A methodology to assess suitability of a site for small scale wet and dry CSP systems

This study presents a methodology to assess suitability of a site for small scale concentrated solar power (CSP) systems for its energy conversion efficiency and make‐up water requirement. Energy conversion efficiency of CSPs relies not only on the level of direct solar radiation but also on the performance of the cooling system. Regions with high solar potential have to deal with heat rejection at elevated temperatures which causes reduced energy conversion efficiencies due to high condenser temperatures. It is desirable to utilize wet cooling systems as they can achieve temperatures lower than the dry bulb temperature by evaporative cooling. On the other hand, such regions usually lack water resources which deteriorate the sustainable nature of CSP applications. This study combines various available models for both solar resource estimation and cooling systems' performance considering (i) the influence of ambient temperatures, and (ii) the influence of humidity levels. These models are integrated together to analyze the use of dry or wet cooling systems in terms of overall energy output and water consumption at a selected site in northern Cyprus. The model inputs consist of only annual hourly surface weather data and the location of the site of interest. The results show that dry cooling unit at northern Cyprus is capable of saving water about 18.7 ton/MWh while it produces 27% less energy compared to the wet cooling alternative for the representative annual weather data. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A general criterion to test the relative importance of intraparticle and external heat and mass transfer resistances in porous catalysts

A general criterion is developed for testing the relative importance of intraparticle and external, concentration and temperature gradients on the observed rates, for reactions catalyzed by porous solids. The criterion is applicable to any multiple reaction system and to reactions conforming to any rate law. The applicability of such criteria is extended to reaction systems with highly nonlinear temperature and concentration dependence, by taking into-account the higher order terms in the Taylor expansion of the rate expressions in the derivation.     

HYDROGEN DIFFUSIVITY ENHANCEMENT IN ALUMINA PELLETS DUE TO IMPREGNATED PALLADIUM

Single-pellet moment technique was used for the evaluation of effective diffusivities and adsorption equilibrium constants of hydrogen, carbon dioxide, and helium in pure alumina and palladium-impregnated alumina pellets. It was found that hydrogen was strongly adsorbed on palladium of Pd-alumina pellets, and significant enhancement of hydrogen diffusivity was observed due to impregnated palladium at 40°C. On the other hand, for carbon dioxide and helium, effective diffusivities obtained in Pd-alumina pellets were smaller than the corresponding values in pure alumina due to higher tortuosity factor values of Pd-alumina pellets.     

Microstructural and Defect Analysis of Metal Nanoparticles in Functional Catalysts by Diffraction and Electron Microscopy: The Cu/ZnO Catalyst for Methanol Synthesis

The application of different methods for a microstructural analysis of functional catalysts is reported for the example of different Cu/ZnO-based methanol synthesis catalysts. Transmission electron microscopy and diffraction were used as complementary techniques to extract information on the size and the defect concentration of the Cu nano-crystallites. The results, strengths and limitations of the two techniques and of different evaluation methods for line profile analysis of diffraction data including Rietveld-refinement, Scherrer- and (modified) Williamson–Hall-analyses, single peak deconvolution and whole powder pattern modeling are compared and critically discussed. It was found that in comparison with a macrocrystalline pure Cu sample, the catalysts were not only characterized by a smaller crystallite size, but also by a high concentration of lattice defects, in particular stacking faults. Neutron diffraction was introduced as a valuable tool for such analysis, because of the larger number of higher-order diffraction peaks that can be detected with this method. An attempt is reported to quantify the different types of defects for a selected catalyst.     

OXIDATIVE DEHYDROGENATION OF ETHANE OVER A MONOLITH COATED BY MOLYBDENUM-VANADIUM-NIOBIUM MIXED-OXIDE CATALYST

Oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane to ethylene was investigated using Mo 0.71 V 0.21 Nb 0.08 mixed-oxide catalyst, in powder form and coated over a monolith. At 570°C and with a feed stream containing an O 2 /C 2 H 6 mole ratio of one, ethylene selectivity value reaching to 96% was obtained at a conversion level of about 5% with the monolith-supported catalyst. DRIFTS studies indicated the presence of adsorbed ethoxide species. The proposed reaction scheme for the production of ethylene includes the elimination of β-hydrogen of adsorbed species by the lattice oxygen.     

