Forest waste as a potential alternative energy source

Following a method based on the procedure given by Hubbardet al. [1] the calorific values of combustion in oxygen at 298.15 K were measured by static-bomb calorimetry for forest residues. This waste mainly coming from mount reforestation, construction of firebreaks, etc., constitutes an important risk to originate forest fire. From combustion experiments the mean calorific value of all species studied was found close to 19 000 kJ·kg^?1, similar to calorific values of Municipal Waste. It can be concluded that this forest residues can be used as an additional fuel to be added to Municipal Solid Waste in energy recovery plants. By doing this, energy, in this moment lost as abandoned residues, can be recovered. At the same time the elimination of this waste minimizes the risk of forest fires. Our results reasonably agree with literature values.     

Thermal characterization of anaerobic sludges from wastewater treatments applied to biological generation of H<Subscript>2</Subscript>

A wide variety of organic residues may be used as energy source such as anaerobic sludge from wastewater treatment systems. However, due to inherent differences in composition, the proper characterization of these biomasses is essential to support their reuse through any conversion process. The aim of this study was the employment of thermal analysis techniques (TG/DTG and DTA) to perform the characterization of anaerobic sludges from different wastewater treatment plants (industrial and municipal), which were further applied for biological production of H₂. The different profiles observed through thermal characterization support the application of these residues as inocula, confirming their potential for H₂ production, while demonstrating the main causes for the different yields obtained (mol H₂ mol^?1 sucrose): 0.9 from sludge of brewery industry and 2.0 from sludge of municipal wastewater treatment plant, corresponding to the overall yields of 10.8 and 25%, respectively. These results confirm the versatility of thermal analysis techniques for biomass characterization, focused on its application for power generation. It is urgent to adopt more sustainable and cost-effective solutions for their management, considering a large amount of residues daily generated in both treatment processes addressed; therefore, biohydrogen production by anaerobic digestion may be a promising alternative for the reuse of both residues as it promotes their transformation from costly and potentially polluting waste into clean and renewable energy sources. The development of this anaerobic process is even more attractive in countries as Brazil, where the weather conditions are naturally favorable.     

Energy potential and thermogravimetric study of pyrolysis kinetics of biomass wastes

The use of agricultural wastes for energy conversion has been widely studied as renewable and carbon neutral energy sources. This paper aims to evaluate the energetic potential of six agricultural wastes—sugarcane bagasse, bean pods, corn stover, pineapple crown leaves, white cotton and natural coloured cotton stalks, through their characterization and pyrolysis kinetic study. The energetic potential of biomasses was evaluated by ultimate and proximate analysis, higher heating value (HHV), apparent density, and kinetic parameters of conversion and apparent activation energy (E_a) determined by Model-Free kinetics though thermogravimetric analysis data. The results indicate energetic density for dry basis biomasses, such as moisture content less than 7%, volatiles higher than 77% and moderate ash content. The HHVs were higher for the biomass with low O:C ratio. The E_a values increased with increasing O:C ratio and were also influenced by the biomass ash content. Among the studied biomasses, PCL are less explored for energy application, although the results confirm its potential for application in thermochemical processes such as pyrolysis or combustion.

     

Liquid crystal alignment properties of n-alkylsulphonylmethyl-substituted polyoxyethylenes

The liquid crystal (LC) alignment properties of LC cells fabricated with films of n-alkylsulphonylmethyl-substituted polyoxyethylenes (#S-PEO, #?=?4, 6, 7, 8 and 10), where # is the number of carbon atoms in the n-alkyl side groups having different n-alkyl chain length, were investigated as a function of the rubbing density. The LC cells made from unrubbed #S-PEO (# ≥8) films having more than eight carbon atoms in the n-alkyl side groups showed homeotropic LC alignment. The homeotropic LC alignment behaviour correlated well with the surface energy values of the unrubbed #S-PEO films; homeotropic LC alignment was observed when the surface energy values of the unrubbed #S-PEO films were smaller than about 21.62 mJ m^?2. The LC cells made from rubbed #S-PEO (# ≥7) films having more than seven carbon atoms with a rubbing density of 150 showed homeotropic LC alignment. It was also found that the tilt angle of the LCs on the rubbed #S-PEO films was affected not only by the n-alkyl chain length of the polymers, but also by the rubbing density, regardless of the surface energy value of the #S-PEO film.     

