Development of a tubular microbial fuel cell (MFC) employing a membrane electrode assembly cathode

Tubular microbial fuel cells (MFC) with air cathode might be amenable to scale-up but with increasing volume a mechanically robust, cost-effective cathode structure is required. Membrane electrode assemblies (MEA) are investigated in a tubular MFC using cost-effective cation (CEM) or anion (AEM) exchange membrane. The MEA fabrication mechanically combines a cathode electrode with the membrane between a perforated cylindrical polypropylene shell and tube. Hydrogel application between membrane and cathode increases cathode potential by ∼100 mV over a 0–5.5 mA range in a CEM-MEA. Consequently, 6.1 W m⁻³ based on reactor liquid volume (200 cm³) are generated compared with 5 W m⁻³ without hydrogel. Cathode potential is also improved in AEM-MEA using hydrogel. Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) to compare MEA's performance suggests reduced impedance and enhanced membrane–cathode contact area when using hydrogel. The maximum coulombic efficiency observed with CEM-MEA is 71% and 63% with AEM-MEA. Water loss through the membrane varies with external load resistance, indicating that total charge transfer in the MFC is related to electro-osmotic drag of water through the membrane. The MEA developed here has been shown to be mechanically robust, operating for more than six month at this scale without problem.     

Factors influencing ethanol production rates at high-gravity brewing

The aim of this work was to investigate the influences of different fermentation factors on ethanol production rates by Saccharomyces cerevisiae (lager strain), at high-gravity brewing using response surface methodology. An empirical linear polynomial model was developed to describe the behaviour of the dependent variable as a function of significant factors. The resultant functional relationship in terms of coded values for predicting ethanol production rates was: Y=0.421+0.155X₂+0.0575X₂X_3, where Y represents the ethanol production rate (g/lh), and X₂ and X₃ are coded levels for fermentation temperature and nutrient supplementation, respectively. Patterns of yeast growth, decrease in wort gravity and ethanol production were also evaluated at the maximum ethanol production rate (0.694 g/lh). It was concluded that higher ethanol production rates could be achieved by increasing fermentation temperature and supplementing high-gravity worts with yeast extract, ergosterol and Tween 80.     

A comparative study of water gas shift reaction over gold and platinum supported on ZrO2 and CeO2–ZrO2

In this study platinum- and gold-based catalysts supported on ZrO₂ and ceria–zirconia solid solution have been characterized by several techniques (TPR, XRD, BET, HRTEM) and tested in the water gas shift (WGS) reaction under feed conditions typical of an autothermal reformer outlet. Platinum and gold catalysts behave differently especially in the range of 423–513 K, with gold being superior than platinum. The possibility of modifying the redox and structural characteristics of zirconia with the insertion of ceria allowed us to conclude that the bulk redox properties of the support play a secondary role, while the key parameter for an active WGS catalyst is the nature of metal support interface. This, in turn, depends on the metal particle distribution and on the structural and morphological properties of support. It has been found that the synergism between precious metals and support can be designed with an appropriate choice of the parameters of synthesis and the characteristics of support.     

Dynamic assessment of the risk of airborne viral infection

This paper applies the Rudnick and Milton method through the dynamic evaluation of the probability of airborne contagion, redefining all parameters and variables in discretized form. To adapt the calculation of the risk of contagion to real needs, scenarios are used to define the presence of people, infected subjects, the hourly production of the quanta of infection, and the calculation of the concentration of CO₂ produced by exhalation in the air. Three case studies are discussed: a school, an office, a commercial activity. Complex scenarios include environmental sanitization, a variable number of people, and the possibility of simulating work shifts. The dynamic evaluation of the quanta of infection is also estimated, not foreseen by the Rudnick and Milton model, and involves updating the average values of the equivalent fraction of the indoor air with an improvement in the accuracy of the calculation due to the reduction of improper peaks of the stationary variables.     

Detecting and quantifying oxygen functional groups on graphite nanofibers by fluorescence labeling of surface species

The ability to quantify functional groups on graphitic carbon nanofiber (GCNF) surfaces and to covalently attach ligands chemoselectively will aid in the development of functionalized GCNFs and potentially other carbon nanomaterials for applications in nanotechnology. Herein, we report the identification and quantification of functional groups on the surface of GCNFs using fluorescence labeling of surface species (FLOSS). Using reactions that are selective for specific functional groups and fluorescent dyes containing the dansyl group, surface aldehyde/ketone, carboxyl, and hydroxyl groups were identified and quantified in their total and relative amounts by FLOSS. Oxygen-containing functionality that was detected by FLOSS on nitric acid-oxidized GCNFs totaled approximately 2.5% of surface carbon, present as 0.9% aldehyde/ketone, 1.2% carboxyl groups on average, and 0.4% hydroxyl groups. The amounts of oxygen-containing functional groups on as-produced and demineralized GCNFs were much lower, amounting to no more than 0.05% of aldehyde/ketone groups on demineralized GCNFs and 0.3% of these groups on as-produced fibers. The FLOSS method has revealed information about the fiber surface that is not accessible by other methods, while also providing insight into the chemical reactivities of functional groups that can be used as sites for the attachment of ligands to give covalently functionalized materials.     

Gravure printing for thin film ceramics manufacturing from nanoparticles

Printing technologies can offer high potential for the thin film deposition of functional materials. Among the printing techniques, the gravure is considered one of the most promising, although to date it is still little employed, especially for the inorganic functional materials. In this work, the study of the gravure printing process for the metal oxides thin film production on flexible polymer substrate is reported. For this purpose, zinc oxide (ZnO) was chosen due to its versatile properties and nanosize effects, which make it suitable for many high technology areas. The gravure printing was made using low viscosity inks of ZnO nanoparticles. The characteristics of the printed thin films were examined and discussed. Thanks to the understanding of the physics underlying the film forming during the printing process combined to the knowledge on such specific material, uniform, compact, very transparent and smooth films were obtained in different nanometric thicknesses. Moreover, the possibility of fabricating ceramic nanocomposite films directly through this printing technique is also presented. Thanks to its scientific approach, this work makes available to the world of ceramics an industrial versatile and low-cost production technique which can allow to study and develop high-quality thin film ceramics with technologically interesting properties as well as nanoparticles behavior and their treatments in order to develop and use their fascinating nanosize properties.     

A Temperature-Driven,Reversible, Helical-Handedness Inversion in Peptaibol Analogues Tuned by the C-Terminal Capping Moiety

Trichogin is a natural peptide endowed with antimicrobial and antitumor activity. A member of the peptaibol family, trichogin possesses a C-terminal amino alcohol. In the past, this moiety was substituted for a methyl ester for synthetic purposes and it was observed that this apparently slight modification caused significant changes in the peptide bioactivity. With the aim of understanding the reasons behind such observations, a detailed spectroscopic study on a number of trichogin analogues has been performed. Herein, data obtained from synchrotron radiation circular dichroism, NMR spectroscopy, and fluorescence spectroscopy in organic solvents at cryogenic temperatures are compared with those independently acquired by means of EPR spectroscopy at 80 K. It is unambiguously revealed that the presence of a reversible, temperature-driven, screw-sense interconversion from a right- to left-handed helix is determined by the C-terminal capping moiety. Data demonstrate, for the first time, the key role of a C-terminal methyl ester in promoting peptide screw-sense inversion.