scholarly journals Dark Fermentation Process Response to the Use of Undiluted Tequila Vinasse without Nutrient Supplementation

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (19) ◽  
pp. 11034
Author(s):  
Juan José Rodríguez-Reyes ◽  
Octavio García-Depraect ◽  
Roberto Castro-Muñoz ◽  
Elizabeth León-Becerril

The technical feasibility of valorizing tequila vinasse (TV), a wastewater with high pollution potential, through the production of biogenic hydrogen via dark fermentation, has long been proven in diverse lab-scale reactors that were operated either in batch or continuous mode. However, such systems have mainly been tested with diluted streams and nutrient supplementation, hindering the techno-economic attractiveness of the TV-to-hydrogen concept at large scale. In this study, the feasibility of producing hydrogen from high-strength undiluted TV with no added extra nutrients was evaluated under batch mesophilic conditions. Additionally, the use of two different acidogenic inocula obtained either by heat or heat-aeration pretreatment was investigated to get a greater understanding of the effect of inoculum type on the process. The results obtained showed that the TV utilized herein contained macro- and micro-nutrients high enough to support the hydrogenogenic activity of both cultures, entailing average hydrogen yields of 2.4–2.6 NL H2/L vinasse and maximum hydrogen production rates of 1.4–1.9 NL H2/L-d. Interestingly, the consumption of lactate and acetate with the concomitant production of butyrate was observed as the main hydrogen-producing route regardless of the inoculum, pointing out the relevance of the lactate-driven dark fermentative process. Clostridium beijerinckii was ascertained as key bacteria, but only in association with microorganisms belonging to the genera Enterobacter and Klebsiella, as revealed by phylogenetic analyses.

Science ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. eabf2946
Author(s):  
Louis du Plessis ◽  
John T. McCrone ◽  
Alexander E. Zarebski ◽  
Verity Hill ◽  
Christopher Ruis ◽  
...  

The UK’s COVID-19 epidemic during early 2020 was one of world’s largest and unusually well represented by virus genomic sampling. Here we reveal the fine-scale genetic lineage structure of this epidemic through analysis of 50,887 SARS-CoV-2 genomes, including 26,181 from the UK sampled throughout the country’s first wave of infection. Using large-scale phylogenetic analyses, combined with epidemiological and travel data, we quantify the size, spatio-temporal origins and persistence of genetically-distinct UK transmission lineages. Rapid fluctuations in virus importation rates resulted in >1000 lineages; those introduced prior to national lockdown tended to be larger and more dispersed. Lineage importation and regional lineage diversity declined after lockdown, while lineage elimination was size-dependent. We discuss the implications of our genetic perspective on transmission dynamics for COVID-19 epidemiology and control.


2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qinghua Li ◽  
Jintao Liu ◽  
Shilang Xu

As one-dimensional (1D) nanofiber, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been widely used to improve the performance of nanocomposites due to their high strength, small dimensions, and remarkable physical properties. Progress in the field of CNTs presents a potential opportunity to enhance cementitious composites at the nanoscale. In this review, current research activities and key advances on multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) reinforced cementitious composites are summarized, including the effect of MWCNTs on modulus of elasticity, porosity, fracture, and mechanical and microstructure properties of cement-based composites. The issues about the improvement mechanisms, MWCNTs dispersion methods, and the major factors affecting the mechanical properties of composites are discussed. In addition, large-scale production methods of MWCNTs and the effects of CNTs on environment and health are also summarized.


2015 ◽  
Vol 112 (47) ◽  
pp. 14501-14505 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaolei Wu ◽  
Muxin Yang ◽  
Fuping Yuan ◽  
Guilin Wu ◽  
Yujie Wei ◽  
...  

Grain refinement can make conventional metals several times stronger, but this comes at dramatic loss of ductility. Here we report a heterogeneous lamella structure in Ti produced by asymmetric rolling and partial recrystallization that can produce an unprecedented property combination: as strong as ultrafine-grained metal and at the same time as ductile as conventional coarse-grained metal. It also has higher strain hardening than coarse-grained Ti, which was hitherto believed impossible. The heterogeneous lamella structure is characterized with soft micrograined lamellae embedded in hard ultrafine-grained lamella matrix. The unusual high strength is obtained with the assistance of high back stress developed from heterogeneous yielding, whereas the high ductility is attributed to back-stress hardening and dislocation hardening. The process discovered here is amenable to large-scale industrial production at low cost, and might be applicable to other metal systems.


