The MICE facility – a new tool to study plant–soil C cycling with a holistic approach

Plant–soil interactions are recognized to play a crucial role in the ecosystem response to climate change. We developed a facility to disentangle the complex interactions behind the plant–soil C feedback mechanisms. The MICE (‘Multi-Isotope labelling in a Controlled Environment’) facility consists of two climate chambers with independent control of the atmospheric conditions (light, CO₂, temperature, humidity) and the soil environment (temperature, moisture). Each chamber holds 15 plant–soil systems with hermetical separation of the shared above ground (shoots) from the individual belowground compartments (roots, rhizosphere, soil). Stable isotopes (e.g. ¹³C, ¹⁵N, ²H, ¹⁸O) can be added to either compartment and traced within the whole system. The soil CO₂ efflux rate is monitored, and plant material, leached soil water and gas samples are taken frequently. The facility is a powerful tool to improve our mechanistic understanding of plant–soil interactions that drive the C cycle feedback to climate change.     

New approach to chemical modification of PIM-1 for gas separation membranes

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Photonic stop bands in quasi-random nanoporous anodic alumina structures

The existence of photonic stop bands in the self-assembled arrangement of pores in porous anodic alumina structures is investigated by means of rigorous 2D finite-difference time-domain calculations. Self-assembled porous anodic alumina shows a random distribution of domains, each of them with a very definite triangular pattern, constituting a quasi-random structure. The observed stop bands are similar to those of photonic quasicrystals or random structures. As the pores of nanoporous anodic alumina can be infiltrated with noble metals, nonlinear or active media, it makes this material very attractive and cost-effective for applications including inhibition of spontaneous emission, random lasing, LEDs and biosensors.     

Numerical Modelling of Wood Gasification in Thermal Plasma Reactor

Biomass gasification for synthesis gas production represents a promising source of energy based on plasma treatment of renewable fuel resources. Gasification/pyrolysis of crushed wood as a model substance of biomass has been experimentally carried out in the plasma-chemical reactor equipped with gas–water stabilized torch which offer advantage of low plasma mass-flow, high enthalpy and temperature making it possible to attain an optimal conversion ratio with respect to synthesis gas production in comparison with other types of plasma torches. To investigate this process of gasification in detail with possible impact on performance, a numerical model has been created using ANSYS FLUENT program package. The aim of the work presented is to create a parametric study of biomass gasification based on various diameters of wooden particles. Results for molar fractions of CO for three different particles diameters obtained by the modeling (0.55, 0.52 and 0.48) at the exit are relatively good approximation to the corresponding experimental value (0.60). The numerical results reveal that the efficiency of gasification and syngas production slightly decreases with increasing diameter of the particles. Computed temperature inhomogeneities in the volume of the reactor are strongest for the largest particle diameter and decrease with decreasing size of the particles.     

Poly(N-phenylenebenzimidazoles) as an alternative to classical polybenzimidazoles

A new thermally stable polybenzimidazole film has been synthesized by nucleophilic aromatic substitution, transformed into a complex with phosphoric acid and tested as a proton-conductive membrane.