ACTION SPECTRA FOR THE PHOTOLYSIS OF 5-IODODEOXYURIDINE IN DNA AND RELATED MODEL SYSTEMS: EVIDENCE FOR SHORT-RANGE ENERGY TRANSFER*

Abstract— A variety of polynucleotides containing 5-iodouracil residues were irradiated in aqueous solution with wavelengths between 240 and 313 nm. From the rate of deiodination the photochemical cross sections (a_B) were determined as a function of the irradiation wavelength (A). The expression was used to relate the observed values of _B to the intrinsic quantum yield, φ_INT, and to the absorption cross sections, and for the iodinated and noniodinated residues, respectively. φ_INT is the probability an excited iodouracil residue will deiodinate, while the parameter b is a measure of the number of noniodinated bases which contribute their excitation energy to the deiodination process. For IdUrd and poly(5-iodouridylic acid), the average values of φ_INT calculated from the experimental _B values were 0.0202 and 0.0188, respectively, for irradiation in air. In native, denatured, and depurinated DNA in which IdUrd was substituted for 10% of the Thd, the average φ_INT values were 0.0069, 0.0088, and 0.0153, respectively, indicating an enhancement in φ_INT upon decreasing the order of the polynucleotide. In contrast, the average values of b bor the same set of compounds were found to be 4 , 2 and 0.4, respectively, indicating a decrease in b with decreasing polynucleotide order, i.e. a loss of base stacking decreases the extent of energy transfer. A value of b= 4 for native DNA is assumed to mean that the extent of energy transfer in native DNA is limited to four base donors per iodouracil residue serving as an energy trap.     

Cure kinetics of epoxy composite applied on stator bars insulation

Cure kinetics study of epoxy resin composite, employed as stator bars insulation system, was evaluated through differential scanning calorimetry using the dynamic methodology, different heating rates. These experiments provided some important information about the system as activation energy (E _a = 65.4 kJ mol⁻¹), glass transition (T _g) values on different curing stages including the final cured material information and, besides that, it enables the comparison of these data with new materials under development. The activation energy value allows the determination of different energy needs of the system under evaluation, specially temperature for the material cure, improving the possibility of comparison between different insulation systems in use in the high voltage insulation business. The composite conversion degree based on the cure enthalpy (ΔH _cure) at different time of cure was also subject of analysis and from that it was possible to comprehend the cure pattern which allows the cure state prediction of further samples of this type of material and the more accurate evaluation of similar samples acquired directly from stator bars.     

Capillary electrophoresis in mixed aqueous-organic media: Effect of tetrahydrofuran on mobilities, dissociation constants and separation of a series of quinolones

Summary The influence of the composition of aqueous-tetrahydrofuran mixtures on the electrophoretic behaviour of nine quinolones was studied in order to predict the optimum conditions for their separation. The effect of pH, pK _a and activity coefficients on electrophoretic behaviour was established. Standard pH values for buffer solutions of the NIST scale as previously determined in THF-water were used in accordance with IUPAC rules. pH was therefore measured for these media as for water. The pK _a values of quinolones were determined from the electrophoretic mobilities-pH data pairs in different THF-water mixtures. The electrophoretic resolution between pairs of substances was then predicted in order to obtain the optimal experimental conditions for separation methodologies.     

Using mechanical spectroscopies to study the glass transition dynamics in unsaturated polyester resins cured with different styrene contents

The control of chemical architecture has been one relevant parameter in the study of glass transition dynamics in macromolecular systems. In this study, two polyester resins differing in the styrene content that was added in the curing process were studied using two complementary mechanical spectroscopy techniques: dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) and thermally stimulated recovery (TSR). Both techniques showed that the -relaxation is shifted to higher temperatures (longer times) with increasing styrene content. Master curves were obtained from the DMA data. The shift factors were used to obtain the temperature dependence of the apparent activation energy, E_a(T). The TSR results also permitted to obtain E_a(T) that also exhibited a maximum around T_g. This behaviour, apparently universally observed in thermally stimulated techniques, was explained by the shift from a Vogel-Fulcher-Tamman-Hesse to an Arrhenius regime. The data also allowed to calculate the fragility index of the two materials, which was found to be higher for the one with higher styrene content. Remarks are made on the dependency of the values of this parameter obtained from different techniques.     

