environmental co-benefits of U.S. low-carbon pathways using an integrated assessment model with state-level resolution

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

Ou, Yang; Shi, Wenjing; Smith, Steven J.

There are many technological pathways that can lead to reduced carbon dioxide (CO 2) emissions. However, these pathways can have substantially different impacts on other environmental endpoints, such as air quality and energy-related water demand. This study uses an integrated assessment model with state-level resolution of the U.S. energy system to compare environmental impacts of alternative low-carbon pathways. One set of pathways emphasizes nuclear energy and carbon capture and storage (NUC/CCS), while another set emphasizes renewable energy (RE). These are compared with pathways in which all technologies are available. Air pollutant emissions, mortality costs attributable to particulate matter less thanmore » 2.5 microns in diameter (PM2.5), and energy-related water demands are evaluated for 50% and 80% CO 2 reduction targets in the U.S. in 2050. The RE low-carbon pathways require less water withdrawal and consumption than the NUC/CCS pathways because of the large cooling demands of nuclear power and CCS. However, the NUC/CCS low-carbon pathways produce greater health benefits, mainly because the NUC/CCS assumptions result in less primary PM2.5 emissions from residential wood combustion. Environmental co-benefits differ among states because of factors such as existing technology stock, resource availability, and environmental and energy policies. An important finding is that biomass in the building sector can offset some of the health co-benefits of the low-carbon pathways even though it plays only a minor role in reducing CO 2 emissions.« less

Evolutionary context for understanding and manipulating plant responses to past, present and future atmospheric [CO2

PubMed Central

Leakey, Andrew D. B.; Lau, Jennifer A.

2012-01-01

Variation in atmospheric [CO2] is a prominent feature of the environmental history over which vascular plants have evolved. Periods of falling and low [CO2] in the palaeo-record appear to have created selective pressure for important adaptations in modern plants. Today, rising [CO2] is a key component of anthropogenic global environmental change that will impact plants and the ecosystem goods and services they deliver. Currently, there is limited evidence that natural plant populations have evolved in response to contemporary increases in [CO2] in ways that increase plant productivity or fitness, and no evidence for incidental breeding of crop varieties to achieve greater yield enhancement from rising [CO2]. Evolutionary responses to elevated [CO2] have been studied by applying selection in controlled environments, quantitative genetics and trait-based approaches. Findings to date suggest that adaptive changes in plant traits in response to future [CO2] will not be consistently observed across species or environments and will not be large in magnitude compared with physiological and ecological responses to future [CO2]. This lack of evidence for strong evolutionary effects of elevated [CO2] is surprising, given the large effects of elevated [CO2] on plant phenotypes. New studies under more stressful, complex environmental conditions associated with climate change may revise this view. Efforts are underway to engineer plants to: (i) overcome the limitations to photosynthesis from today's [CO2] and (ii) benefit maximally from future, greater [CO2]. Targets range in scale from manipulating the function of a single enzyme (e.g. Rubisco) to adding metabolic pathways from bacteria as well as engineering the structural and functional components necessary for C4 photosynthesis into C3 leaves. Successfully improving plant performance will depend on combining the knowledge of the evolutionary context, cellular basis and physiological integration of plant responses to varying [CO2]. PMID:22232771

Evolutionary context for understanding and manipulating plant responses to past, present and future atmospheric [CO2].

PubMed

Leakey, Andrew D B; Lau, Jennifer A

2012-02-19

Variation in atmospheric [CO(2)] is a prominent feature of the environmental history over which vascular plants have evolved. Periods of falling and low [CO(2)] in the palaeo-record appear to have created selective pressure for important adaptations in modern plants. Today, rising [CO(2)] is a key component of anthropogenic global environmental change that will impact plants and the ecosystem goods and services they deliver. Currently, there is limited evidence that natural plant populations have evolved in response to contemporary increases in [CO(2)] in ways that increase plant productivity or fitness, and no evidence for incidental breeding of crop varieties to achieve greater yield enhancement from rising [CO(2)]. Evolutionary responses to elevated [CO(2)] have been studied by applying selection in controlled environments, quantitative genetics and trait-based approaches. Findings to date suggest that adaptive changes in plant traits in response to future [CO(2)] will not be consistently observed across species or environments and will not be large in magnitude compared with physiological and ecological responses to future [CO(2)]. This lack of evidence for strong evolutionary effects of elevated [CO(2)] is surprising, given the large effects of elevated [CO(2)] on plant phenotypes. New studies under more stressful, complex environmental conditions associated with climate change may revise this view. Efforts are underway to engineer plants to: (i) overcome the limitations to photosynthesis from today's [CO(2)] and (ii) benefit maximally from future, greater [CO(2)]. Targets range in scale from manipulating the function of a single enzyme (e.g. Rubisco) to adding metabolic pathways from bacteria as well as engineering the structural and functional components necessary for C(4) photosynthesis into C(3) leaves. Successfully improving plant performance will depend on combining the knowledge of the evolutionary context, cellular basis and physiological integration of plant responses to varying [CO(2)].

