Nano-Sized Effect on Liquid Phase and Their Energy

Regardless of the state of matter, such as solids, liquids, and gases, the smaller the matter size from bulk to nano-scale, especially in the quantum region, the more rapid is the energy increase. To this end, this study introduces the concept of a group system, in which atoms behave as one, and this system is reinterpreted as that comprising temperature–entropy (TS) energy in thermodynamic data. Based on this concept, water was passed through various mesh-like dissolved tubes, where the size and energy of the water group system were observed to change. Thereafter, as the scale and number of the meshes increased, the ozone, chlorine, and oxygen constituents, which are closely related to sterilization and washing, are generated, changing the basic water composition. Thus, this nano-size impact is not limited to solids and could facilitate in revolutionizing the future applications in fluids.

Microbial Communities Performing Hydrogen Solventogenic Metabolism of Volatile Fatty Acids

Four different physicochemical pretreatments on an anaerobic inoculum used for alcohol production from acetate and butyrate are evaluated. Experiments were conducted in single batches using acetate and butyrate as substrates at 30°C and with a pressurized headspace of pure H2 at 2.15 atm (218.2 MPa). Thermal and acidic-thermal pretreatments lead to higher production of both ethanol and butanol. Modelling shows that the highest attainable concentrations of ethanol and butanol produced were 122 mg L−1 and 97 mg L−1 for the thermal pretreatment (after 17.5 days) and 87 mg L−1 and 143 mg L−1 for the acidic-thermal pretreatment (after 18.9 days). Thermodynamic data indicated that a high H2 partial pressure favoured solventogenic metabolic pathways. Acidic-thermal pretreatment selected a bacterial community more adapted to the conversion of acetate and butyrate into ethanol and butanol, respectively. Thermal-acidic pretreatment was unstable, showing significant variability between replicates. Acidic pretreatment showed the lowest alcohol production.

Influence of vacuumetric pressure on thermal properties of high-temperature radioactive graphite-nitrogen system

To improve and specify the method proposed by the authors for high-temperature processing of reactor graphite in a nitrogen atmosphere, the thermodynamic data of the formed nitride compounds are supplemented and the system is calculated at a vacuum pressure of 0.5 atm. The data obtained are compared with the values at atmospheric pressure.

Geochemical benchmark tests to validate the conversion of thermodynamic data for TOUGHREACT

According to the ongoing site selection process for a repository for high-level radioactive waste in Germany, rock salt, clay and crystalline rock are possible host rocks. The pore water of these rocks contains saline solutions with high ionic strengths. To model the speciation and/or migration of radionuclides in long-term safety analyses for nuclear waste disposal, a geochemical code that includes thermodynamic data suitable for saline solutions is needed. Thermodynamic equilibrium in saline solutions with high ionic strengths is usually modelled using the Pitzer approach (Pitzer, 1991). Within the context of nuclear waste disposal, the THEREDA project (Moog et al., 2015) provides thermodynamic data for some widely used geochemical codes (PHREEQC, Geochemist's Workbench, ChemApp, and EQ 3/6) using the Pitzer approach; however, for modelling in long-term safety analyses for nuclear waste disposal, another geochemical code, TOUGHREACT, is used. Therefore, scripts were developed to convert thermodynamic data of the THEREDA project to be applicable in TOUGHREACT. The scripts were validated by benchmark tests and by comparing calculations using PHREEQC and TOUGHREACT (Weyand et al., 2021). In total, 50 different benchmark tests were performed considering 3 specific geochemical systems, which are relevant to long-term safety analyses: (1) oceanic salt system, polythermal: K, Mg, Ca, Cl, SO4, H2O(l), (2) actinide system, isothermal: Am(III), Cm(III), Nd(III), Na, Mg, Ca, Cl, OH, H2O(l) and (3) carbonate system, isothermal: Na, K, Mg, Ca, Cl, SO4, HCO3/CO2(g), H2O(l). Each benchmark test considered specific ion concentrations in solution and in gaseous phases in the presence of specific minerals. The benchmark tests derived the geochemical equilibria and the results of both codes were compared to each other and to experimental data. The results of the calculations using both codes showed a good correlation. Remaining deviations can be explained by technical differences of the codes.