scholarly journals BIOCHAR FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF SOIL AND ROCK WITH ACID POTENTIAL

2020 ◽  
Vol 195 ◽  
pp. 06005
Author(s):  
Erlend Sørmo ◽  
Erika Kämäräinen ◽  
Matilda Edvardsson ◽  
Christian Maurice

Biochar is a carbonaceous material generated by the heating of organic matter under limited access to oxygen (called pyrolysis). While pyrolysis is applied to dry feed, hydrothermal carbonization can be used for wet materials such as sludge. Application of biochar to soil is considered inherent climate friendly since biochar remain stable in the soil for a long time, and thus removing carbon from the short-term carbon cycle. Biochar has the ability to adsorb trace elements and raise pH, when added to soil or/and water. Geomaterials, both soil and rock, containing sulphur in the form of sulphide minerals have the potential to harm the environment. Lowering groundwater in sulphide rich soils and disposal of excavated sulphide rich soil and rock in piles are example of situations where measures have to be taken to mitigate the formation of acid leachate. This presentation aims at presenting the results from two studies where biochar’s capacity to adsorb trace elements is investigated. In the first study, the adsorption capacity of several biochars was compared with leachate generated from the oxidation of sulphide soil, showing a significant decrease of the concentration of elements such as copper and zinc. In the second study, the ability of waste timber biochar to stabilize the leaching from sulphide rich gneisses containing readily soluble, oxidized secondary mineral crusts was investigated. Preliminary results show that the acidity of the oxidized gneisses exceeds the buffer capacity of the biochars, resulting in an acidic, metal rich leachate. Rather reducing metal leaching through sorption and pH control, metals from the biochar matrix are released, resulting in an increased release of metals compared to the control.

Author(s):  
Yuhong Jiang

Abstract. When two dot arrays are briefly presented, separated by a short interval of time, visual short-term memory of the first array is disrupted if the interval between arrays is shorter than 1300-1500 ms ( Brockmole, Wang, & Irwin, 2002 ). Here we investigated whether such a time window was triggered by the necessity to integrate arrays. Using a probe task we removed the need for integration but retained the requirement to represent the images. We found that a long time window was needed for performance to reach asymptote even when integration across images was not required. Furthermore, such window was lengthened if subjects had to remember the locations of the second array, but not if they only conducted a visual search among it. We suggest that a temporal window is required for consolidation of the first array, which is vulnerable to disruption by subsequent images that also need to be memorized.


Author(s):  
Selva Bilge ◽  
Emre Ergene ◽  
Ebru Talak ◽  
Seyda Gokyer ◽  
Yusuf Osman Donar ◽  
...  

AbstractSkeletal muscle is an electrically and mechanically active tissue that contains highly oriented, densely packed myofibrils. The tissue has self-regeneration capacity upon injury, which is limited in the cases of volumetric muscle loss. Several regenerative therapies have been developed in order to enhance this capacity, as well as to structurally and mechanically support the defect site during regeneration. Among them, biomimetic approaches that recapitulate the native microenvironment of the tissue in terms of parallel-aligned structure and biophysical signals were shown to be effective. In this study, we have developed 3D printed aligned and electrically active scaffolds in which the electrical conductivity was provided by carbonaceous material (CM) derived from algae-based biomass. The synthesis of this conductive and functional CM consisted of eco-friendly synthesis procedure such as pre-carbonization and multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) catalysis. CM obtained from biomass via hydrothermal carbonization (CM-03) and its ash form (CM-03K) were doped within poly(ɛ-caprolactone) (PCL) matrix and 3D printed to form scaffolds with aligned fibers for structural biomimicry. Scaffolds were seeded with C2C12 mouse myoblasts and subjected to electrical stimulation during the in vitro culture. Enhanced myotube formation was observed in electroactive groups compared to their non-conductive counterparts and it was observed that myotube formation and myotube maturity were significantly increased for CM-03 group after electrical stimulation. The results have therefore showed that the CM obtained from macroalgae biomass is a promising novel source for the production of the electrically conductive scaffolds for skeletal muscle tissue engineering.