2017 ◽  
Vol 74 (7) ◽  
pp. 1875-1884 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dmitry N. Kulagin ◽  
Tatiana V. Neretina

Abstract Until recently many oceanic zooplankton species have been considered as cosmopolitan organisms. At present it became evident that some of them comprise many distinct molecular operational taxonomic units (MOTUs) that often are regarded as cryptic species. As they can significantly change our perceptions of large-scale biogeographic patterns, it is important to characterize the true diversity within common and ecologically important groups. We have analysed the molecular and morphological diversity of the cosmopolitan mesopelagic chaetognath Pseudosagitta maxima throughout the Atlantic Ocean from 60° S to 85° N and its position within the genus Pseudosagitta. Three distinct mitochondrial clades within P. maxima were revealed with phylogenetic analyses (Maximum Likelihood, Bayesian Inference) and were geographically separated. The subsequent analyses of nuclear markers (H3, ITS1) have shown that P. maxima most likely comprises two distinct MOTUs, tropical and bipolar, that also have some morphological differences. The latter MOTU consists of two genetically slightly divergent populations: southern and northern. The morphological examination allowed the determination of a character (type of hook coloration) that accurately distinguishes juveniles of the P. maxima complex from the other congeneric species. Molecular data have shown that evolutionary P. lyra and P. gazellae are more closely related to each other than to P. maxima. Number of hooks, number of anterior and posterior teeth and the arrangement of ova in the ovary were proposed to be the most useful morphological characters to distinguish between tropical and bipolar MOTUs within the P. maxima complex. The first three characters should be determined for each maturity stage separately.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Smritikana Dutta ◽  
Anwesha Deb ◽  
Prasun Biswas ◽  
Sukanya Chakraborty ◽  
Suman Guha ◽  
...  

AbstractBamboos, member of the family Poaceae, represent many interesting features with respect to their fast and extended vegetative growth, unusual, yet divergent flowering time across species, and impact of sudden, large scale flowering on forest ecology. However, not many studies have been conducted at the molecular level to characterize important genes that regulate vegetative and flowering habit in bamboo. In this study, two bamboo FD genes, BtFD1 and BtFD2, which are members of the florigen activation complex (FAC) have been identified by sequence and phylogenetic analyses. Sequence comparisons identified one important amino acid, which was located in the DNA-binding basic region and was altered between BtFD1 and BtFD2 (Ala146 of BtFD1 vs. Leu100 of BtFD2). Electrophoretic mobility shift assay revealed that this alteration had resulted into ten times higher binding efficiency of BtFD1 than BtFD2 to its target ACGT motif present at the promoter of the APETALA1 gene. Expression analyses in different tissues and seasons indicated the involvement of BtFD1 in flower and vegetative development, while BtFD2 was very lowly expressed throughout all the tissues and conditions studied. Finally, a tenfold increase of the AtAP1 transcript level by p35S::BtFD1 Arabidopsis plants compared to wild type confirms a positively regulatory role of BtFD1 towards flowering. However, constitutive expression of BtFD1 had led to dwarfisms and apparent reduction in the length of flowering stalk and numbers of flowers/plant, whereas no visible phenotype was observed for BtFD2 overexpression. This signifies that timely expression of BtFD1 may be critical to perform its programmed developmental role in planta.


