High rate capabilities of all-solid-state lithium secondary batteries using Li4Ti5O12-coated LiNi0.8Co0.15Al0.05O2 and a sulfide-based solid electrolyte

Rate capability of LiNi_0.8Co_0.15Al_0.05O₂ in solid-state cells was investigated with 70Li₂S-30P₂S₅ glass-ceramics as a sulfide solid electrolyte. It showed higher rate capability than LiCoO₂; discharge capacity observed at a current density of 10 mA cm⁻² was ca. 70 mAh g⁻¹. Surface coating with Li₄Ti₅O₁₂ onto the LiNi_0.8Co_0.15Al_0.05O₂ particles further improved the high-rate performance to give ca. 110 mAh g⁻¹. The rate capability promises to realize all-solid-state lithium secondary batteries with very high performance.     

Double-walled reformer tubes using high-temperature thermal storage of molten-salt/MgO composite for solar cavity-type reformer

Composite materials with alkali carbonate and magnesia have been examined for high-temperature thermal storage in solar tubular reformers. The concept of a double-walled reactor tube involves packing a molten-salt/ceramic composite material into the annular region between internal catalyst tube and exterior solar-absorber wall. In this paper, the shape and interior structure of the reactor tube are newly designed for use in solar cavity-type reformers using straight reactor tubes. Na₂CO₃, K₂CO₃, and Li₂CO₃ composite materials with magnesia were tested as thermal storage media for CO₂ reforming of methane during cooling mode of the reactor tube at a laboratory scale. The efficiency of Na₂CO₃/MgO composite with various MgO contents was also estimated. Composite materials of Na₂CO₃ 80–90 wt% and MgO 20–10 wt% were successfully delayed the cooling of the catalyst bed and sustained methane conversion at >90%. A solar cavity-type reformer consisting of multiple straight reactor tubes is expected to enable stable operation of the solar reforming process under fluctuating solar insolation during cloud passage.     

Proliferation of district heating using local energy resources through strategic building-stock management: A case study in Fukushima,Japan

District heating systems using cogeneration technology and renewable resources are considered as an effective approach to resources conservation and reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. However, widespread aging and depopulation problems, as well as the popularization of energy-saving technologies in buildings, are estimated to greatly decrease energy consumption, leading to inefficiency in district heating and barriers to technology proliferation. From a long-term perspective, land use changes, especially the progression of compact city plans, have the potential to offset the decrement in energy consumption that maintains the efficiency of district heating systems. An integrated model is developed in this paper based on building cohort analysis to evaluate the economic feasibility and environmental impact of introducing district heating systems to a long-term compact city plan. As applied to a case in the Soma Region of Fukushima, Japan, potential migration from the suburbs to the central station districts is simulated, where district heating based on gas-fired cogeneration is expected to be introduced. The results indicate that guided migration to produce concentrated centers of population can substantially increase the heat demand density, which supports a wider application of district heating systems and better low-carbon performance. These results are further discussed in relation to technology innovation and related policies. It is concluded that policies related to urban land use planning and energy management should be integrated and quantitatively evaluated over the long-term with the aim of supporting urban low-carbon sustainable development.     

Effect of pressure on the melting and crystallization behaviour of isotactic polybutene-1

The formation, melting and phase transition of isotactic polybutene-1 under high hydrostatic pressures were studied by high-pressure d.t.a. and X-ray diffraction up to 5 kbar. The d.t.a. thermogram of melting of form I shows a single endothermic peak up to 5 kbar. Form II crystallized directly from the melt at atmospheric pressure is metastable and it transforms to form I by the application of pressure. Above 900 bar, it transforms to form I completely and the endothermic peak of melting of form II is not observed. On crystallization from the melt under high pressure, the percentage content of form I' increases with crystallization pressure and at 1.6 kbar only form I' is crystallized. Above 2 kbar form II', which shows the same X-ray diffraction pattern as form II, is crystallized from the melt. The percentage content of form II' increases with pressure above 2 kbar, and that of form I' decreases up to 5 kbar. Upon heating under high pressure above 2 kbar, a solid-solid transition from form II' to form I' is observed in d.t.a. traces and the transition is confirmed by high-pressure X-ray diffraction. The melting temperature is expressed in the form of a quadratic equation as a function of pressure for four different forms in IPB-1.     

Electric and microstructural characteristics of bulk ZnO fabricated by underwater shock compaction

An underwater shock compaction of pure zinc oxide (ZnO) powder has been performed. This technique uses an underwater shock wave generated by detonation of an explosive. Shock pressure used in this work was about 10 GPa. The morphology and structure of shock-consolidated ZnO was investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD) method and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The density and impedance characteristics of shock-consolidated ZnO were measured by Archimedes method and Nyquist plot method, respectively. The shock-consolidated ZnO without visible cracks was successfully obtained. It was confirmed that the shock-consolidated ZnO had 99% of theoretical density without grain growth and high grain boundary resistivity in comparison with the commercial sintered ZnO.     

Power Leveling Using Ozone Storage Method

It is possible to detach ozone from silica gel under the same temperature and same pressure conditions in which the silica gel adsorbed ozone (Murai et al., 2000 Murai, A. and Tahara, N. Storage Method for Ozone oriented to Power Loads Leveling. 2000 International Ozone Association Pan American Group Conference. Proceedings of, Orlando, Florida, USA Session 9. [Google Scholar], 2001 Murai, A., Tahara, N. and Nakajima, T. 2001. Electric Power Loads Leveling by Ozone Storage. J.Inst.Elec.Install.Engi.Japan, 21: 516–522.  [Google Scholar], 2002 Murai, A., Tahara, N. and Nakajima, T. 2002. Ozone Storage Oriented to Power Load Leveling. Ozone Sci. Eng., 23: 171–180.  [Google Scholar]). The addition of extra energy is unnecessary. We changed the temperature of the silica gel and measured the differences in the amount of stored ozone. The amount of adsorbed ozone became linear, as determined by the van't Hoff relationship. A computer program was developed to simulate the characteristics of the storage and removal of ozone. The results of the calculation demonstrated these characteristics. This system confirms an inexpensive construction method of storing ozone in a sewage plant. This method is effective for power load leveling.     

Spontaneous integration of transmembrane peptides into a bacterial magnetic particle membrane and its application to display of useful proteins

An antimicrobial peptide, temporin L, and its derivative (TL-A2) were employed as anchor peptides and displayed streptavidin on a bacterial magnetic particle (BMP) membrane. The ribotoxin L3 loop (L3) and the arginine-chain peptide (R(12)), which are carrier peptides permeable to eukaryotic cell membranes, were also used. The peptides were labeled with a fluorescent dye, 4-fluoro-7-nitrobenzofurazan (NBD), at the N-terminal region (NBD-peptides) and mixed with BMPs. A specific integration of NBD-temporin L into a BMP membrane was observed. The basic amino acids in temporin L played an important role in the integration into BMPs. Biotin conjugated to the N-terminus of temporin L was integrated into a BMP membrane. The C-terminus of temporin L was incorporated into a BMP membrane, and the N-terminus was located on the BMP membrane surface. The present study shows that temporin L is a stable molecular anchor on BMPs by the binding of soluble protein to the N-terminus.