A Study on the Influence of the Temperature on the Formation of Cardanol‐Based Phenolic Resin

A kinetic study of the reaction of cardanol and maleic anhydride (MA) (mole ratios 1:0.25, 1:0.5, 1:0.75, 1:1) was carried out at five different temperatures ranging between 160 and 180°C with an interval of 5°C using paratoluene sulfonic acid (PTSA) as a catalyst. The acid values of the samples were checked at a regular time intervals to check the percentage of the completion of the reaction. The influence of the condensation temperature on the synthesized resins was studied using infrared spectroscopic analysis. The reaction between cardanol and MA was found to obey first‐order rate kinetics. The specific rate constant (k) calculated by regression analysis was found to obey the Arrhenius expression. The thermodynamic parameters such as activation energy (E_a), frequency factor (Z), entropy (∆S), enthalpy (∆H), and free energy (∆G) were calculated. It was found that the reaction was spontaneous and irreversible. The experimental results were explained by proposing a reaction mechanism and deriving the rate equation.     

Enhanced production of xylanase from locally isolated fungal strain using agro-industrial residues under solid-state fermentation

This study is related to the isolation of fungal strain for xylanase production using agro-industrial residues. Forty fungal strains with xylanolytic potential were isolated by using xylan agar plates and quantitatively screened in solid-state fermentation. Of all the tested isolates, the strain showing highest ability to produce xylanase was assigned the code Aspergillus niger LCBT-14. For the enhanced production of the enzyme, five different fermentation media were evaluated. Out of all media, M4 containing wheat bran gave maximum enzyme production. Effect of different variables including incubation time, temperature, pH, carbon and nitrogen sources has been investigated. The optimum enzyme production was obtained after 72 h at 30°C and pH 4. Glucose as a carbon source while ammonium sulphate and yeast extract as nitrogen sources gave maximum xylanase production (946 U/mL/min). This study was successful in producing xylanase by A. niger LCBT-14 economically by utilising cheap indigenous substrate.     

Xylanase production by Aspergillus awamori in solid-state fermentation and influence of different nitrogen sources

The use of purified xylan as a substrate for bioconversion into xylanases increases the cost of enzyme production. Consequently, there have been attempts to develop a bioprocess to produce such enzymes using different lignocellulosic residues. Filamentous fungi have been widely used to produce hydrolytic enzymes for industrial applications, including xylanases, whose levels in fungi are generally much higher than those in yeast and bacteria. Considering the industrial importance of xylanases, the present study evaluated the use of milled sugarcane bagasse, without any pretreatment, as a carbon source. Also, the effect of different nitrogen sources and the C∶N ratio on xylanase production by Aspergillus awamori were investigated, in experiments carried out in solid-state fermentation. High extracellular xylanolytic activity was observed on cultivation of A. awamori on milled sugarcane bagasse and organic nitrogen sources (45 IU/mL for endoxylanase and 3.5 IU/mL for β-xylosidase). Endoxylanase and β-xylosidase activities were higher when sodium nitrate was used as the nitrogen source, when compared with peptone, urea, and ammonium sulfate at the optimized C∶N ratio of 10∶1. The use of yeast extract as a supplement to the these nitrogen sources resulted in considerable improvementin the production of xylanases, showing the importance of this organic nitrogen source on A. awamori metabolism.     

Energetic characterization of forest biomass by calorimetry and thermal analysis

The rational and sustainable exploitation of natural resources is one the priority objectives of our consumer society as an unavoidable strategy for survival. In previous articles, research group TERBIPROMAT has established the bases for the elaboration of energy maps of forest biomass. With those data, it is possible to classify the species in terms of their energy content and of their possible application as biofuels following European Norm CEN/TS 14961/2005 on solid biofuels. Main forest species used in this study were Populus and Paulownia. These species have a fast growth and produce big amounts of energetic biomass. To complete this study a comparison with autochthonous forest species, Eucalyptus and Pinus, was made. In this study, a thermogravimetric analysis is employed to qualitative study the resistance to thermal degradation of different forest species. These studies complete those made through static bomb calorimetry, elemental analysis, and different mechanical tests trying to get relationships between thermal behaviour and some physical properties.     