Author(s):  
Claudio Ruggieri ◽  
Fernando F. Santos ◽  
Mitsuru Ohata ◽  
Masao Toyoda

This study explores the capabilities of a computational cell framework into a 3-D setting to model ductile fracture behavior in tensile specimens and damaged pipelines. The cell methodology provides a convenient approach for ductile crack extension suitable for large scale numerical analyses which includes a damage criterion and a microstructural length scale over which damage occurs. Laboratory testing of a high strength structural steel provides the experimental stress-strain data for round bar and circumferentially notched tensile specimens to calibrate the cell model parameters for the material. The present work applies the cell methodology using two damage criterion to describe ductile fracture in tensile specimens: (1) the Gurson-Tvergaard (GT) constitutive model for the softening of material and (2) the stress-modified, critical strain (SMCS) criterion for void coalescence. These damage criteria are then applied to predict ductile cracking for a pipe specimen tested under cycling bend loading. While the methodology still appears to have limited applicability to predict ductile cracking behavior in pipe specimens, the cell model predictions of the ductile response for the tensile specimens show good agreemeent with experimental measurements.


2019 ◽  
Vol 70 (7) ◽  
pp. 2579-2583 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sampah Georges Eblin ◽  
Kouakou Seraphin Konan ◽  
Oi Mangoua Jules Mangoua ◽  
Valentin Nedeff ◽  
Andrei Victor Sandu ◽  
...  

Doubt about the quality of tap water, due to its color, taste and unpleasant odors, forces a large part of the population of the city of Daloa (west-central of Cote d�Ivoire) to turn to spring and traditional wells waters whose quality is unknown. This study aims to assess the level of nitrate pollution of these shallow aquifers through 29 points including 9 spring and 20 traditional wells spread all over the city. Nitrate concentrations range from 2.5 mg/L to 301.1 mg/L, with 30% of the wells containing an excess of nitrate, beyond the WHO drinking standard (50 mg/L). The map of levels of nitrate concentrations in the city�s wells and springs shows the exposure of the populations of the old downtown neighborhoods to a high health risk due to the high pollution potential of nitrate in the water.


Author(s):  
Nima Aghniaey ◽  
Murat Saatcioglu ◽  
Hassan Aoude

Research on seismic behaviour of shear walls with high-strength steel is limited. A combined experimental and analytical investigation was conducted to assess seismic behaviour of flexure-dominant shear walls. A large-scale concrete shear wall with Grade 690 MPa (ASTM A1035) reinforcement and 84 MPa concrete was tested under simulated seismic loading. The wall was a ¼ -scale of a 6-storey shear wall, with 4.53 m height and 1.45 m length. It sustained a lateral drift of 1.8% prior to developing failure due to the rupturing of longitudinal reinforcement. This is 35% less than the drift capacity of a companion wall reinforced with 400 MPa reinforcement tested earlier. VecTor2 software was used to conduct an analytical parametric study to expand the experimental findings. The results indicate that the reinforcement grade has a significant impact on strength, ductility and hysteretic behaviour of shear walls.


2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 97 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcus Schulze ◽  
Holger Seidlitz ◽  
Franziska Konig ◽  
Sabine WeiB

<p class="1Body">Multi-layer constructions become more and more relevant in lightweight applications due to their high strength to weight ratio. They offer excellent crash, damping and recycling properties. Also, the morphology of thermoplastic carbon fibre reinforced plastics (CFRP) render them interesting for large scale manufacturing processes. Nevertheless, a major disadvantage results in a poor resistance against wear and tear, e.g. erosion, which is attributed to weak hardness properties. Hence, this work deals with tribological investigations on orthotropic carbon fibre reinforced polymers (PA 6) either with protective ceramic coating or without. The chosen coating system is a well-known protective covering of metal components, e.g. metal cutting tools, produced by physical vapor deposition (PVD). To characterize the coating system on thermoplastic CFRP, standard analyzing methods are utilized, like optical and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The tribological investigations are conducted by the tribological ball on disk method to generate wear tracks on the sample surfaces and hence to calculate the wear rates. These results are compared to literature findings with respect to a certain protective coating system (TiN) and a second nano-structured gel coating system, where both systems are deposited on a thermosetting material, i.e. carbon fibre reinforced epoxy resin, respectively. For this purpose the feasibility of depositing a protective ceramic layer on thermoplastic CFRP is demonstrated. First results on suitable surface pre-treatments have shown a significant influence on the coating quality. The improved performance regarding the wear behavior with respect to tribology compared to the poor substrate and existing technologies is shown additionally.</p>


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