Endometriosis and Cancer: Exploring the Role of Macrophages

Endometriosis and cancer have much in common, notably their burgeoning of cells in hypoxic milieus, their invasiveness, and their capacity to trigger remodeling, vascularization, and innervation of other tissues. An important role in these processes is played by permissive microenvironments inhabited by a variety of stromal and immune cells, including macrophages. Remarkable phenotypical plasticity of macrophages makes them a promising therapeutic target; some key issues are the range of macrophage phenotypes characteristic of a particular pathology and the possible manners of its modulation. In both endometriosis and cancer, macrophages guard the lesions from immune surveillance while promoting pathological cell growth, invasion, and metastasis. This review article focuses on a comparative analysis of macrophage behaviors in endometriosis and cancer. We also highlight recent reports on the experimental modulation of macrophage phenotypes in preclinical models of endometriosis and cancer.     

Carbon Dots-Mediated Fluorescent Scaffolds: Recent Trends in Image-Guided Tissue Engineering Applications

Regeneration of damaged tissues or organs is one of the significant challenges in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. Many researchers have fabricated various scaffolds to accelerate the tissue regeneration process. However, most of the scaffolds are limited in clinical trials due to scaffold inconsistency, non-biodegradability, and lack of non-invasive techniques to monitor tissue regeneration after implantation. Recently, carbon dots (CDs) mediated fluorescent scaffolds are widely explored for the application of image-guided tissue engineering due to their controlled architecture, light-emitting ability, higher chemical and photostability, excellent biocompatibility, and biodegradability. In this review, we provide an overview of the recent advancement of CDs in terms of their different synthesis methods, tunable physicochemical, mechanical, and optical properties, and their application in tissue engineering. Finally, this review concludes the further research directions that can be explored to apply CDs in tissue engineering.     

Activated carbon supported silicotungstic acid catalysts for ethyl‐tert‐butyl ether synthesis

Vapor phase ethyl‐tert‐butyl ether (ETBE) production was conducted in the presence of Cesium salts of silicotungstic acid (Cs‐STA), activated carbon supported silicotungstic acid (AC‐STA), and activated carbon supported Cesium salts of silicotungstic acid (AC‐Cs‐STA) catalysts. Isobutene (IB) conversion to ETBE at 373 K were determined as 0.16 and 0.2 for STA and AC‐STA catalysts on constant space time basis. This increase of activity is one of the highlights of this study considering that STA loading in AC‐STA catalysts had been adjusted to 40%. IB conversion to ETBE obtained at 373 K in the presence of AC‐STA catalyst was found to be close to equilibrium. Stability of the synthesized catalysts were tested by applying a washing procedure with ethanol. Repeated ETBE synthesis with thoroughly washed samples indicated quite stable and active catalyts. © 2011 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2011     

Fabrication of bifunctional core-shell Fe3O4 particles coated with ultrathin phosphor layer

Bifunctional monodispersed Fe₃O₄ particles coated with an ultrathin Y₂O₃:Tb³⁺ shell layer were fabricated using a facile urea-based homogeneous precipitation method. The obtained composite particles were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), quantum design vibrating sample magnetometry, and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. TEM revealed uniform spherical core-shell-structured composites ranging in size from 306 to 330 nm with a shell thickness of approximately 25 nm. PL spectroscopy confirmed that the synthesized composites displayed a strong eye-visible green light emission. Magnetic measurements indicated that the composite particles obtained also exhibited strong superparamagnetic behavior at room temperature. Therefore, the inner Fe₃O₄ core and outer Y₂O₃:Tb³⁺ shell layer endow the composites with both robust magnetic properties and strong eye-visible luminescent properties. These composite materials have potential use in magnetic targeting and bioseparation, simultaneously coupled with luminescent imaging.     

Oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane over a monolith coated by molybdenum-vanadium-niobium mixed-oxide catalyst

Oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane to ethylene was investigated using Mo 0.71 V 0.21 Nb 0.08 mixed-oxide catalyst, in powder form and coated over a monolith. At 570°C and with a feed stream containing an O 2 /C 2 H 6 mole ratio of one, ethylene selectivity value reaching to 96% was obtained at a conversion level of about 5% with the monolith-supported catalyst. DRIFTS studies indicated the presence of adsorbed ethoxide species. The proposed reaction scheme for the production of ethylene includes the elimination of g -hydrogen of adsorbed species by the lattice oxygen.