Rapidly differentiating grape seeds from different sources based on characteristic fingerprints using direct analysis in real time coupled with time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry combined with chemometrics

The seeds of grapevine (Vitis vinifera) are a byproduct of wine production. To examine the potential value of grape seeds, grape seeds from seven sources were subjected to fingerprinting using direct analysis in real time coupled with time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry combined with chemometrics. Firstly, we listed all reported components (56 components) from grape seeds and calculated the precise m/z values of the deprotonated ions [M–H]^–. Secondly, the experimental conditions were systematically optimized based on the peak areas of total ion chromatograms of the samples. Thirdly, the seven grape seed samples were examined using the optimized method. Information about 20 grape seed components was utilized to represent characteristic fingerprints. Finally, hierarchical clustering analysis and principal component analysis were performed to analyze the data. Grape seeds from seven different sources were classified into two clusters; hierarchical clustering analysis and principal component analysis yielded similar results. The results of this study lay the foundation for appropriate utilization and exploitation of grape seed samples. Due to the absence of complicated sample preparation methods and chromatographic separation, the method developed in this study represents one of the simplest and least time‐consuming methods for grape seed fingerprinting.     

Using polarizable POSSIM force field and fuzzy‐border continuum solvent model to calculate pKa shifts of protein residues

Our Fuzzy‐Border (FB) continuum solvent model has been extended and modified to produce hydration parameters for small molecules using POlarizable Simulations Second‐order Interaction Model (POSSIM) framework with an average error of 0.136 kcal/mol. It was then used to compute pK _a shifts for carboxylic and basic residues of the turkey ovomucoid third domain (OMTKY3) protein. The average unsigned errors in the acid and base pK _a values were 0.37 and 0.4 pH units, respectively, versus 0.58 and 0.7 pH units as calculated with a previous version of polarizable protein force field and Poisson Boltzmann continuum solvent. This POSSIM/FB result is produced with explicit refitting of the hydration parameters to the pK _a values of the carboxylic and basic residues of the OMTKY3 protein; thus, the values of the acidity constants can be viewed as additional fitting target data. In addition to calculating pK _a shifts for the OMTKY3 residues, we have studied aspartic acid residues of Rnase Sa. This was done without any further refitting of the parameters and agreement with the experimental pK _a values is within an average unsigned error of 0.65 pH units. This result included the Asp79 residue that is buried and thus has a high experimental pK _a value of 7.37 units. Thus, the presented model is capable or reproducing pK _a results for residues in an environment that is significantly different from the solvated protein surface used in the fitting. Therefore, the POSSIM force field and the FB continuum solvent parameters have been demonstrated to be sufficiently robust and transferable. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Characterization of ethylene/propylene copolymers by means of a GPC-4D technique

Copolymer composition and comonomer distribution are important magnitudes in polymer material that have a big effect on different kind of properties and consequently there are several ways to study.In this work several ethylene/propylene copolymers synthesized with two different metallocene catalysts and a Ziegler–Natta catalyst and covering a wide composition range were studied. Characterization was carried out by nuclear magnetic resonance (¹³C NMR) and by gel permeation chromatography with 4 detectors (GPC-4D): refractive index, viscosity, multi-angle light scattering and infrared detectors.Different behaviour in the comonomer distribution along the molecular weight was obtained for metallocene and for ZN copolymers as expected due to the differences between these catalytic systems. Nevertheless, Ziegler–Natta copolymers present more homogeneous comonomer distribution due to the synthesis method. Study of conformation of chains in solution was improved by defining the scaling law of R_g against the number of repeat units because it avoids the effect of the repetitive unit size. Both metallocene copolymer sets show similar dependence of q value with the copolymer composition, however Ziegler–Natta copolymers show different behaviour with q values independent on copolymer composition. This different behaviour has been related with the effects of the heterogeneity of the ethylene distribution and of the molecular weight of the samples.     

Thermodynamic study of ion exchange reaction to predict ionic selectivity using ion exchange resin Indion-850

The thermodynamic study was carried out to predict the selectivity behaviour of ion exchange resin Indion-850 towaed various inorganic anions like chloride, iodide, sulfate, and oxalate. The equilibrium constant K _std values for the ion exchange reactions were calculated at different temperatures from which the enthalpy values where obtained. The K _std values were observed to increase with the rise in temperature, indicating endothermic ion exchange reactions. The thermodynamic data obtained here reveal that iodide ions were more strongly retained on the resin surface compared to chloride ions. Also the low enthalpy and high equilibrium constant values for oxalate ions indicate the greater selectivity of ion exchange resin for oxalate ions as compared to sulfate ions.     