Entropy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (6) ◽  
pp. 660
Author(s):  
Zhongshuo Hu ◽  
Jianwei Yang ◽  
Dechen Yao ◽  
Jinhai Wang ◽  
Yongliang Bai

In the signal processing of real subway vehicles, impacts between wheelsets and rail joint gaps have significant negative effects on the spectrum. This introduces great difficulties for the fault diagnosis of gearboxes. To solve this problem, this paper proposes an adaptive time-domain signal segmentation method that envelopes the original signal using a cubic spline interpolation. The peak values of the rail joint gap impacts are extracted to realize the adaptive segmentation of gearbox fault signals when the vehicle was moving at a uniform speed. A long-time and unsteady signal affected by wheel–rail impacts is segmented into multiple short-term, steady-state signals, which can suppress the high amplitude of the shock response signal. Finally, on this basis, multiple short-term sample signals are analyzed by time- and frequency-domain analyses and compared with the nonfaulty results. The results showed that the method can efficiently suppress the high-amplitude components of subway gearbox vibration signals and effectively extract the characteristics of weak faults due to uniform wear of the gearbox in the time and frequency domains. This provides reference value for the gearbox fault diagnosis in engineering practice.


Atmosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 768
Author(s):  
Natalia Zioła ◽  
Kamila Banasik ◽  
Mariola Jabłońska ◽  
Janusz Janeczek ◽  
Barbara Błaszczak ◽  
...  

Raman microspectroscopy and thermo-optical-transmittance (TOT) method were used to study airborne ambient soot collected at the suburban air monitoring station in southern Poland during the residential heating (January-February) and non-heating (June–July) seasons of 2017. Carbonaceous material constituted on average 47.2 wt.% of PM2.5 during the heating season and 26.9 wt.% in the non-heating season. Average concentrations of OC (37.5 ± 11.0 μg/m3) and EC (5.3 ± 1.1 μg/m3) during the heating season were significantly higher than those in the non-heating season (OC = 2.65 ± 0.78 μg/m3, and EC = 0.39 ± 0.18 μg/m3). OC was a chief contributor to the TC mass concentration regardless of the season. All Raman parameters indicated coal combustion and biomass burning were the predominant sources of soot in the heating season. Diesel soot, which is structurally less ordered than soot from other sources, was dominant during the non-heating season. The D1 and G bands area ratio (D1A/GA) was the most sensitive Raman parameter that discriminated between various soot sources, with D1A/GA > 1 for diesel soot, and less than 1 for soot from coal and wood burning. Due to high daily variability of both TOT and Raman spectroscopy data, single-day measurements can be inconclusive regarding the soot source apportionment. Long-time measurement campaigns are recommended.


Biomolecules ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 1038
Author(s):  
Muhammad Maqsood ◽  
Gunnar Seide

To improve sustainability of polymers and to reduce carbon footprint, polymers from renewable resources are given significant attention due to the developing concern over environmental protection. The renewable materials are progressively used in many technical applications instead of short-term-use products. However, among other applications, the flame retardancy of such polymers needs to be improved for technical applications due to potential fire risk and their involvement in our daily life. To overcome this potential risk, various flame retardants (FRs) compounds based on conventional and non-conventional approaches such as inorganic FRs, nitrogen-based FRs, halogenated FRs and nanofillers were synthesized. However, most of the conventional FRs are non-biodegradable and if disposed in the landfill, microorganisms in the soil or water cannot degrade them. Hence, they remain in the environment for long time and may find their way not only in the food chain but can also easily attach to any airborne particle and can travel distances and may end up in freshwater, food products, ecosystems, or even can be inhaled if they are present in the air. Furthermore, it is not a good choice to use non-biodegradable FRs in biodegradable polymers such as polylactic acid (PLA). Therefore, the goal of this review paper is to promote the use of biodegradable and bio-based compounds for flame retardants used in polymeric materials.


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (3D) ◽  
pp. 450-457
Author(s):  
Dmitry V. Pashchenko ◽  
Dmitry A. Trokoz ◽  
Alexey I. Martyshkin ◽  
Elena A. Balzannikova

This article discusses one of the main problems of user identification by keyboard handwriting - short-term changes in the keystroke dynamics of users in connection with its psychophysical state, as well as changes over a long time associated with the formation of keystroke dynamics by a new user or when switching to a new device. A method for determining the phase of working capacity by the time characteristics of the keystroke dynamics is proposed.


