Experiment-driven electrochemical modeling and systematic parameterization for a lithium-ion battery cell

This paper presents a novel electrochemical lithium-ion cell model which can be used in battery control units. Based on classical single-particle approaches, a lumped-parameter nonlinear model is developed that is able to predict accurately the terminal voltages for arbitrary loads, and even for potentiostatic operation. The key points are: (1) an incorporation of the electrolyte potential, (2) a modal decomposition of the partial differential equation of the liquid phase lithium-ion concentration, (3) a correct handling of the SOC-dependent diffusivity in the insertion materials of both electrodes, and (4) a consideration of temperature-dependent kinetic processes. A combined parameter analysis and identification is successfully applied for the parameterization of the model. Using a Fisher-information matrix approach in combination with a sensitivity analysis, the identifiability of each parameter is estimated in dependence on the measurement information. Using this information, it is possible to choose a small number of relevant experiments which are sufficient to fully parameterize the model.     

Arctic vegetation damage by winter-generated coal mining pollution released upon thawing

Acid mine drainage (known as AMD) is a well-known environmental problem resulting from the oxidation of sulfidic mine waste. In cold regions, AMD is often considered limited by low temperatures most of the year and observed environmental impact is related to pollution generated during the warm summer period. Here we show that heat generation within an oxidizing, sulfidic, coal-mining waste-rock pile in Svalbard (78 degrees N) is high enough to keep the pile warm (roughly 5 degrees C throughout the year) despite mean annual air temperatures below -5 degrees C. Consequently, weathering processes continue year-round within the waste-rock pile. During the winter, weathering products accumulate within the pile because of a frozen outer layer on the pile and are released as a flush within 2 weeks of soil thawing in the spring. Consequently, spring runoff water contains elevated concentrations of metals. Several of these metals are taken up and accumulated in plants where they reach phytotoxic levels, including aluminum and manganese. Laboratory experiments document that uptake of Al and Mn in native plant species is highly correlated with dissolved concentrations. Therefore, future remedial actions to control the adverse environmental impacts of cold region coal-mining need to pay more attention to winter processes including AMD generation and accumulation of weathering products.     

Effects of a mixture of lactic acid bacteria applied as a freeze-dried or fresh culture on the fermentation of alfalfa silage

Alfalfa (approximately 31% DM) was untreated or treated with a silage inoculant containing the lactic acid bacteria Lactobacillus lactis, Lactobacillus plantarum L-54, and L. plantarum Aber F1. The inoculant was added at a normal and a high dose as a freeze-dried powder that had been mixed with water just prior to application, or it was grown with nutrients the day before and added as a fresh culture. The actual application rate of lactic acid bacteria was 1.19 × 10⁵ for the normal dose, 4.30 × 10⁵ for the high dose, and 5.10 × 10⁵ for the fresh culture. All inoculated silages showed a faster increase in the rate of lactic acid production and a decrease in the drop in pH over the first 24 h of ensiling compared with untreated silage. The effect was greatest for silage treated with the fresh culture and was supported by the fact that this treatment had numbers of lactic acid bacteria that increased faster than in other treatments. Inoculation also generally resulted in a fermentation profile that was more homolactic (more lactic acid and less acetic acid, ethanol, and NH₃-N) than for untreated silage, but the effect was greatest for the fresh culture. Inoculation did not affect in vitro neutral detergent fiber digestion or the concentrations of neutral detergent fiber or total N in silages. The recovery of dry matter was greater in silage that was treated with a high level of the freeze-dried culture or with the fresh culture when compared with the untreated control. This study showed that application of a silage inoculant as a freeze-dried culture or as a fresh culture resulted in alfalfa silage with a more homolactic fermentation profile. The effect was greatest from addition of the fresh culture.     

Economic impacts from the promotion of renewable energy technologies: The German experience

The allure of an environmentally benign, abundant, and cost-effective energy source has led an increasing number of industrialized countries to back public financing of renewable energies. Germany’s experience with renewable energy promotion is often cited as a model to be replicated elsewhere, being based on a combination of far-reaching energy and environmental laws that stretch back nearly two decades. This paper critically reviews the centerpiece of this effort, the Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG), focusing on its costs and the associated implications for job creation and climate protection. We argue that German renewable energy policy, and in particular the adopted feed-in tariff scheme, has failed to harness the market incentives needed to ensure a viable and cost-effective introduction of renewable energies into the country’s energy portfolio. To the contrary, the government’s support mechanisms have in many respects subverted these incentives, resulting in massive expenditures that show little long-term promise for stimulating the economy, protecting the environment, or increasing energy security.     