Combining thermal analysis with other techniques to monitor the decomposition of poly(m-phenylene isophthalamide)

The pyrolysis behaviour of Nomex, poly(m-phenylene isophthalamide) fibres under argon has been investigated up to a temperature of 1173 K with different methods to get direct information on the progressive changes taking place in the solid material and its carbon fibre residues. The main stages of the pyrolytic degradation of the fibres were determined by thermal analysis (TG and DTA) and their chemical and morphological evolution through the different steps was subsequently followed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) measurements, respectively, on samples treated to various temperatures. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Identification of atmospheric trace-element sources by passive biomonitoring employing PCA and variogram analysis

The epiphyte plant Tillandsia capillaris was used as a passive biomonitor to study the relationship between elemental accumulation and emission sources in the province of Córdoba, Argentina. The concentrations of As, Ba, Br, Ca, Ce, Co, Cr, Cs, Eu, Fe, Gd, Hf, K, La, Lu, Na, Nd, Rb, Sb, Sc, Se, Sm, Ta, Tb, Th, U, Yb, and Zn were determined in T. capillaris leaves by Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis. A variogram analysis was performed to identify the emission sources of these elements in the study area, obtaining different patterns for each element analysed. A principal-component analysis was subsequently performed to further confirm the different contaminant emission sources and it coincided with the results of the variogram analysis. We observed that the enrichment of most elements was associated with natural sources (soil) and that only some elements showed evidence of enrichement related to sources such as traffic (K, Sb and Zn), industries (Br), and mining activity (Ca).     

Drug efficiency indices for improvement of molecular docking scoring functions

A dataset of protein‐drug complexes with experimental binding energy and crystal structure were analyzed and the performance of different docking engines and scoring functions (as well as components of these) for predicting the free energy of binding and several ligand efficiency indices were compared. The aim was not to evaluate the best docking method, but to determine the effect of different efficiency indices on the experimental and predicted free energy. Some ligand efficiency indices, such as ΔG/W (Wiener index), ΔG/NoC (number of carbons), and ΔG/P (partition coefficient), improve the correlation between experimental and calculated values. This effect was shown to be valid across the different scoring functions and docking programs. It also removes the common bias of scoring functions in favor of larger ligands. For all scoring functions, the efficiency indices effectively normalize the free energy derived indices, to give values closer to experiment. Compound collection filtering can be done prior or after docking, using pharmacokinetic as well as pharmacodynamic profiles. Achieving these better correlations with experiment can improve the ability of docking scoring functions to predict active molecules in virtual screening. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comput Chem 2010     

EXCITED-STATE PROPERTIES OF DNA METHYLATED AT THE NV7 POSITION OF GUANINE AND ITS FREE FLUOROPHORE AT ROOM TEMPERATURE

The room-temperature optical properties of calf thymus DNA, with about 75% of its guanine residues methylated at position N-7, are compared with those of 7-methyl GMP which has the same fluorophore. The fluorescence spectrum of the methylated guanine residues depends strongly on the excitation wavelength, shifting to the blue as the wavelength increases. The fluorescence quantum yield, corrected for the contribution to absorption by the other virtually nonfluorescent residues, exhibits a pronounced drop at long excitation wavelengths relative to that for excitation at 265 nm. The degree of fluorescence polarization exhibits a weak dependence on the excitation and emission wavelengths. For 7-methyl GMP, the fluorescence spectrum is very weakly dependent on the excitation wavelength and its fluorescence quantum yield shows a moderate increase at long wavelengths. The degree of fluorescence polarization increases with increasing excitation wavelength particularly when monitoring the emission in the short wavelength region of the fluorescence spectrum. A pronounced drop of unknown origin is observed when exciting at 265 nm, which is not observed for methylated DNA. The methylated DNA data are interpreted in terms of a combination of (i) a heterogeneous environment of the methylated guanine residues, which results from sequence-dependent stacking interactions, and (ii) transfer of excitation energy from the other residues to the fluorescing methylated guanine residues. From the values of the quantum yields and those of the decay times, which we have recently reported (Georghiou et al., 1985), the following values are obtained for the radiative, k_t, and the sum of the nonradiative, σk₁, rate constants for deexcitation of the excited states of methylated DNA and its free fluorophore: 1.6 × 10⁸ s^-1 7 × 10⁷ s^-1 and 5 × 10¹⁰ s^-lvs 6 × 10⁹ s^-1. Because of energy transfer from the other residues. the k_f value for the methylated guanine residues is overestimated but their σk₁, value is not affected significantly and is by about an order of magnitude larger than that for 7-methyl GMP, apparently because of stacking interactions.