Intensification of delignification of Tectona grandis saw dust as sustainable biomass using acoustic cavitational devices

Delignification of sawdust was studied using ultrasound assisted alkali peroxide approach using longitudinal horn for the first time and the efficacy compared with more commonly used configurations of ultrasonic reactors. Comparison with the conventional approach based on stirring has also been presented to establish the process intensification benefits. Effect of different operating parameters such as sodium carbonate concentration (0.1, 0.15, 0.2, 0.25 M), hydrogen peroxide concentration (0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, 1 M) and biomass loading (2, 4, 6, 8, 10 wt%), on the efficacy of lignin extraction has been investigated for different ultrasonic reactors. The optimum conditions for probe type ultrasonic horn were established as 150 W, 50% duty cycle and 80% amplitude with optimum process conditions as Na₂CO₃ concentration as 0.2 M, H₂O₂ concentration as 1 M, biomass loading of 10 wt% and operating time of 70 min. Longitudinal horn resulted in best efficacy (both in terms of yield and energy requirements) followed by ultrasonic horn and ultrasonic bath whereas the conventional approach was least effective. The obtained lignin was also analyzed using different characterization techniques. The presence of peaks at wavelength range of 875–817, 1123–1110, and at 1599 cm⁻¹ for the extracted sample confirmed the presence of lignin. Increase in the crystallinity index of the processed sample (maximum for longitudinal horn) also confirmed the lignin removal as lignin is amorphous in nature. Overall it has been concluded that ultrasound can be effectively used for delignification with longitudinal horn as best configuration.     

The effective geometry Monte Carlo algorithm: Applications to molecular communication

In this work, we address the systematic biases and random errors stemming from finite step sizes encountered in diffusion simulations. We introduce the Effective Geometry Monte Carlo (EG-MC) simulation algorithm which modifies the geometry of the receiver. We motivate our approach in a 1D toy model and then apply our findings to a spherical absorbing receiver in a 3D unbounded environment. We show that with minimal computational cost the impulse response of this receiver can be precisely simulated using EG-MC. Afterwards, we demonstrate the accuracy of our simulations and give tight constraints on the single free parameter in EG-MC. Finally, we comment on the range of applicability of our results. While we present the EG-MC algorithm for the specific case of molecular diffusion, we believe that analogous methods with effective geometry manipulations can be utilized to approach a variety of problems in other branches of physics such as condensed matter physics and cosmological large scale structure simulations.     

Positive ground state solutions for Schrödinger–Poisson system with critical nonlocal term in ℝ3

This paper is dedicated to studying the following Schrödinger–Poisson system $$\left\{\begin{array}{ll}-\mathrm{\Delta }u+V(x)u-K(x)\varphi |u{|}^{3}u=a(x)f(u),& x\in {ℝ}^3,\\ -\mathrm{\Delta }\varphi =K(x)|u{|}^5,& x\in {ℝ}^3.\end{array}\right.$$ Under some different assumptions on functions V(x), K(x), a(x) and f(u), by using the variational approach, we establish the existence of positive ground state solutions.     

一种考虑界面相物性影响的界面单元法

界面是由复杂的界面相简化而成的,界面破坏实际是界面相材料的破坏。数值计算为了方便,如经典模型和内聚力模型等,都把很薄的界面相作无厚度化处理。导致只能考虑界面的面力,而无法考虑界面相内的应力(平行于界面方向的应力)。使界面失效准则先天性地排除了界面相内部应力的影响,从界面相材料失效机理的角度来看这是不够严谨的。本文将界面相材料等效为一种弹性连续体,由界面本构关系推导得到了一种新的界面单元。该单元具有界面参数易确定、对界面相物性可以进行等效描述等优点。通过商用有限元软件ABAQUS和用户子程序UEL实现了数值分析,并与直接物理模型的数值模拟结果进行对比,证明了本方法的简便及准确性。通过对不同界面相厚度结构的进一步分析,探讨了本文方法的可行范围。