Hydrogen production by aqueous phase catalytic reforming of glycerine

Hydrogen is believed to be the one of the main energy carriers in the near future. In this research glycerine, which is produced in large quantities as a by-product of biodiesel process, was converted to hydrogen aiming to contribute to clean energy initiative. Conversion of glycerol to hydrogen was achieved via aqueous-phase reforming (APR) with Pt/Al₂O₃ catalyst. The experiments were carried out in an autoclave reactor and a continuous fixed-bed reactor. The effects of reaction temperature (160-280 °C), feed flow rate (0.05-0.5 mL/dak) and feed concentration (5-85 wt-% glycerine) on product distribution were investigated. Optimum temperature for hydrogen production with APR was determined as 230 °C. Maximum gas production rate was found at the feed flow rates around 0.1 mL/min. It was also found that hydrogen concentration in the gas product increased with decreasing glycerol concentration in the feed.     

Fuel bioadditive production by chitosan/sulfosuccinic acid catalytic membrane

Global warming is one of the biggest environmental problems of late. The use of renewable raw material resources as biomass and its conversion into alternative energy resources have attracted considerable attention during the recent years. Ethyl levulinate (EL) is a kind of fuel bioadditive for use in diesel and biodiesel engines, which is produced by the esterification of ethanol and levulinic acid. In the present study, sulfosuccinic acid (SSA) catalysts supported on chitosan catalytic membrane is used for the synthesis of EL. The effects of temperature, catalyst amount, and molar feed ratio were studied.     

Hydrogen production from the methanolysis of ammonia borane by Pd-Co/Al2O3 coated monolithic catalyst

The aim of this study is to enable high hydrogen production yield from catalytic methanolysis of ammonia borane (AB) in the presence of a cordierite type ceramic monolithic. The monolithic channel surfaces were coated with Al₂O₃ by wash-coating method and then this layer was impregnated with 1 wt%Pd-2 wt%Co bimetallic catalyst. SEM-EDX and multi-point BET analysis were used in order to characterize the catalyst. The experimental studies were conducted in a continuous flow type reactor, which was used for the first time in this study. The reactions were carried on low temperature (40 °C), and with various AB feed concentrations and flow rates. It was found that the highest hydrogen production yield (88.5%) was obtained from AB flow rate of 3.3 mL/min, and AB feed concentration of 0.1 wt%. It was concluded that Pd-Co/Al₂O₃ coated monolithic, which is a stable, active and low-cost catalyst, was a very promising catalyst for on-board hydrogen production from the methanolysis of ammonia borane.     

Can a daily electricity bill unlock energy efficiency? Evidence from Texas

This study examines the energy efficiency implications of a daily billed energy service, commonly known as ‘prepaid’ electricity, which is used by a growing percentage of residential customers in the competitive Texas electricity market. Our empirical analysis results suggest that this service could save 9.6% of average daily energy consumption, net of the effect of any disconnections. This quantitative study demonstrates that energy efficiency from prepaid energy products can extend to competitive marketplaces.     

Relationship between structure and physical strength of silk fibroin nanofiber sheet depending on insolubilization treatment

Materials such as expanded polytetrafluoroethylene and glutaraldehyde‐fixed bovine pericardium are currently used for cardiac tissue regeneration. However, patches made from these materials remain permanently without being absorbed by the body and must be replaced overtime because of degeneration or lack of growth. To improve the long‐term outcomes for cardiac tissue regeneration, biocompatible and biodegradable materials must be used. In this study, we used two biocompatible polymers, silk fibroin (SF), which is biodegradable and segmented polyurethane, to prepare nonwoven sheets that were then insolubilized by water vapor or methanol treatment. The tensile stress increased significantly on adding segmented polyurethane to pure SF and the water vapor processed sheets showed higher extension on strain than the methanol‐processed sheets. The different insolubilization treatments also resulted in different SF structures. Our results show that it is possible to obtain the physical properties required for cardiac tissue repair patch by varying the insolubilization treatment. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2017 , 134, 45560.     

Propylene Epoxidation: High-Throughput Screening of Supported Metal Catalysts Combinatorially Prepared by Rapid Sol–Gel Method

The gas phase oxidation of propylene using molecular oxygen was studied on a variety of supported metal catalysts. The most promising PO activity was obtained for Cu supported on high surface area SiO₂ and the multimetallic systems exhibit synergistic effects that increased the desired PO yield by several folds for Ag promoted with Cu on SiO₂ after screening a large number of catalysts by a high throughput testing technique.     

Donor-acceptor-donor type conjugated polymers for electrochromic applications: benzimidazole as the acceptor unit

Donor-acceptor-donor (DAD) type benzimidazole (BIm) and 3,4 ethylenedioxythiophene (EDOT) bearing monomers were synthesized and electrochemically polymerized. Pendant group at 2-C position of the imidazole ring was functionalized with phenyl (P1), EDOT (P2) and ferrocene (P3) in order to observe substituent effect on electrochemical and electrochromic properties of corresponding polymers. Spectroelectrochemical results showed that different pendant groups resulted in polymers with slightly different optical band gaps (1.75, 1.69 and 1.77 eV respectively) and different number of achievable colored states. Optoelectronic performance and comparison of results with other well known π-accepting benzazole bearing DAD type polymers were reported in detail.     

Methodological quality in clinical trials and bibliometric indicators: no evidence of correlations

Citation frequencies and journal impact factors (JIFs) are being used more and more to assess the quality of research and allocate research resources. If these bibliometric indicators are not an adequate predictor of research quality, there could be severe negative consequences for research. To analyse to which extent citation frequencies and journal impact factors correlate with the methodological quality of clinical research articles included in an SBU systematic review of antibiotic prophylaxis in surgery. All 212 eligible original articles were extracted from the SBU systematic review “Antibiotic Prophylaxis in Surgery” and categorized according to their methodological rigourness as high, moderate or low quality articles. Median of citation frequencies and JIFs were compared between the methodological quality groups using Kruskal–Wallis non-parametric test. An in-depth study of low-quality studies with higher citation frequencies/JIFs was also conducted. No significant differences were found in median citation frequencies (p = 0.453) or JIFs (p = 0.185) between the three quality groups. Studies that had high citation frequencies/JIFs but were assessed as low-quality lacked control groups, had high dropout rates or low internal validity. This study of antibiotic prophylaxis in surgery does not support the hypothesis that bibliometric indicators are a valid instrument for assessing methodological quality in clinical trials. This is a worrying observation, since bibliometric indicators have a major influence on research funding. However, further studies in other areas are needed.     

DETERMINATION OF COPPER(II) IN NATURAL WATERS BY EXTRACTION USING N-O-VANILLIDINE-2-AMINO-P-CRESOL AND FLAME ATOMIC ABSORPTION SPECTROMETRY

A simple and accurate solvent extraction method was developed for the separation and preconcentration of trace levels of copper(II) in water using N-o-vanillidine-2-amino-p-cresol prior to its determination using flame atomic absorption spectrometry. Analytical parameters such as the pH of the aqueous phase, extraction time, concentration of the reagent, concentration of the nitric acid back extraction agent, volumes of aqueous phase and back extraction agent, and concomitant ions on the extraction yield of the copper(II) were investigated and optimized. Under the optimal conditions, the detection limit (3σ) was 0.61 µ g L^?1 for a 25 mL blank solution, yielding a preconcentration factor of 12.5. The method was succesfully applied to the determination of copper(II) in tap water, river water, and seawater. The accuracy of the method was verified by analyzing two certified reference materials and spiked water samples. The results obtained were in agreement with the certified values and the recoveries for spiked water samples were between 98 and 112%.