2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 23-29
Author(s):  
Thi Sy Nguyen ◽  
Manh Dung Ho ◽  
Van Doanh Ho ◽  
Quang Thien Tran ◽  
Sam Chung Yong

The k0-based neutron activation analysis (k0-NAA) has been applied for determination of trace multi-element in 5 fruits: Orange, tomato, persimmon, pear and apple. The samples were collected in Vietnam and Korea, and dried-frozen in laboratory at a temperature of -650C, weighed approximately 50 mg or 100 mg each sample, and put in clean polyethylene bags for short and long time irradiations, respectively. The NIST-1547 (Peach Leaves) and IAEA-V-10 (Hay Powder) were used for the purpose of quality control. Both analytical and standard samples were irradiated in the 500 kW Dalat research reactor (Vietnam) and the 20 MW HANARO research reactor (Korea). Concentration of 16 elements: Al, As, Au, Br, Ca, Cl, Co, Eu, Fe, K, La, Mg, Mn, Na, Rb and Zn were determined. By comparison the concentrations of trace elements in the investigated Vietnam and Korea’s fruits, revealed that they are mostly similar between two places. However, the Ca concentration in orange from Vietnam was approximately 2.5 times higher than that one from Korea, whereas the Ca concentration in pear from Vietnam was approximately 21 times lower than that one from Korea. The Mn concentrations in all of fruits that collected in Vietnam were mostly higher than those collected in Korea, ranging between 1.4 to 2.2 times.


Molecules ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (22) ◽  
pp. 5457
Author(s):  
Mohsen Al-Omar ◽  
Hamdoon Mohammed ◽  
Salman Mohammed ◽  
Essam Abd-Elmoniem ◽  
Yasser Kandil ◽  
...  

Halophytes are the category of plants growing under harsh conditions of super-salinity, and are wide-spread in the coastal Mediterranean climatic conditions and desert oasis. They are adept at surviving through maintaining excessive production of enzymatic, and non-enzymatic secondary metabolites, especially phenolics and flavonoids that primarily work as anti-oxidants and phytoalexins. Five major halophyte species growing in the kingdom’s Qassim’s high-salted desert regions were investigated for confirming their traditionally used biological activity of sugar-control and anti-infectious properties. In this context, the comparative presence of phenolics, and flavonoids together with anti-microbial, anti-oxidants, and the anti-diabetic potentials of the plants’ extracts were investigated through the α-amylase inhibition method. The highest concentrations of phenolics and flavonoids were detected in Salsola imbricata (360 mg/g of the extract as Gallic-Acid-Equivalents/GAE, and 70.5 mg/g of the extract as Rutin-Equivalents/RE). In contrast, the lowest concentrations of phenolics and flavonoids were detected in Salsola cyclophylla (126.6 mg/g GAE, and 20.5 mg/g RE). The halophytes were found rich in trace elements, a factor for water-retention in high-salinity plants, wherein iron and zinc elements were found comparatively in higher concentrations in Aeluropus lagopoides (4113 µg/kg, and 40.1 µg/kg, respectively), while the copper was detected in higher concentration (11.1 µg/kg) in S. imbricata, analyzed through Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometric (ICP-OES) analysis. The anti-oxidant potentials and α-amylase enzyme inhibition-based anti-diabetic activity of S. imbricata was significantly higher than the other halophytes under study, wherein S. cyclophylla exhibited the lowest level of α-amylase inhibition. The maximum DPPH radicals’ (52.47 mg/mL), and α-amylase inhibitions (IC50 22.98 µg/mL) were detected in A.lagopoides. The anti-microbial activity against the Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus was strongly exhibited by Zygophyllum simplex (33 mm Inhibition Zone-Diameter, 50 µg/mL Minimum-Inhibitory-Concentration), while Escherichia coli, Enterococcus faecalis, and Candida albicans growths were moderately inhibited by Tamarix aphylla. The current findings exhibited significant differences among the locally distributed halophytic plants species with regards to their bioactivity levels, anti-oxidant potentials, and the presence of trace elements. The ongoing data corroborated the plants’ traditional uses in infections and diabetic conditions. The enhanced local distribution of the plants’ diaspora and higher density of occurrence of these plants species in this region, in comparison to their normal climatic condition’s counterparts, seemed to be affected by humans’ use of the species as part of the traditional and alternative medicine over a period of long time.


2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Seung Hoon Jang ◽  
Sang M. Lee ◽  
Taewan Kim ◽  
Donghyun Choi

Abstract This study explores how firms manage the entire life cycle of innovation projects based on the framework of harvesting and planting innovation. While harvesting innovation seeks new products in the expectation of financial performance in the short term, planting innovation pursues creating value over a long time period. Without proper management of the process of planting and harvesting innovation, firms with limited resources may not be successful in launching innovative new products to seize a momentum in high tech industries. To examine this issue, the case of Samsung Electronics (SE), now an electronics giant originated from a former developing country, is analyzed. SE has shown to effectively utilize co-innovation to maintain numerous planting and harvesting innovation projects. Both researchers and practitioners would be interested in learning about how SE shared risks of innovation investment with external partners at the early stage of innovation cycles.


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