Geographical CO2 sensitivity of phytoplankton correlates with ocean buffer capacity.

PubMed

Richier, Sophie; Achterberg, Eric P; Humphreys, Matthew P; Poulton, Alex J; Suggett, David J; Tyrrell, Toby; Moore, C Mark

2018-05-25

Accumulation of anthropogenic CO 2 is significantly altering ocean chemistry. A range of biological impacts resulting from this oceanic CO 2 accumulation are emerging, however the mechanisms responsible for observed differential susceptibility between organisms and across environmental settings remain obscure. A primary consequence of increased oceanic CO 2 uptake is a decrease in the carbonate system buffer capacity, which characterises the system's chemical resilience to changes in CO 2 , generating the potential for enhanced variability in pCO 2 and the concentration of carbonate [CO 3 2- ], bicarbonate [HCO 3 - ] and protons [H + ] in the future ocean. We conducted a meta-analysis of 17 shipboard manipulation experiments performed across three distinct geographical regions that encompassed a wide range of environmental conditions from European temperate seas to Arctic and Southern oceans. These data demonstrated a correlation between the magnitude of natural phytoplankton community biological responses to short-term CO 2 changes and variability in the local buffer capacity across ocean basin scales. Specifically, short-term suppression of small phytoplankton (<10 μm) net growth rates were consistently observed under enhanced pCO 2 within experiments performed in regions with higher ambient buffer capacity. The results further highlight the relevance of phytoplankton cell size for the impacts of enhanced pCO 2 in both the modern and future ocean. Specifically, cell-size related acclimation and adaptation to regional environmental variability, as characterised by buffer capacity, likely influences interactions between primary producers and carbonate chemistry over a range of spatio-temporal scales. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Decomposing the trade-environment nexus for Malaysia: what do the technique, scale, composition, and comparative advantage effect indicate?

PubMed

Ling, Chong Hui; Ahmed, Khalid; Binti Muhamad, Rusnah; Shahbaz, Muhammad

2015-12-01

This paper investigates the impact of trade openness on CO2 emissions using time series data over the period of 1970QI-2011QIV for Malaysia. We disintegrate the trade effect into scale, technique, composition, and comparative advantage effects to check the environmental consequence of trade at four different transition points. To achieve the purpose, we have employed augmented Dickey-Fuller (ADF) and Phillips-Perron (PP) unit root tests in order to examine the stationary properties of the variables. Later, the long-run association among the variables is examined by applying autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) bounds testing approach to cointegration. Our results confirm the presence of cointegration. Further, we find that scale effect has positive and technique effect has negative impact on CO2 emissions after threshold income level and form inverted U-shaped relationship-hence validates the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis. Energy consumption adds in CO2 emissions. Trade openness and composite effect improve environmental quality by lowering CO2 emissions. The comparative advantage effect increases CO2 emissions and impairs environmental quality. The results provide the innovative approach to see the impact of trade openness in four sub-dimensions of trade liberalization. Hence, this study attributes more comprehensive policy tool for trade economists to better design environmentally sustainable trade rules and agreements.

Ferrate(VI)-prompted removal of metals in aqueous media: mechanistic delineation of enhanced efficiency via metal entrenchment in magnetic oxides.

