Heat transfer mechanisms in poplar wood undergoing torrefaction

Torrefaction, a thermal treatment process of biomass, has been proved to improve biomass combustible properties. Torrefaction is defined as a thermochemical process in reduced oxygen condition and at temperature range from 200 to 300 °C for shorter residence time whereby energy yield is maximized, can be a bridging technology that can lead the conventional system (e.g. coal-fired plants) towards a sustainable energy system. In efforts to develop a commercial operable torrefaction reactor, the present study examines the minimum input condition at which biomass is torrefied and explores the heat transfer mechanisms during torrefaction in poplar wood samples. The heat transfer through the wood sample is numerically modeled and analyzed. Each poplar wood is torrefied at temperature of 250, 270, and 300 °C. The experimental study shows that the 270 °C-treatment can be deduced as the optimal input condition for torrefaction of poplar wood. A good understanding of heat transfer mechanisms can facilitate the upscaling and downscaling of torrefaction process equipment to fit the feedstock input criteria and can help to develop treatment input specifications that can maximize process efficiency.     

The Emergence of Palladium-Catalyzed C(sp3)−H Functionalization of Free Carboxylic Acids

Palladium-catalyzed directing group assisted C−H bond activation has emerged as a powerful tool in synthetic organic chemistry. However, only recently, among various directing groups, widely available carboxylate moiety is recognized as a versatile candidate for the regioselective transformations. Notably, palladium-catalyzed carboxylate directed C(sp³)−H bond activation and diverse functionalization is highly challenging and has gained huge attention for its versatile applications. Mono- and bidentate ligands have proven to be useful for accelerating the C(sp³)−H bond activation step, which helps to control reactivity and selectivity (including enantioselectivity). In this Minireview, we discuss the recent progress made in palladium-catalyzed C(sp³)−H bond functionalization reactions for the construction of C−C and C−Heteroatom bonds with the direction of free carboxylic acid.     

Anthracene-Anchored Derivatized Methionine: A New Ligand for Detection of Amino Acids,and Estimation of Binding Constants

JPC – Journal of Planar Chromatography – Modern TLC - A new ligand has been synthesized by anchoring anthracene to l-methionine. The ligand enables easy identification of amino acids on...     

LC–MS–MS Development and Validation for Simultaneous Quantitation of Metformin, Glimepiride and Pioglitazone in Human Plasma and Its Application to a Bioequivalence Study

A simple, precise and reproducible liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry method has been developed and validated according to the Food and Drug Administration guidelines for the simultaneous quantitation of antidiabetic drugs metformin, glimiperide and pioglitazone in human plasma using glipizide as an internal standard. Quantitation was performed on a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer employing electrospray ionization technique, operating in multiple reaction monitoring and positive ion mode. Inter-batch and intra-batch coefficient of variation across four validation runs for the quality control samples was less than 7%. The accuracy determined at quality control levels was within 92.81–105.13%. The method was applied to a bioequivalence study.     

Spectroscopic properties of Sm-doped oxide and fluoride glasses for efficient visible lasers (560-660 nm)

The spectroscopic properties of Sm³⁺-ions in tellurite, fluorophosphate, and fluorine-modified silicate glasses are examined under the excitations at 488 nm (Ar⁺ ion laser) and 1060 nm laser. The effect of dopant ion and glass-host interaction, branching ratio of transitions and line shapes of emission lines in the visible region are discussed in view of the ionicity and covalency of hosts. The lifetimes of metastable levels are also reported and the results are explained for designing the visible and UV laser hosts.     

A naphthalene exciplex based Al3+ selective on-type fluorescent probe for living cells at the physiological pH range: experimental and computational studies

2-((Naphthalen-6-yl)methylthio)ethanol (HL) was prepared by one pot synthesis using 2-mercaptoethanol and 2-bromomethylnaphthalene. It was found to be a highly selective fluorescent sensor for Al(3+) in the physiological pH (pH 7.0-8.0). It could sense Al(3+) bound to cells through fluorescence microscopy. Metal ions like Mn(2+), Fe(3+), Co(2+), Ni(2+), Cu(2+), Zn(2+), Ag(+), Cd(2+), Hg(2+), Cr(3+) and Pb(2+) did not interfere. No interference was also observed with anions like Cl(-), Br(-), F(-), SO(4)(2-), NO(3)(-), CO(3)(2-), HPO(4)(2-) and SCN(-). Experimentally observed structural and spectroscopic features of HL and its Al(3+) complex have been substantiated by computational calculations using density functional theory (DFT) and time dependent density functional theory (TDDFT).     

Investigation on transition States of [Alanine + M2+] (M = Ca,Cu, and Zn) complexes: A quantum chemical study

The ground state geometries of [Alanine (Ala) + M²⁺] [M = Ca, Cu, and Zn) complexes were calculated in gas phase at B3LYP/6‐311++G(d,p) level of theory. Transition states (TSs) between different stable conformers of [Ala + M²⁺] complexes were also calculated. Among the different [Ala + M²⁺] complexes, the complex where metal cations coordinated to carboxylate group (? COO^?) is found to be energetically most favorable. To calculate TSs, the ground state structures of any two conformers of [Ala + M²⁺] complexes were used. The ground state energies of two stable conformers and their TS structures were used to calculate the activation energy. The reactivity of different conformers of [Ala + M²⁺] complexes have been discussed in terms of energy difference between their highest occupied molecular orbital and lowest unoccupied molecular orbital. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2012     

Probing the limitations of the fluorous content for tag-mediated microarray formation

The synthesis of a di-perfluorohexyl tag is reported for use in a fluorous-based carbohydrate microarray. A comparative microarray study with this di-perfluorohexyl tag and a mono-perfluorooctyl and mono-perfluorohexyl tag found the increased fluorous content conducive to better spot morphology and easier washing protocols without precluding reuse of the fluorous slide.     

Compact continuous-variable entanglement distillation

We introduce a new scheme for continuous-variable entanglement distillation that requires only linear temporal and constant physical or spatial resources. Distillation is the process by which high-quality entanglement may be distributed between distant nodes of a network in the unavoidable presence of decoherence. The known versions of this protocol scale exponentially in space and doubly exponentially in time. Our optimal scheme therefore provides exponential improvements over existing protocols. It uses a fixed-resource module-an entanglement distillery-comprising only four quantum memories of at most 50% storage efficiency and allowing a feasible experimental implementation. Tangible quantum advantages are obtainable by using existing off-resonant Raman quantum memories outside their conventional role of storage.     

A new approach to explain concentration-dependent changes of isotropic Raman line width in the associated binary mixtures

We report on a new empirical relationship to explain the concentration-dependent isotropic Raman line width changes of a vibrational mode in uniform binary mixtures. The factors contributing to the intrinsic line width and several other broadening mechanisms are, in general, concentration-dependent. Concentration fluctuation in a microscopic volume and microviscosity are the two factors that are known to cause a concentration-dependent line width variation. These two factors combined in a specific manner successfully explain the variation of the line width with concentration strongly associated with binary systems. A readily usable empirical relationship for line width is suggested. It has been demonstrated that it can successfully explain the line width variation with concentration in a given class of hydrogen-bonded systems taking some representative binary mixtures.