Occurrence of a nitro metabolite of a defined nonylphenol isomer in soil/sewage sludge mixtures

Uniformly [14C]-ring-labeled 4-(3,5-dimethyl-3-heptyl)phenol (353-nonylphenol) is a highly relevant isomer of the technical nonylphenol mixture. We studied the sorption, desorption, and degradation of the synthesized isomer in an agricultural sandy loam at various soil/sewage sludge ratios. Sorption of 353-nonylphenol was high and differed with the amount of suspended soil in water. log Koc values, which are used to assess the risk of nonylphenol, ranged from 3.80 to 5.75. Desorption was slow and low and resulted in constant concentrations of about 15 ng/L353-nonylphenol in water after several desorption steps. In degradation studies up to 6% of the applied 353-nonylphenol in soil was volatilized; we consider this an important source of nonylphenol in the environment. With increasing amounts of sewage sludge in the soil/sewage sludge mixtures, 353-nonylphenol was stabilized, probably because of the lack of oxygen in sludge aggregates even under oxic conditions in flow-through systems. Unexpectedly, a less-polar metabolite was detected in amounts up to 40% of the applied nonylphenol after 135 days of incubation. This novel metabolite was identified as 4-(3,5-dimethyl-3-heptyl)-2-nitrophenol. This product formation might indicate the existence of novel metabolic pathways of nonylphenol in the environment.     

Optimization of biohydrogen inoculum development via a hybrid pH and microwave treatment technique – Semi pilot scale production assessment

The interactive effect of a hybrid pH and microwave pre-treatment on a mixed inoculum for biohydrogen production was investigated. Response surface methodology (RSM) was employed to obtain the optimum pre-treatment conditions of pH, microwave duration and microwave intensity for maximum hydrogen yield. The obtained model had a coefficient of correlation (R²) of 0.87. The optimum inoculum pre-treatment conditions predicted were pH 11 and 2 min microwave treatment at 860 W and the validation experiments demonstrated a 32.41% increase on hydrogen yield.     

Electrochemical investigations on amorphous Fe-base alloys for alkaline water electrolysis

In this work different amorphous melt-spun Fe-alloys (Fe₈₂B₁₈, Fe₈₀Si₁₀B₁₀, Fe₆₀Co₂₀Si₁₀B₁₀) were investigated as cathode materials for the alkaline electrolysis of water. In particular, the influence of cobalt as well as the metalloids boron and silicon on the activity for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) was studied in 1 M KOH at 298 K using cyclic voltammetric, galvanostatic and polarization techniques. The electrocatalytic activity was evaluated in the view of the overpotential. It was found that cyclic voltammetric techniques can be used to activate the melt-spun Fe-alloys strongly. Different cyclic voltammetric activation procedures are discussed and the influence of the sweep rate and the potential window on the HER activity was elucidated. The experimental data indicate that the addition of metalloids and, most importantly, of cobalt improves the HER activity of the materials. Thus, the overpotential can be reduced by 200 mV compared to polycrystalline Ni.     

Chemopreventive Potential of Wild Lowbush Blueberry Fruits in Multiple Stages of Carcinogenesis

ABSTRACT: Wild lowbush blueberry fruit extract was fractionated using vacuum chromatography and analyzed for chemopreventive potential using bioassays that test the ability of compounds to inhibit the initiation, promotion, and progression stages of carcinogenesis. A fraction containing phytosterols was active against the initiation stage (quinone reductase assay). However, more polar compounds were inhibitors of later stages of carcinogenesis; a fraction containing flavan-3-ols and fractions containing mainly anthocyanins, phenolic acids, flavan-3-ols, and some proanthocyanidin dimers demonstrated activity against the promotion stage (cyclooxygenase and ornithine decarboxylase assays, respectively), and a proanthocyanidin-rich fraction demonstrated antiproliferation activity (inhibition of cancerous murine hepatocyte proliferation is associated with the progression stage). These results indicate that lowbush blueberries contain a range of compounds that have bioactivity against multiple stages of carcinogenesis, and different types of phenolic compounds are active at different stages.