PubMed

Prucek, Robert; Tuček, Jiří; Kolařík, Jan; Hušková, Ivana; Filip, Jan; Varma, Rajender S; Sharma, Virender K; Zbořil, Radek

2015-02-17

The removal efficiency of heavy metal ions (cadmium(II), Cd(II); cobalt(II), Co(II); nickel(II), Ni(II); copper(II), Cu(II)) by potassium ferrate(VI) (K2FeO4, Fe(VI)) was studied as a function of added amount of Fe(VI) (or Fe) and varying pH. At pH = 6.6, the effective removal of Co(II), Ni(II), and Cu(II) from water was observed at a low Fe-to-heavy metal ion ratio (Fe/M(II) = 2:1) while a removal efficiency of 70% was seen for Cd(II) ions at a high Fe/Cd(II) weight ratio of 15:1. The role of ionic radius and metal valence state was explored by conducting similar removal experiments using Al(III) ions. The unique combination of X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), in-field Mössbauer spectroscopy, and magnetization measurements enabled the delineation of several distinct mechanisms for the Fe(VI)-prompted removal of metal ions. Under a Fe/M weight ratio of 5:1, Co(II), Ni(II), and Cu(II) were removed by the formation of MFe2O4 spinel phase and partially through their structural incorporation into octahedral positions of γ-Fe2O3 (maghemite) nanoparticles. In comparison, smaller sized Al(III) ions got incorporated easily into the tetrahedral positions of γ-Fe2O3 nanoparticles. In contrast, Cd(II) ions either did not form the spinel ferrite structure or were not incorporated into the lattic of iron(III) oxide phase due to the distinct electronic structure and ionic radius. Environmentally friendly removal of heavy metal ions at a much smaller dosage of Fe than those of commonly applied iron-containing coagulants and the formation of ferrimagnetic species preventing metal ions leaching back into the environment and allowing their magnetic separation are highlighted.

Thermal stability increase in metallic nanoparticles-loaded cellulose nanocrystal nanocomposites.

PubMed

Goikuria, U; Larrañaga, A; Vilas, J L; Lizundia, E

2017-09-01

Due to the potential of CNC-based flexible materials for novel industrial applications, the aim of this work is to improve the thermal stability of cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) films through a straightforward and scalable method. Based of nanocomposite approach, five different metallic nanoparticles (ZnO, SiO 2 , TiO 2 , Al 2 O 3 and Fe 2 O 3 ) have been co-assembled in water with CNCs to obtain free-standing nanocomposite films. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) reveals an increased thermal stability upon nanoparticle. This increase in the thermal stability reaches a maximum of 75°C for the nanocomposites having 10wt% of Fe 2 O 3 and ZnO. The activation energies of thermodegradation process (E a ) determined according to Kissinger and Ozawa-Flynn-Wall methods further confirm the delayed degradation of CNC nanocomposites upon heating. Finally, the changes induced in the crystalline structure during thermodegradation were followed by wide angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD). It is also observed that thermal degradation proceeds at higher temperatures for nanocomposites having metallic nanoparticles. Overall, experimental findings here showed make nanocomposite approach a simple low-cost environmentally-friendly strategy to overcome the relatively poor thermal stability of CNCs when extracted via sulfuric acid assisted hydrolysis of cellulose. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

An Environmentally Friendly Method for Testing Photocatalytic Inactivation of Cyanobacterial Propagation on a Hybrid Ag-TiO2 Photocatalyst under Solar Illumination

PubMed Central

Chang, Shu-Yu; Huang, Winn-Jung; Lu, Ben-Ren; Fang, Guor-Cheng; Chen, Yeah; Chen, Hsiu-Lin; Chang, Ming-Chin; Hsu, Cheng-Feng

2015-01-01

Cyanobacteria were inactivated under sunlight using mixed phase silver (Ag) and deposited titanium dioxide (TiO2) coated on the surface of diatomite (DM) as a hybrid photocatalyst (Ag-TiO2/DM). The endpoints of dose-response experiments were chlorophyll a, photosynthetic efficiency, and flow cytometry measurements. In vitro experiments revealed that axenic cultures of planktonic cyanobacteria lost their photosynthetic activity following photocatalyzed exposure to sunlight for more than 24 h. Nearly 92% of Microcystis aeruginosa cells lost their photosynthetic activity, and their cell morphology was severely damaged within 24 h of the reaction. Preliminary carbon-14 (14CO3−2) results suggest that the complete inactivation of cyanobacteria arises from damage to cell wall components (peroxidation). A small concomitant increase in cell wall disorder and a consequent decrease in cell wall functional groups increase the cell wall fluidity prior to cell lysis. A high dosage of Ag-TiO2/DM during photocatalysis increased the concentration of extracellular polymeric substances (EPSs) in the Microcystis aeruginosa suspension by up to approximately 260%. However, photocatalytic treatment had a small effect on the disinfection by-product (DBP) precursor, as revealed by only a slight increase in the formation of trihalomethanes (THMs) and haloacetic acids (HAAs). PMID:26690465